A Different Road
by Avengesuperwholock
Summary: AU: For almost a year, Sam and Dean have been separated, ever since the Mark of Cain and First Blade made Dean go nearly demonic. But when Sam hears his brother is in trouble and rushes to the rescue, he's in for quite a surprise... An alternate storyline going off of the end of season nine with all our favorite characters, plus some new heroes and villains. (Dean/OC) Please R & R!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

_This is the story of Sam and Dean Winchester, after the events of seasons one through nine. Only one thing has changed; Dean was not killed by Metatron at the end of season nine. Instead, under the influence of the First Blade and the Mark of Cain, Dean beat and tortured his enemy until Sam arrived to see his brother about to kill the angel, his eyes black as any demon's. Sam managed to get Dean not to kill the angel, and Castiel was able to put Metatron safe behind bars in heaven. However, Dean was so far gone from humanity because of the evil in him that Cas and even his own brother could not bear to be around him anymore. Dean was left alone by the only two people he had left, and he was able to give Crowley the Blade to stop himself from getting any worse. Dean Winchester continued to hunt on his own, but he was unstable and almost wanted to die. Cas and Sam have been hunting both together and apart since then, and Castiel has been struggling to piece heaven back together as well as deal with his constantly waning stolen grace. While Sam still checks up every once in a while on his brother to make sure he's not dead, the two Winchester brothers have not seen each other in nine months._

_However, that is all about to change._

* * *

Castiel dug furiously through heaps of towels and cast-off clothes, searching for the ringing phone buried underneath. Sam had made him buy a cell phone so they could communicate better, but Cas constantly struggled with finding the small black rectangle that apparently held so much power. On top of that, it was humiliating. What pathetic kind of angel had to use human electronics to communicate?

Well, he did. Sam hated it when Cas would just appear and disappear at will as angels often did. He would much rather talk over the phone. However, his friend needn't worry. Castiel was struggling more and more to complete simple angelic tasks like that with his stolen grace waning yet again. Resisting the urge to swear angrily like he had often heard Dean do, Cas finally dug out the phone and answered, almost more to stop the irritating ringing than to speak to Sam Winchester.

"Took you long enough, Cas," Sam snapped on the other end. He sounded worried and agitated, and Cas instantly forgot about his own struggles.

"Is something wrong, Sam?" he asked, concerned.

"Well..." Sam sighed. "I'm in some deep shit, Cas. I'm somewhere in Illinois, and I've got some pretty powerful demons on my tail. I fought them a state or so back, and I've got a pretty good head start on them, but Cas, I didn't even manage to kill one! I'm slipping."

"Do you need assistance?" Cas reached inside him, hoping to find enough power to teleport to Sam's side. However, he was completely drained, and he would have to wait until Hannah, his lieutenant, arrived with a bit of grace to tide him over. His loyal followers had been regularly sapping bits of their power to keep their leader alive. However, it could be hours, maybe even a day, before Hannah returned, and this system would not work much longer. He needed a long term solution, but it sounded as if Sam had enough problems already.

"I'm alright, Cas," the youngest Winchester sighed. "I just...it's not me these demons are after. I happened to run into them, but they're headed for a hunter who is currently residing in Illinois."

"What hunters do we know are living in Illinois?" Castiel asked, thinking hard. "The only one I know of is...no."

"I'm afraid so, Cas," Sam said quietly. "I'm headed to his place now, to warn him."

"Sam, are you sure that's a good idea? We have no idea what he's like! It's been _nine months _since we last saw him."

"Cas, I can't just leave him undefended," Sam sighed across the phone. "I'm not even an hour from his place."

"I can try and get to you," Castiel offered.

"Cas, you're already weak," his friend said. "Worry about yourself for now. I'll call once we're okay."

"Sam...just be careful, okay?"

"I will."

"And, well...say hi to your brother for me."

The phone clicked dead.

* * *

Sam was nervous.

It was funny. He had faced armies of angels, demons, vampires, werewolves, shape shifters, wendigos, djinns, and countless other monsters. He didn't get nervous before hunts anymore; they were as natural as breathing to him. Something that wasn't natural to him? Not being with Dean.

God, these past nine months had been hell! Any time something funny happened, or when Sam needed somebody to help him out, he would turn to Dean...and he wouldn't be there. It was almost worse than when Dean was dead. When Dean was dead, Sam had one mission: get him back. But now, now Dean was still here, alive, walking the same earth as Sam was, there for him to go to... but he was choosing not to. And it was all kinds of awful. He missed his big brother so much, missed driving all day in a car to the same five albums non-stop. He missed the nights at bars, watching Dean hitting on anything female that moved. He missed his brother's sarcastic, juvenile sense of humor, missed arguing and teasing each other, missed working together, missed the thrill of a hunt with a brother by your side. Cas was great and all, a good friend and always valuable on a hunt, but he could never be Dean.

But now, now that he sat parked outside a cute little two-story home with a neat lawn and a nice paint job, he was crazy nervous. He would never have believed this was where Dean was living if it weren't for the familiar, beloved black Impala parked in the driveway. That car put a lump in Sam's throat, bringing back memories of intense arguments driving down a moonlit highway, or songs from before they were born being belted off-key by two brothers, or just sitting on the hood, beers in hand, looking up at the stars. Dean was there, inside that house, Sam knew for sure. If he knew anything about his brother, it was that Dean Winchester would never leave that car behind.

Sam got out of his rental car and walked up to the front door, heart pounding. He didn't have long to get in there and warn Dean about the incoming demons, but his brain was screaming at him not to go in there. Who knew what awaited him? Sure, Dean sounded normal on the phone. But Sam still carried that vision of Dean, bloody Blade in hand, his face twisted into a mask of cruel hatred and fierce enjoyment, eyes black as night. Demonic. If that was the Dean that awaited him inside this cute little house...that would be worse than any demons on his tail.

It was a little after two in the morning, and the house was silent. The whole cute little neighborhood was silent, actually. Sam couldn't wrap his head around the fact that his badass big brother lived _here._ And he was surprised by how little security there was. Sam picked the lock pretty easily and slipped into the house through the front door, shutting it quietly behind him.

From little shafts of moonlight peeking through cracks in the shades, Sam could make out the general layout of the first floor. He walked through a nice living room, past a bookshelf (Dean reading?), then past a nice island bar (now that was more like Dean), to the wooden staircase. The house wasn't overly furnished or decorated, but it was nice. Simple and elegant, color-coordinated, neat. Not at all like Sam would have envisioned Dean's house. In fact, Sam was starting to wonder if Dean was even here.

Then something leapt on top of him from behind, sending him toppling to the ground.

Sam grunted in pain as his head smacked against the wooden floor, stunning him for a few moments. There was a weight on his back, not as heavy as Dean. It was too light to be a full-grown man, and judging by the leg that had him trapped in a headlock, a slender, smooth, pale leg, this was definitely a woman. Sam should have been able to throw her off, even with the element of surprise she had on him, but this woman knew what she was doing. She had her weight expertly balanced on him to pin him down, and on top of that, Sam felt a cold circle of metal worm its way to the base of his skull. A gun. His heart was beating hard, his mind racing, his blood cold. Whatever he was expecting, it was not this.

"Who are you and what the hell are you doing in our house?" the woman snarled. Her voice was cold and dangerous, not betraying even a tremor of fear.

Sam was thinking hard. How to explain this? "Look, I think there's been some kind of mistake..." he tried, desperate to reason with whoever this was that had him held at gunpoint, defenseless and unable to fight back.

The ominous click of a gun being loaded reverberated through Sam. "I _said, _who are you and what the hell are you doing in our house?" this terrifying woman asked in an even colder, slower voice.

Sam was running out of ideas. He was starting to think how pathetic it would be for this to be how his life ended when a voice, low and husky and thick from sleep called from the top of the stairs, "The hell is going on down there?"

Sam's heart literally skipped a beat. Then he found his voice. "Dean?!" he cried, half relieved and half terrified.

There was a moment of silence, and then the familiar voice, the one Sam would know anywhere, cried, "Sam? Is that you?!"

Despite himself, Sam found himself laughing in relief. So this wasn't the wrong place. The woman pinning Sam down gasped, and the gun was withdrawn from his head. A second later her weight was gone, and he heard her speaking in an entirely different voice, a concerned, apologetic one, "Oh my god, you're Sam Winchester? His brother? Oh, god, I am so sorry...I had no idea..."

Sam picked himself up off the ground while the woman hovered nearby apologetically, seemingly wanting to help but unsure if she should. Sam ran a hand through his hair. "It's fine, don't worry about it," he sighed. "It's..."

His voice trailed off as he finally saw the woman who had taken him down. She stood in a patch of moonlight, wearing a lacy tank top and shorts and nothing else. And she was beautiful. Five six or so, slender but in a lean, fit sort of way, fair-skinned, with no shortage of curves, made all too apparent by her skimpy clothes. She had gentle blond curls that glowed almost silvery in the moonlight all the way down to her shoulders, and they were wild and unbrushed. She had a pretty face, open and kind, with big, gorgeous blue eyes, and she wore no makeup. She must have woken up as he broke into the house and slipped down the stairs and somehow gotten the jump on him, a Winchester. She was good. And...she was disarmingly pretty.

Sam averted his eyes, trying not to realize how close and barely-dressed she was. "It's fine," he muttered again.

Thankfully, in that moment, Dean reached the bottom of the stairs, providing a welcome distraction. Sam looked up and, to use a cliché he hated, saw tunnel vision. All of the sudden, his brother was all that mattered, all that existed.

Dean looked good. Like, _really_ good. Nothing like the messed-up guy Sam had left months ago, a pale, worn, dead-eyed, violent, borderline-psychotic guy. His brother looked almost younger, as if he had aged backwards. His face looked less lined and tanner. His eyes, a bright green, had light in them once again, and he was more clean-shaven than he had been the last time Sam had seen him. Dean was wearing only a white t-shirt and boxers, so Sam could tell that Dean was in even better shape than he had been before. Dean had always been built athletically, tall and broad-shouldered and muscular, but the muscles in his arms and chest were larger and more defined. He had been working out, and getting some sun, too. The circles under his eyes were all but gone. He had clearly been sleeping before the noise downstairs woke him. He looked...well, he looked better than he had in years. Sam had not been expecting such a healthy-looking Dean, full of life once more.

Dean had eyes only for his little brother as well. They were shiny in the moonlight, probably with tears. "Sam...?" Dean asked in almost-disbelief. It physically hurt Sam, the disbelief and shock in his brother's expression. Dean simply could not believe that Sam had returned, that Sam wanted to see him again. Why had Sam left his brother again? _How?_

"Hey, Dean," Sam said quietly, and just like that the tension between them, the uncertainty and pent-up hurt and anger and pain and angst dissipated. Dean's face broke into a grin, and then the two brothers crossed the floor in a couple of steps and embraced. Actually, Dean embraced Sam at first, while the younger brother hesitated, unsure if he should dare try to hug his brother. But Dean didn't seem angry, just overjoyed to see Sam. The feeling of Dean's arms around Sam was so familiar, so reassuring even after all this time, that Sam couldn't stop the lump that built in his throat or his arms from going around Dean. They hugged each other so tightly Sam wasn't entirely sure he was still breathing. Over Dean's shoulder, Sam saw the woman smiling at them, looking as if she might cry.

Sam pulled away first, and the brothers quickly composed themselves. "Sam, it's...it's good to see you," Dean said with a smile.

"Yeah, it's...it's good to see you too, Dean," Sam replied. Why was his throat so tight? Why couldn't he stop smiling?

"I didn't know you were coming," Dean said. "Otherwise I would have been, well...dressed at least."

The blond woman laughed, and Sam glanced over at her again. Dean followed his gaze, and Sam watched as his brother's face literally lit up. "Oh, right. I should introduce you two," the elder Winchester smiled. "Sam, this is Julie Carters. Jules, this is Sam."

Julie Carters stuck out a hand to shake Sam's. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said in a warm voice. She had a pretty smile. "Dean has told me a lot about you and it's...it's good to finally meet you."

"All good things, I hope?" Sam asked with a nervous laugh. How could he expect his brother to have anything good to say about him after he abandoned Dean to deal with his problems alone?

Dean laughed. "Of course. I wouldn't turn my girlfriend against you before she even met you!"

Sam blinked. He guessed he had known ever since he saw a beautiful woman in her pajamas in Dean's house that something was going on, but the thought of Dean having a steady girlfriend...it was crazy. "So...she's your..." Sam said slowly.

"My girlfriend? Yeah," Dean laughed, putting an arm around her shoulders. "What did you think she was, my nanny?"

"You could use one," Julie laughed, leaning into him. Sam stared at the grins on their faces, the ease at which they interacted, how they seemed to gravitate towards each other. It was mind-boggling for him.

Dean seemed to realize for the first time that Julie was in a tank top, shorts, and nothing else. "Oh. Uh, Jules, why don't you, uh-"

"Put some clothes on?" she laughed. "Yeah, I will. I'll be right back. Meanwhile, you should find out why Sam had to break into our house in the middle of the night and almost get himself killed." She shot Sam a grin over her shoulder before disappearing up the stairs.

Sam stared after her, and then gave a low whistle. "Wow."

"I know," Dean sighed. "She's amazing. Still not sure how I got her."

"You deserve somebody like her, Dean," Sam said quietly. Dean didn't reply for a moment, unable to accept that he was worth the love of someone like her in his true Dean Winchester fashion. Then he turned to Sam and prompted, "So why _did_ you feel the need to break in here in the middle of the night?"

That was right. He was here to warn Dean, not just reunite with his brother. Sam took a deep breath and launched into a quick explanation of the incoming threat.

By the end of Sam's explanation, Dean had already reached into a cupboard in the pantry and pulled out two huge bags of salt. He tossed one to Sam, who caught it, gasping a little as the heavy bag knocked the wind out of him. "Well, Sammy, come on!" Dean said. "We don't have much time, and we've got work to do."

Sam shook his head in wonder. Where was the broken, twisted Dean he had imagined for the past nine months? How had he gotten to this level of stability? How was he...well, Dean?

The answer appeared a couple minutes later, as they finished salting the place. She had gotten dressed and brushed her curls. They now framed her face in pretty blond spirals, curling gently against the collar of a tan hunting jacket she wore over a dark t-shirt and jeans. Julie Carter's combat boots thudded as she skipped the last two steps of the stairs. She walked over to the two brothers, depositing a duffel bag full of knives and guns at their feet. She said in a down-to-earth tone, "Well, boys. I see you salted the place, and we have devil's traps under every rug at every door. We should be set. Now...what brought you here, Sam? What is hunting us?"

Sam blinked. Then he slowly turned towards his brother, anger building in him. "You...you told her?"

Dean winced. "Sam..."

"I can't believe you! You told her about hunting? Dean, you've got to be kidding me!"

"Sam, just listen to me-"

"No, Dean! See, this is why I can't trust you; you can't even keep one secret! I never told Jessica, in all the years we were together, but you feel the need to tell every girl you sleep more than once with that we hunt monsters in our spare time? No, Dean. I can't do this. I'm so tired of you-"

Sam didn't know how it happened, but he found himself once again on his stomach on the cold, hard floor, with a knee pressed into his back and a hand pressing his face down. "Okay, Sammy," he heard Julie say from on top of him. Again. "Listen up. Your brother did not tell me he was a hunter. He did not tell me about hunting at all. Now, going off of that and the fact that this is the second time in the ten minutes I've known you I've put you on the floor, and you're supposed to be one of the greatest hunters alive, what does that make me?" Sam mentally kicked himself. Of course. "Come on, Sammy," she teased him. "Dean tells me you're pretty sharp. Put it together."

"You're a hunter, too," he sighed.

"And we have a winner!" Julie was off of him in an instant, and this time she felt comfortable enough with him to grab his arm and help him up. She was grinning, but not in a malicious way. Her eyes were teasing, but her smile was genuine. Behind her, Dean was trying not to laugh.

"Hope I didn't hurt you too much," his brother's hot, kickass hunter girlfriend smirked.

"You didn't hurt anything, just my pride," he muttered. She laughed. Sam looked at her, and felt a little swell of pride and something else. He had made her laugh. He couldn't help but smile, and Julie grinned back. "One more thing," he said, braver now.

"Yeah?"

"Don't call me Sammy," Sam said. "Only he gets to call me that."

"Point taken," Julie said respectfully. Sam looked over and saw Dean really, truly smiling.

"Dean, Sam and I can guard the house fine on our own," Julie said, surprising them. "Why don't you go get dressed and meet us back here?"

"Good idea," Dean smirked. He leaned down and kissed Julie before going upstairs. That kiss made Sam stare. It wasn't a long, lingering, making-out kind of kiss. It was the kiss your father gave your mother before going to work. A short, sweet kiss, a little expression of love.

Dean was in love. That thought finally hit Sam, like a ton of bricks. That was how his brother wasn't a wreck. He was in _love._

There was a brief pause as Sam processed this. "Sorry about taking you down the first time," Julie said lightly.

Sam decided to try and wrap his head around the idea of Dean in love later. He smirked. "Only the first time?"

Julie laughed. "Yeah, well, the second time you deserved it. You wouldn't shut up long enough to let Dean explain, so..."

"So you judo-flipped me onto the floor. Again."

"Pretty much." They both chuckled a little, and then stood in silence. Sam didn't know this woman, and he had no idea what to talk about. They had two things in common: hunting, and Dean. He could talk about the demons hunting them with her, but everything in him was begging for answers. How was Dean? How had he been in all this time apart? How did they meet, how long had they been together, how did _Dean Winchester _settle down with a girl?!

"So, uh...you and Dean, huh?" Sam tried lamely.

Julie smiled a little. "Yeah, me and Dean. I hope...I hope it's not weird for you. I know it's been a while since either of you have really settled down with somebody..."

"It's not weird," Sam assured her. "And...yeah, I guess it has been a while. So...he's told you a lot then, huh? About us about our pasts?"

"Everything," she replied. Sam couldn't stop a quick expression of disbelief from showing on his face. Dean wasn't really the touchy-feely type. He didn't talk about the past, or how he felt. He acted tough and pushed on and buried his pain in beer and hunts and one-night stands.

"I know you probably don't believe me when I say he told me everything, but he did," Julie said after a moment. "Sam...when you left Dean-and I'm not saying I don't get why you left, because he told me that, too, and he firmly believed you did the right thing-but when you and Castiel left your brother, it destroyed him. He had given up the Blade and was hunting alone when I met him, about three months after the fact, and he was a mess. A self-hating, borderline-suicidal mess who buried himself in hunts so he didn't have to think. Or feel."

Sam wanted to tell her to shut up. Never mind. He didn't want to hear what Sam's abandonment had done to Dean. He just wanted to be happy that Dean was okay now. "What...what happened?" Sam asked quietly. "What changed?"

"Well." She hesitated. "When I met him...it was on a hunt. A demon had me pinned, and it was about to cut my throat, and he killed it."

Despite himself, Sam smiled. "That's Dean alright."

"Yeah," she smiled slightly, lost in thought. "My uncle and cousin and I, we let him stay with us for a bit. He went on another hunt with us, and in the process, he took a crazy risk. Used himself as bait when he didn't have to. Could have died. _Should _have died. Got his arm cut pretty bad before I killed the werewolf about to eat his heart out. He didn't need to take that risk, and that's when I realized...he almost wanted to die."

Sam's blood ran cold. If Dean hadn't been fortunate enough to find this girl, if she hadn't saved him...what would have happened to his brother? Sam knew the answer. He would have destroyed himself.

"So, that night, while I was stitching Dean up...I got on him. About being reckless, about trying to get himself killed. I asked him what could possibly make him think that he didn't deserve to live, and then...he told me."

"Told you what?"

"Everything. Who he was, although I had already guessed that, and everything that's happened to you guys over the past few years. He told me about the Mark and the Blade and you and Castiel leaving him and how he gave up the Blade and just wandered around, killing things and waiting to be killed, and then..."

"And then?" Sam prompted.

"I comforted him. He told me how tired he was of being alone. And then...we kissed."

Sam blinked. "Wait. So you're telling me he told you all this _before _he slept with you?"

Julie smiled a little. "Uh, yeah."

"Wow. He must have really loved you."

Julie was the shocked one this time. "Oh, no. I don't think he loved me yet." Sam smiled knowingly. "Or at least, he didn't realize it yet. It was another couple days before we even...you know..."

"Before you even what?" Sam asked, all wide-eyed innocence.

"Before we had sex, okay?" she snapped. He laughed, and she punched his shoulder lightly. "Shut up. Anyway, we stayed with my family a few more days, and then we hunted together, and then we settled down here."

"How long has it been?" Sam asked.

"Over four months we've been living here," she said.

"Wow." Sam looked around at this house, trying to imagine Dean living here, coming home from work to kiss his beautiful girlfriend like on an old black-and-white family TV show. It was mind-boggling. Sam was reminded strongly of Dean's time with Lisa and Ben, but this Julie was nothing like Lisa. Well, she was pretty, and female, but that was where the similarities ended. "He must really love you," Sam said slowly, trying to wrap his mind around the idea once more.

Julie smiled a little. Before she could reply, Dean reappeared, saying, "Are you guys talking about me behind my back?"

"I was just agreeing with Sam on how you take longer to get ready than I do," Julie smirked.

"One of us has to look beautiful," he fired back, grabbing Julie's waist and pulling her in so he could kiss her, long enough for Sam to feel awkward standing there. When the happy couple finally pulled apart, Sam felt comfortable looking at them again. Dean was decked out in his leather jacket over a dark button-down shirt, old, dark jeans, and his good old combat boots. He looked like his old hunter self, shedding this settled-down Dean as easily as a change of clothes. "Alright, Sam. I'm assuming the demons didn't arrive while I was getting dressed?" Sam raised an eyebrow and looked around at the quiet, almost peaceful house around them. "Well then, I say we get out of here."

"What?" Sam asked, confused.

"Well, Sam, this is kind of our home," Julie said. "And we really don't want it trashed in a fight against some demons. And, more importantly...we have friends around here. They're just people, and they would have no way to defend themselves if demons came to town."

Sam felt awful for not thinking of the innocent civilians around them. "Right. Okay. Well then, let's get out of here, try to draw them away from-"

The windows rattled as a fierce wind blew all around the house. Dark smoke clouded the windows, blocking out the moonlight, as demons hurtled through the air around the house. Sam and Dean raised their salt-filled shotguns, and Julie reached for a silver angel blade.

"I think it's a little late for that," Dean muttered as the three hunters prepared for a fight.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**Six Months Earlier...**

"I can't believe him. Can you believe him?"

Taylor Carters rolled her eyes. "No, cuz, I can't believe him."

"He won't let us help him kill that demon because 'he needs to keep us safe'? Are you kidding me?!"

"What a jackass for wanting to keep his kids safe," the twenty-eight-year-old, tall, tanned, busty blond sighed.

"If I hadn't been there on that last hunt, that wendigo would have eaten him!" Julie Carters snapped. She stood on edge, gun strapped to her hip and knife gripped tightly in her hand. She and her cousin stood in the lobby of a rundown hotel where a demon was rumored to be living, when he wasn't trying to get humans to sell their souls or sleeping with prostitutes and leaving them dead in hotel rooms across the city.

That was what had caught the attention of the three Carters', and the hunters had gone to work.

Well, Jasper and his niece, Julie had. The two of them were pretty formidable hunters: Jasper, a forty-nine-year-old man who had been hunting since his parents were killed by ghouls when he was nineteen, and Julie, a twenty-seven-year-old woman who had been raised in the life but only was allowed to hunt when her own father was killed when she was just fifteen. Jasper had then been tasked with raising her and his own daughter, Taylor, who was only a year older. While Julie was desperate to become a hunter and get revenge for her father's death, Taylor didn't want this life. She wasn't good at hunting, she didn't enjoy it, she just wanted out of this life. But once you got in deep enough, there was no out.

Taylor and Julie could have been sisters. They were both sexy blonds, with slender, curvy builds, and they were both sassy and sarcastic and tough enough to easily fend off the advances of any guys. However, the similarities ended there. Julie had standards. She didn't want to sleep around a lot, had only had four serious relationships, the longest lasting only six months. She wore little makeup and turned away almost all guys. And then there was Taylor. As a sign of rebellion against her father, Taylor had started going to parties, getting drunk, and sleeping around at age sixteen and never stopped. She was a slut, and proud of it. She was the kind of girl that all the guys wanted to pick up at bars: pretty, almost always drunk, and looking for meaningless sex, just like them.

"Dad will be fine, Julie," Taylor sighed, fluffing her bleached blond curls. "He's got this. We just need to watch the door and make sure that demon doesn't-"

Down the hall, there was a loud thump and a man's shout of pain. Julie started, recognizing the voice. "Uncle Jasper!" she shrieked, and just like that she was off and running, Taylor jogging behind her in the ridiculous red heels she insisted on wearing.

Julie reached the room where her uncle and the demon, possessing a red-haired, bearded construction worker were. Her uncle was lying in a pile of broken boards where he had been thrown into the wall, struggling to get up. "Jasper!" she yelled angrily, moving protectively in-between him and the demon.

He grinned, eyes flashing black. "Well, if it isn't the lovely Juliet Carters!" he laughed. "I've heard of you, kid. Been making quite a name for yourself these past few years, huh? Killed a lot of my brothers."

"And you're next," she snarled, lunging towards him.

She plunged her blade, soaked with holy water, hilt deep into his right shoulder. The demon roared in pain and lashed out, throwing Julie to the ground. She smacked her head on the ground and lay there, dazed. It was a stupid move she had just made, induced by rage at seeing her beloved uncle lying hurt on the ground. By the time Julie had recovered, so had the demon. As she started to sit up, he appeared, pinning her down with her own knife to her throat. Julie struggled not to swallow, the cold steel stained with blood digging into the exposed skin of her neck.

"Julie!" Taylor shrieked as she finally reached the room. Jasper hauled himself up and yelled angrily, "Get your hands off her, you filthy son of a bitch!"

"I don't think so," the demon smirked, pressing the knife harder into her neck. Julie winced as she felt her skin split under the knife. "I think I'll skin pretty little Juliet here while you two sit and watch. And then I'll kill you, Carters, and your daughter, too. Make a day of it. Have some fun!"

"Jasper, get out," Julie said in a hoarse whisper. Her uncle widened his eyes. "He's gonna kill me no matter what. He's got nothing on you two. Get out!"

"No!" Jasper said angrily. "Let her go, demon. Let the girls go, you can have me instead."

"Tempting but...I don't think so."

"They're just girls," Jasper pleaded quietly.

The demon just laughed, and he pulled the knife back to plunge into Julie's heart. "Juliet!" her uncle roared, and Taylor gasped in horror. Julie's brain was doing double-time as adrenaline pumped through her. She saw the cruel glee on the demon's face as he started to bring the knife down on her.

Then she heard the sickening sound of a knife cutting through a spinal cord. The demon seemed to glow with a fiery light from the inside as he gasped in pain. The he went slack, dead as a doornail. His knife clattered to the ground an inch from Julie and she stared up in shock as the dead demon was thrown to the side.

A man stood over her. He was a terrifying-looking man, although maybe that was just because he was towering over her, bloody knife in hand. He knelt a little to grab her arm and help her as she got shakily to her feet. "You okay...Juliet?" he asked in a surprisingly low, gravelly voice.

Julie blinked as she really took in the guy, and had one thought: damn.

He was tall, a little over six foot. Broad-shouldered, muscular, dressed like a hunter in combat boots, a leather jacket, and dark jeans. And handsome. Really, classically handsome, with proportionate features, a stubbly, straight jaw, gorgeous green eyes, and shortish, styled brown hair. Julie wasn't sure she'd ever seen a hotter guy, although part of it she was sure was the fact that he had just saved her. But he was really, really good-looking. However, Julie had trained herself long ago not to think of guys like that. It always ended in sex and then waking up to find herself alone, abandoned now that her usefulness was over.

"Julie," she muttered, still a little overwhelmed.

"What?" he asked in that low voice. A sexy voice.

"My name is Julie," she said more confidently.

"Oh. Sorry. It's just..." He glanced over at Jasper and Taylor. "He called you Juliet."

"Despite the hundreds of times I've asked him not to," Julie said pointedly, turning to glare at her uncle.

He grinned. "Well, Juliet, I called you that for fifteen years..."

"And you have been calling me Julie for twelve," she replied coolly. Then she turned to face her savior again. "Sorry about that. I, uh...thank you. For saving me back there."

"Don't mention it," he muttered.

"No, thank you, really," Jasper said, walking over to this mystery man and sticking out his hand. "You saved my niece's life, and for that I am eternally grateful. I'm Jasper, by the way."

"I'm...Dean," he said, hesitating a little as if unsure what to say for his name. Automatically, Julie went through her mental list of hunters she knew of named Dean. She could only think of one, and that was just preposterous. The only hunter named Dean she knew of was Dean Winchester, and that guy was more legend than reality. He and his brother, Sam, were the legends of the hunting world, the greatest hunters alive, so people said. They had stopped the apocalypse, the leviathan threat, Abbadon, killed every monster and demon and angel that had gotten in their way. They had died, and their angel ally Castiel had just brought them back. They were feared by all monsters, and most hunters, too. They were rumored to be psychotic, master torturers and killers, and even hunters were a little afraid to cross paths with them. But this Dean couldn't be a Winchester. For one, he had just saved her life. And he seemed...well, normal. At least, normal for a hunter. Besides, he was alone. And there was one thing that was always guaranteed about the Winchesters. They were, well...the Winchesters. As in, plural. Both brothers. They never seemed to be anywhere without the other.

"Well, Dean, it is a pleasure to meet you," Taylor said, almost pushing her uncle out of the way so she could shake Dean's hand. A slow, lingering handshake full of sexual tension. At least on her half. Dean raised an eyebrow, amused by her obvious attraction to him. He seemed like the kind of guy who got that a lot, and knew how to work it.

"So, Dean, you're pretty obviously a hunter," Jasper said, trying to save Dean. He shrugged. "You were hunting that demon, too?"

"Yeah," he said nonchalantly. "Good thing, too."

"It was indeed," Julie's uncle smiled. "So, are you here alone, Dean? Or do you have other hunters somewhere around here?"

"No, it's...it's just me," Dean muttered.

"Really? A young, handsome guy like yourself, alone?" Jasper asked in disbelief. Dean shifted awkwardly, looking down. "No family, no girlfriend, nothing?"

"No, it's just me," Dean muttered, and Julie was a little worried about the darkness in his tone.

"That's too bad," Julie said quickly, trying to stop her uncle from pushing this poor guy any further. "Well, Dean, you should come hit a bar with us, then. Celebrate!"

Dean looked like he wanted to refuse. "Come, Dean!" Jasper said happily. "It's on us. Stay the night, too, if you need a place to stay."

Dean eventually agreed to come out to celebrate with them, and to stay the night. He had a case already lined up just an hour away, one that the Carters' hadn't even heard about. He was good. Like, better-than-them good, and that meant something. They offered to come along on the case and help, and he agreed, looking a little excited at the prospect of spending time with other people.

It hurt Julie's heart. At a first glance this guy was tough, impenetrable, and he didn't need any help from anyone. And then she got a little closer, and realized that he was all alone. Not just alone. Lonely. She didn't believe that he had never had other people he cared about; you didn't get to be thirty-five, which was how old he later revealed himself to be, without having _some_ loved ones. But he was alone now, and no one should have to go through this life alone. So Julie decided then and there that she was going to make sure this guy did not ever feel lonely the entire time he was with them.

At the bar, Taylor hit on Dean for a while before finally accepting she wasn't getting anything from him tonight. Once she got bored, and considerably drunk, she went over to a table of three absolutely hammered guys and hit it off immediately. Jasper hung out for a while at the bar with Julie and Dean, getting to know this new hunter. Jasper commented on Dean's skill as a hunter and talked up Julie as well. However, a pretty woman of about forty entered the bar, and Jasper soon left to do a little skirt-chasing, leaving Julie and Dean alone at the bar, after a quick warning to Dean to keep his hands off Jasper's niece.

Dean chuckled as Jasper walked away. "Sorry about that," Julie muttered, trying not to blush.

"Don't be," Dean said. "He's just protecting you. He seems like a good guy."

"He is," Julie agreed.

Dean took a nice long swig of his second or third beer. Julie did the same. She had never been the kind of person who was bothered by silence; in fact, she rather liked being able to just sit in silence with someone, unlike her chatty family. It seemed Dean was much the same, and for a while they sat next to each other and sipped their beers. Then Julie turned to Dean and asked, "So, Dean. Got a last name?"

He shrugged. "Yeah."

She blinked. "Okay...are you going to tell me?"

"No." Julie smirked, she couldn't help it, and he smirked, too.

"Alright, I respect that," Julie said. "Got anything you will tell me?"

Dean turned a little on his bar stool to face her and smiled a little. For the first time since she had met him, she could see little laugh lines around his eyes and mouth, not just the creases in-between his eyebrows. "What do you want to know?" he asked.

And so, over the next half hour, Julie got to know this mysterious Dean. He had been raised into the life, a born and bred hunter. When she asked about his friends, he gave a long list of well-known hunters: Bobby, Rufus, Ellen, Jo, Ash, and others. Every single one of them was dead, had been dead for a while. No wonder this guy was like this! He had lost every single person he cared about.

And in return, Julie told Dean her story. Her father, Thomas, and her uncle, Jasper, had started hunting when their parents were eaten by ghouls when Jasper was only nineteen and his younger brother, Thomas, only seventeen. They hunted for a year, until they managed to find and kill the ghouls who had killed their parents. Then they settled down, Jasper with a somewhat flighty blond girlfriend who gave birth to a little girl, and Thomas, with his high school sweetheart, Katrina, a sweet, gentle blond girl. They got married, had a little girl a year later than Jasper, and were living a happy, normal life together.

At least until the vengeful mate of a vampire Thomas had killed in his year of hunting broke into their house in the dead of night and killed his wife.

Thomas and Jasper returned to hunting then with a new fury. Jasper's girlfriend left him, leaving little Taylor behind, which left two guys in their early twenties with little toddlers to watch out for. The cousins were often left at babysitters while the brothers hunted monsters together. For years it went on like this, until Thomas and Jasper found a nest of vampires. They were expecting four, and got nearly ten. Thomas was killed that disastrous night, leaving fifteen-year-old Juliet an orphan now to be raised by her uncle alone.

"I'm sorry," Dean said quietly, moving to put his hand over hers, and then changing his mind. "I lost both my parents too. I know how it feels."

Julie blinked back a wetness from her eyes. "I...that's why I hate being called Juliet. That's what my parents named me, and that's what they called me until I was fifteen. But then my dad died, and now when people call me that...well, it reminds me of him. So I'm Julie now."

"And I will respect that," he said.

They talked for a little while more, until one of the bartenders, a sleazy guy around Dean's age came over and started hitting on Julie. She rolled her eyes and blew him off a couple of times, but he just kept bothering her. Finally, he grabbed her arm and said, "Come on, Julie. Come home with me. You know you want to. Ditch this guy, we'll get out of here."

"Leave me alone!" she snapped, pulling away from him.

"Oh, don't be like that, sweetheart," he tried again, reaching for her.

Finally, Dean was no longer content to sit there drinking his fourth or fifth beer. "Hey!" he snapped in a low, rough voice. "She told you to leave her alone."

The bartender was looking for a fight, and he turned to grin nastily at Dean. "And what are you going to do about it, tough guy?" he smirked.

Dean just rolled his eyes. "That's what I thought," the bartender growled, and he grabbed Julie's arm again. She threw him off, and the next second there was a knife quivering in the wooden bar, having barely missed the bartender's fingers. He stared in shock and horror at how close he had just come to being short a finger or two.

"The only reason you still have all five fingers is because I want you to," Dean growled. He pulled his knife out of the counter and snarled, "Now, leave, before I get even more pissed."

The guy disappeared, wide-eyed, probably to call some cops. Julie bit her lip to keep from grinning. "You know, Dean, you're kind of terrifying," Julie laughed as the two of them quickly gathered her family and bailed before the cops showed up.

"You don't seem too scared," he shot back, an eyebrow raised.

And Julie looked him straight in those gorgeous green eyes and said truthfully, "I'm not."

* * *

"Ouch!" Dean winced through gritted teeth. "That hurts."

"Yeah, you're right," Julie snapped back as she finished sewing shut the gash across Dean's forearm. "Having your arm slashed open by a werewolf does hurt, not that you seem to care."

Dean's eyes narrowed. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Julie sighed. "Dean, you had no reason to throw yourself in front of the werewolf like that."

"I was protecting you-"

"I was fine," she snapped. "I could have easily killed the thing, but you put yourself in harm's way, for no reason. God, it's almost like you wanted to be killed!"

"I could think of a lot worse things happening than me dying," he muttered under his breath.

Those words filled Julie with a deep rage. Over the past three days she and Dean had gotten close. Working a case always brought people together, but she had really gotten close with this guy. He was funny, and charming, and caring, and tough, and secretive. She wished he wasn't, because she was really starting to care about him. She hated to admit it, but somewhere between the days of investigations and research, during the boring hours spent in the car or talking over whatever crap was on cable in the motel rooms that night, she had really started to care about him. When she got up in the morning, there was a little ache that wasn't satisfied until she saw him there, eating crap food from a vending machine, a goofy smirk on his face, or standing in her kitchen, trying and failing to help Jasper make eggs. When Taylor would hit on Dean or squeeze close to him on the bed, not-so-subtly showing him her rack, a little flare of jealousy would fill her. Julie would think of a funny comment, she'd say it to Dean, and do a private little victory dance inside when he gave her that panty-melting half-grin.

The thought of this Dean she had only known a few days dying? It made her crazy. The thought of him thinking he deserved to die? That death for him wouldn't be so bad? Now that made her pissed.

She and Dean were back at the Carters' place, in the shed where they kept their hunting supplies. Dean was sitting on a counter where all wounds were patched up, and Julie had just finished tying a clean, sterile bandage over the scratch on his arm. He was lucky he hadn't been bitten. He was lucky he was still human. He was lucky he was still alive.

"No, Dean!" Julie snapped with an anger that surprised herself. "You are not going to think like that. You are not going to do that to yourself, or the people who care about you. And don't give me that shit about nobody caring-I know that's not true." Words were just pouring out now. "I care, okay? So you need to start taking care of yourself, because whether or not you believe it, you're a great hunter, and a good man, and the world needs more people like you."

For a second, Julie thought maybe, just maybe, she had gotten through to him. Then he shook his head bitterly. Anger flared in her again, and she said, "Damn. You really don't believe a word I'm saying, do you?" He glared at the floor. "What the hell happened to you, Dean, to make you really believe you don't deserve to live?" she asked in a softer tone.

He couldn't meet her eyes. Something she said must have struck him, though, because he said softly, "To list every reason I don't deserve to be here right now would take a good couple of years, Julie."

She crossed her arms and studied him. "Well? I'm waiting."

Dean shook his head and sighed. "I...I've killed people. A lot of people. I've got an ocean of blood on my hands, innocent blood. I got so bad that even the only people I had left couldn't stand to be with me anymore. And I wanted to be angry with them, for leaving me like that, but...they did the right thing. Good for them for escaping. Good for Sam for finally getting rid of the baggage."

Julie blinked, stunned. For one thing, he was finally opening up, actually sharing something real. And the pain and the hurt and the hatred, the hatred of himself in his eyes and his voice broke her heart. But there was something else...Sam. He had said Sam. And how many hunters were there, who were kickass, skilled men with oceans of blood on their hands who had been close friends with Bobby Singer and knew and loved a man named Sam? There was only one, and that name was the last bit of information she needed, the final proof to what Julie had known since the first night she met him. She just hadn't wanted to believe it.

"Sam?" Julie asked softly, in a whisper. Dean winced, knowing he had just blown any chance at hiding who he really was.

"Dean...what's your last name?" Julie asked slowly, giving him one last chance to deny it.

"You know, Julie," he sighed. "You've known for a while, haven't you?"

"Winchester," she got out. "You're...Dean Winchester."

"In the flesh," Dean said with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood. "Took you long enough. I mean, I gave you my real name and everything!"

To his surprise, she laughed a little, too. "Yeah...I guess I just didn't want to believe it," she admitted. She laughed again, and Dean studied her, curious. This was not what he was expecting. Screaming and running away, hitting him, telling him to leave, trying to kill him...those were all more along the lines of what he was expecting.

"What are you thinking?" he asked softly. "Why are you smiling?"

"I don't know, because you're real?" she laughed. He blinked. "The way people talk about you...you and your brother defeated the devil, stopped the apocalypse, took down Dick Roman and Abbadon, stopped those angel wars...well, it sounds crazy."

"It was crazy, alright," Dean muttered wryly.

Julie locked her beautiful blue eyes on him, and the feeling he had been trying to suppress for days stirred in his gut again. "They're wrong though, the people and the things they say about you. They make you out to be some kind of psychotic, kill-and-torture-crazy...well, monster."

"Are you saying I'm not?" he asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Well, if I was a monster, I'd be running, and I'm sure you are...quite the killer and torturer when you need to be, but..." She leaned towards him a bit without realizing it. "You're a good guy, Dean. You're not the guy they make you out to be."

"I doubt you'd be saying that if you knew half the things I've done," Dean muttered coldly, the familiar wave of self-hatred washing over him like an old friend. This poor, sweet, beautiful, brave girl thought he was good. She called him a good man. Maybe once he had been good, but that was years ago, before Sammy died and he sold his soul, before hell, before he broke, before the Mark and the Blade...Dean wanted so badly to be this good guy that she thought he was. To be the funny, charming, tough, brave guy she had known these past days, the guy who she made smile, the guy who watched her smile and talk and work and wanted her, and not just her body. Wanted her light, her happiness even after all she'd gone through, wanted her love. Why couldn't he just be good? Maybe then Sammy and Cas wouldn't have left, would still love him. Maybe then she could love him, too...

Dean looked up as he felt her hand on his, and watched as Julie sat down on the counter next to him. Her face was soft, her eyes concerned and sad. "Tell me?" she asked softly. It was just a request. He could shrug it off and leave and never see her again, stay locked in this shell, trapped with his dark past and his mistakes and his grief and his guilt. Or he could tell this sweet, brave woman, this good woman, too good for him, and she could share his pain.

And the thought of not being alone any longer was so wonderful to him that Dean finally let down his walls for the first time in months. And over the next hour or so he told her everything. His shitty childhood, about his dad and his mom and how she died, how he was raised in the life. He told her about Sam going off to college, Dad disappearing, the two brothers trying to find him and coming back to Sam's wonderful girlfriend murdered by a demon. He told her of their hunts, their fights, the times they died, the friends they lost, the mistakes they made. He told her everything, until he finally recounted what the Mark of Cain and the First Blade had turned him into and how he had lost the only two people left who mattered. His throat was raw from talking and the pain was fresh after just recounting everything that he had been through in his awful, hellish life, but he did feel a little better for a moment. The moment before Julie got up and ran away from him, horrified at the things he'd done, never wanting to see him again.

"Dean..." her voice came, a soft, concerned whisper. "I...I'm sorry. I can't even imagine."

Her concern made him want to cry. Was it even possible? Could somebody like her even care about him, care that he was hurting? He said bitterly, "Yeah. I honestly have no idea why I told you all that."

Julie hopped off the counter and moved so she could face him. Dean also slid off the counter and stood for the first time in over an hour, just starting to realize how long he had talked. "Maybe...you just needed to tell someone?" she guessed. "Dean, that's...that's a lot. That's more than anyone should ever have to go through, and you honestly can't bear it alone. You can't do everything on your own! Sometimes you need some help." She smiled a little at him.

God, she was beautiful, he thought again. He had thought that a lot in the time he had known her, but he had never really been trying to get in her pants. He had realized pretty early on how good she was. Too good for him. He didn't deserve a girl like her, didn't even deserve a one night stand with her. She deserved better than to have to wake up and realize he had left her in the middle of the night, having gotten what he wanted. So he had kept himself focused solely on the case. However, that...hadn't worked well. She was just too clever, too funny, too kind, too tough and brave and gorgeous and he couldn't help but start to fall for her. And that was bad, bad news for her. Anyone close to Dean got hurt. That was just a fact. So now, it was time for him to leave, before he ruined another wonderful person's life and ended up getting them killed.

Only one problem: Dean was weak. He was selfish, and lonely, and weak, and he couldn't leave. She was right; he needed help. "I'm tired of this, Julie," he admitted quietly. "I...I don't want this anymore. I'm so tired of being alone."

Julie Carters took another step closer to him. She was so close, he could feel the warmth radiating from her. There was something in her eyes, an emotion he couldn't quite read...but he was pretty sure he was mirroring it exactly. "You're not," she whispered, and then she slowly leaned in, her eyes closing...

Dean leaned the rest of the way in, and their lips met. Her lips were soft, and Dean felt a tension that had been building in him for days release the moment they kissed. One hand went behind her back and drew her closer in, while his other hand stroked her blond curls like he had been aching to for a while now. Julie's hands made their way to the back of his neck, and she pulled him a bit closer.

After a long, sweet moment, they pulled apart slightly and leaned their foreheads together, eyes still closed. Julie breathed in deeply, trying to cement this moment in her memory forever. The shed smelled of sawdust and disinfectant, and Dean smelled of sweat and motor oil. His thumb brushed against her cheek, his other hand at the small of her back, spreading warmth through her. She hadn't realized how badly she'd been wanting that kiss until now, now in the euphoria after it. He was a good kisser, and she wanted more. Dean leaned in and kissed her again, their mouths moving together, tasting each other. This time when they pulled apart, they laughed a little uncertainly. Dean gave her that smirk she had grown to love, the one that crinkled his eyes and actually showed some genuine happiness. And she knew then, in that moment, that she was in trouble. She really, really liked this guy.

Julie wanted to stay in Dean Winchester's arms for the rest of her life. She wanted to keep kissing him, to sweep everything off the counter and tear each other's clothes off and...

No. No, she didn't. She quickly shut down all thoughts like that and just focused on the facts. She knew this guy a lot better than she had an hour or two ago, but she still did not know him well enough to have sex with him, according to the rules she had lay down for herself after her rebellious stage, where she had a lot of meaningless sex and got nothing out of it. With a sigh, Julie pulled gently out of Dean's embrace and smiled at him. "I'm going to get some sleep," she said quietly. "You should too, Dean."

She worried for a moment that he would think she was rejecting him, but he didn't seem hurt or put out at all. He leaned back against the corner and said, "Goodnight, Jules."

"Julie," she corrected automatically, and he quickly apologized. But then she stopped. Jules didn't make her feel flimsy and girly. Jules didn't remind her of her dead father. Jules was just a nickname, a pet name that had rolled off of Dean's tongue so easily he must have thought it before. A pet name only Dean could call her. She didn't mind that...

She turned to face Dean. "Wait. I actually...don't mind that. I can be Jules, to you."

Dean grinned that same half-grin she had first gotten out of him at that bar that first night, the one that had made her stomach twist then and did now. "Well then, I'll see you tomorrow, Jules."

"You _will_ be here tomorrow, then?" she asked, hating the desperation in her voice.

He smiled a little. "Do you want me to be?"

She thought about playing it cool, but decided against it. "Yes."

Dean Winchester smiled. "Well then, Jules, I'll be here. As long as you want me." There was a double meaning to those words, but she didn't care. She just hoped Dean knew that she might want him around for a very long time.

* * *

The next three days passed in a blur as Julie and Dean continued to fall for each other. Each morning, they would get dressed and rush downstairs just to see each other across the kitchen. They didn't bother trying to hide anything, making eyes at each other over the breakfast table, while Taylor pouted and Jasper watched, amused. The first day after that kiss in the shed, Julie had to run errands, and she and Dean got into his Impala and ran all the errands they could possibly think of. They had lunch at a nice diner and then Julie took Dean to her favorite spot in town: the dock of the small manmade lake in town. They sat on the edge of the dock, hanging their feet over the edge and drinking beers, talking about their favorite songs and movies and silly, pointless things. The next day, they did inventory with Jasper and Taylor, cleaning weapons, did some shooting on the shooting range, played poker late into the night. And the next day, Julie woke to find that Dean had made plans for the day. He had two tickets to a baseball game, and they drove with the windows rolled down, blasting Metallica and AC/DC and Bon Jovi, singing at the top of their lungs. They watched the game, Dean's first baseball game ever, eating crap food and cheering for whatever team was winning, laughing and kissing under the bright summer sun. They hung out at the Carters' for a while, until Dean asked Julie out to a formal dinner date at the nicest place in town.

Dean had been trying his hardest to act like a normal boyfriend, going through the motions and kind of enjoying it. It was weird for him, going on a date with a girl, sitting and talking and getting to know her, actually enjoying himself. And he knew, he knew deep down he was falling in love with her, although he didn't want to admit it. He just didn't fall in love; he was Dean Winchester. He had really only been in love once, and that had not ended well.

But Dean put on his cheap FBI suit for the date and waited at the bottom of the stairs for Julie. And the moment she came down, wearing a sexy black dress, blond curls curled tighter, wearing only a little makeup and black heels, Dean knew it was all worth it.

He was adorably bad at this whole dating thing, Julie thought. He remembered to open the car door for her and pull her chair out for her at the restaurant, but he was so inexperienced and nervous that she finally just kissed him to calm him down. After that, they were able to talk and eat and laugh like normal. And as Julie stared at Dean across the table, as he made her laugh and she took in how unfairly gorgeous he was in a suit, she knew. She was in love, and that was not good. Not good at all.

But then why was she so happy?

After dinner, they got in Dean's Impala and just drove for a while. They drove back to the dock and sat on the edge again. Julie kicked her heels off and dangled her feet over the moonlit water and leaned back into Dean's solid warmth. And then they really talked. They talked about their dreams in life. Julie told Dean about her rebellious stage, where she had gone to medical school and gotten her degree to be a nurse, and how she had slept around a lot. That reminded Dean of Sam running away to college, and he told her more about Sam. They talked about past relationships. Dean told her about Ben and Lisa, and in return Julie told him about her most recent boyfriend, James Hawthorne, a fellow hunter who she had really liked and dated for six months, but who had then wanted her to stop hunting and work only as a nurse so she could raise their kids. That had not gone over well with her, and they had broken up.

Eventually, they drove back to the Carters' house. Dean walked Julie to the stairs before they said goodnight. He kissed her once, long and soft, and that seemed like it would be it. "I had a great time tonight," he said softly.

"Me too," Julie smiled.

Dean took a deep breath. "Look, Julie...I'm no good at sappy stuff like this, but...these past few days...they've changed me. I'm still a screwed up mess, but I'm so much the better for knowing you. You are probably the best woman I have ever known and I...I care about you. A lot. I have a terrible life, and I would never want to drag anybody into it, but, Jules, I..."

Julie pressed a finger to his lips to stop him. "I love you too," she whispered with a little smile.

For a long second, they stared at each other. And then, gently, Dean leaned in and kissed her. It was a good kiss, but it left her wanting more. Julie grabbed the collar of Dean's shirt and pulled him closer. They kissed more passionately, lips moving together, Julie fumbling around until she undid Dean's tie and pulled his jacket off. Then, finally, Dean couldn't take it anymore, and he picked her up easily and carried her into his bedroom.

Dean never forgot that night, no matter what he went through. It was always there, one of the best nights of his life, the first with the woman who would soon become the love of his life.

* * *

The next five days passed happily, Dean and Julie falling more and more in love. Each morning they would get up after a perfect night together, shower and get dressed, and come downstairs to a breakfast of teasing from Julie's family. They didn't care. They were high on their new love, spending every second possible together. However, as the days passed, they began to get restless. They had not hunted in a while, and being idle was not something hunters knew how to do. And so, finally, Julie brought up the subject of leaving. Dean didn't want to take her from her family, but they both agreed this couldn't go on forever. And so Julie left her home to hunt with Dean Winchester.

Their goodbyes were hard, especially for Julie. She had to say goodbye to the slutty, annoying, bitchy cousin who had become a sister to her. She had to say goodbye to the beloved uncle who had become a father to her. But Dean and Jasper's goodbye was the hardest.

Jasper pulled Dean aside. They all knew that he was the hunter of legend by now, so he said, "Dean Winchester. You're one of the greatest hunters in the world. You're a good man, and you love my niece. Hell, over these past weeks you've become like a son to me. But I made a promise to my little brother as he died, that I would keep his daughter safe. Can you imagine your brother giving you one last request, how badly you would want to follow it?"

Dean thought of Sam's last wish, that Dean live with Ben and Lisa. And he had, right up until Sam returned. "I can, actually."

"Well then, you'll understand how hard it is for me to let Julie go," Jasper continued. "Dean...the people around you or your brother...they get hurt. They die. And I need to know, I need to hear you say...can you promise me you will keep my Juliet safe?"

And Dean looked at him with a heartbreaking expression and said, "No. No, Jasper, I can't. I would die to keep her safe, but I can't promise that."

Jasper sighed and nodded. "I know," he whispered. "I know..."

But Julie left with Dean anyway. And for a few weeks they lived the life of crappy motels and life-or-death hunts, always on the road, working a job. But eventually, Julie wanted more. So they settled down in a cute little town in Illinois. Dean got a job as a mechanic and Julie went to work at the hospital as a nurse. They were pretty popular, a new, attractive, young couple. Julie had a very close friend, Elaine, a fellow nurse and one of their neighbors, and Dean would often go out drinking with the three other men who worked at the mechanic's shop. Julie went shopping with some of the other women in town, and they were both hit on by both single people and people in relationships in the town. They would throw barbeques and watch games with their friends, doing a very good job of playing the role of happy, normal, all-American couple. It was exhausting but fun. And every day after work, when Dean would come into the house smelling of motor oil and sweat and scoop Julie up and kiss her, she would be so thankful for this life.

And every once in a while, they would disappear for a few days. None of the neighbors knew why, but they were actually on the occasional hunt that popped up nearby. And they were happy. They were happy, in love, living a "normal," settled-down life. And piece by piece, Julie picked up the broken man she loved and put him together until, finally, Dean was whole again. And he was happy, or as happy as he could be without his brother and Castiel. As happy as a Winchester could be.

And then, one fateful night, Sam Winchester broke into their home in the middle of the night, and everything changed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"Sam and Dean Winchester! We know you're in there, boys. Come on out to play!"

Julie shifted closer to Dean, instinctively, her leg brushing against his. Dean pressed his side against hers in a comforting gesture, keeping his eyes on the door and his shotgun raised. The voice they heard calling from the streets was a woman's, high and mocking and triumphant. Julie hated this whole situation, trapped in their warded house, surrounded by demons. She wouldn't mind if it weren't for all the innocent civilians in their unprotected homes. Her best friend, Elaine, lived just next door. When the demons got smart and went for victims to draw the boys out, she would be the first one.

"Got a plan, Sammy?" Dean muttered, on high-alert.

"My plan was to get here and warn you before these guys killed you," Sam shot back.

"Good plan."

"Oh, boys!" the demon out in the street shrieked. "It's not polite to keep a lady waiting..."

"Alright, here's the plan," Dean said grimly. "I'll go out in the street, distract them, start a fight. You know, my specialty. And you two run out the back and get out of here."

"Not happening," Sam and Julie said at the same time. Julie glanced up at Dean's huge, tough baby brother, and Sam nodded at her. It was just like Dean to want to sacrifice himself so that the people he loved could get out, and it was nice to see Julie wasn't the only one who refused to take that option anymore.

"Got a better idea?" Dean asked angrily, to a response of deafening silence.

"Do we have to drag you boys out ourselves?" the female demon cried. The Winchester brothers and Julie did not reply, but stood tensely by the door, armed and ready for an attack. "Here, I'll cut you a deal," she tried again. "Sammy, sweetheart, you send Dean out and we swear we'll let you go your merry way. We really only want big brother, see? After all, he's the one who killed our queen, not you."

"Great," Dean muttered. "More Abbadon followers."

"You've faced them before?" Sam asked, surprised.

"We've been quite popular with demons lately," Julie explained. "Abbadon enthusiasts especially. You'd think they would learn when not a single one of them ever comes back alive."

"I'm getting impatient, boys," the demon in the street cried. "You'd better come out to play before I start burning down houses and skinning the poor people inside."

"Gotta love demons," Dean muttered, and Julie could see the cold fury in his eyes. These were his friends, too. If that demon bitch and her friends so much as touched these innocent people...

"We need to go out and fight," Sam said firmly. "Otherwise, they'll start attacking civilians."

"I'll go out, and you and Jules go out the back way and sneak around and ambush them," Dean replied, picking up a flask of holy water and attaching it to his belt.

"Dean..." Sam started to protest, but he was cut short by a woman's scream.

"Too late!" the demon cackled. "Dean boy, I've got three of your neighbors out here, sweetheart. A pretty little brunette, and a nice couple. What are your name, folks?" There was a beat of silence, and then a woman's shriek of pain. Julie gasped and Dean had to grab her arm to keep her from tearing out of the house. "Alright...we've got an Elaine, and a Heather and a Greg. Sound familiar, honey? I think they know you, don't you folks? Wouldn't want to let your friends die for you, now would you?"

"Dean, those are our friends," Julie whispered desperately, clutching at his arm. "We have to help them!"

"I'll give you boys one minute to come out, and then I start snapping necks." Julie turned to stare, wide-eyed at Dean. _What do we do?_ her eyes asked him.

"Alright, Jules, I don't think they know about you," Dean said, thinking fast. "Sam and I will go out there and distract them, and you sneak around the back way and get them out safe, okay?"

"Alright," Julie breathed, grabbing Dean's hand. "Dean...be safe. You too, Sam."

The brothers nodded at her and then stepped out of the safety of the house into the street.

There were five demons, two possessing burly, construction-type guys, another in a woman in a business suit, one in a lawyer-type, suit-sporting guy, and one in a woman who was very obviously a prostitute from the skimpy outfit and heavy makeup she wore. The man and woman in suits were holding guns and had them pointed at two terrified women and one man. The older woman was clinging to the man, wearing a nightdress, her brown curls frizzy and wild, and the man wore a night-shirt and his boxers, his dark hair receding. A thin, terrified woman of about twenty-eight stood next to them, dark hair wild, wrapped in a cardigan, shaking with fear and cold. When the young woman saw Dean, she cried, "Dean!" The couple spotted him next, and the man yelled, "Dean, what the hell is going on?!"

"Friends of yours?" Sam muttered to Dean, who replied calmly, to his brother's surprise, "Yes."

"Alright, bitch, we're out here," Dean snapped as they reached the edge of the street, addressing the prostitute he was sure was the demon who had been addressing them before. "Now let those people go, and we'll settle this the old-fashioned way."

The demon laughed. "Drop your weapons, then we'll talk," she retorted. Sam and Dean dropped their shotguns and kicked them away when instructed to. Dean removed the holy water from his belt, and Sam was forced to hand over the demon-killing blade. Then one of the burly demons approached Sam and patted him down, finding another knife inside his jacket and taking it, while the lead demon approached Dean and patted him down slowly until she found the knife tucked away in his boot. She smirked as she took it, her hands lingering too long on every part of him.

"Hey, at least I'm getting felt up by the hot chick," Dean muttered to his brother, who almost smirked.

"Okay, we're unarmed," Sam said to the leader of the demons. "Now let these people go; they've done nothing wrong."

"All the more reason to keep them here," the female demon replied with a smirk. "They're friends of yours, aren't they, Dean?" she asked him with a sickly sweet smile. "They seem to know you at the very least."

"They're just people," was Dean's growled reply. "Let them go."

"Make me," she shot back, standing too close to Dean. "Come on, Dean. Show me those legendary skills. We've missed you these past few months. You haven't been hunting, not like Sammy here. I've been itching to peel the skin off your bones, to boil those pretty green eyes, and where were you? Pretending to be normal with these maggots?"

"I was trying to do you demons a kindness," Dean replied with a smirk. "Trying to give you sons of bitches a chance to recuperate after I killed so many of you, after I took down your precious queen."

The demon's pretty face twisted into a mask of hate and she punched him hard in the face. While Dean's vision went spotty, he heard his three trapped friends cry out. Dean ignored them. They had no idea who he was, how little a punch in the face hurt compared to the countless tortures he'd endured. He raised his head and grinned at the demon. "Sorry, sweetheart," he smirked. "I hope I didn't upset you."

"You will pay for what you did to the queen," she snarled. "You will suffer for all eternity in hell, after we've killed you and your precious brother."

"Do you have any idea how many demons have tried and failed to do that?" Sam smirked. "You're in over your head."

"We'll see who is really in over the head," the demon smirked. "Put them over there with the others," she ordered her fellow demons. The two burliest demons grabbed the Winchester's arms and pinned them behind their backs before marching them over to the other victims.

"I missed this, Sammy," Dean smirked. Sam just stared at his older brother, unable to comprehend the goofy grin on his face.

Sam and Dean were forced over to the other three people. "Dean, what's going on?" asked the pretty, dark-haired woman, Elaine, Julie's best friend. Her eyes were wide with fear and concern. "Are you okay?"

He almost laughed. "Me? I'm fine. You guys, are you okay?"

Dean's friends nodded, still pale and scared. The older woman, Heather, was staring suspiciously at Sam. "Who is that?"

"Sammy, meet my neighbors," Dean said brightly. "Heather, Greg, Elaine, meet my little brother, Sam. He's great, you'd love him. If you weren't probably about to die, that is..."

Everyone stared at Dean, unable to believe how calm and light-hearted he seemed right now. In truth, he was concerned, but he was still living on the high of having Sammy back in his life. Anything was possible now that he was back with his brother once more.

"Where's Julie?" Greg asked loudly. "Is she still in the house? Is she-?"

Elaine stomped on Greg's foot while Sam and Dean shot him terrifying glares. The older man wisely shut up, but the damage was done. The lead demon chuckled darkly. "What's this, Dean?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice. "Is there someone else I'm forgetting about? Do you have a pretty little girlfriend hiding in there?"

She came too close to him once again, and Dean glared down at the demon before him. Her eyes flashed completely black and Heather shrieked. The demon gave Dean a cat's grin and cried, "Torch the house! If there's someone still in there, make sure they can't get out."

One of the demons moved towards Dean's house, getting lighter fluid out of a nearby truck. Elaine gasped and Greg went white as a sheet. Heather began to wail hysterically as the demon lit the front door on fire. As for Sam and Dean...the brothers exchanged a concerned glance. There was a good chance that Julie got out already, but if she hadn't...if she was in that burning house...

Dean watched his home slowly go up in flames, a cold sense of dread and fear filling him. Heather was crying, and Elaine drew closer to Dean and asked in a soft, terrified voice, "Dean...was she in there?"

Before he could reply, the main demon cried, "I hope you weren't too attached to this 'Julie,' Winchester, because she'll soon be dead. Just like you."

"Well, bitch, what are you waiting for?" Dean snarled. Whether or not Julie had been in the fire, that was his house she had just lit on fire. He was ready for a fight.

She didn't reply, just punched him again. His ears were still ringing from the punch when she hit him in the gut. If not for the demon holding him up, he would have collapsed. His friends shrieked while the demon hit him again and again, laughing, and he was vaguely aware of Sam struggling and swearing nearby. But there was nothing anyone could do as the burly demon holding him up finally threw him to the ground at her feet and the demon lifted his bloody head by his hair, tracing his own demon-killing knife along his jaw.

"_You_ are the great Dean Winchester who killed our queen?" she smirked, adjusting her grip on the knife and preparing to slit his throat. "Well...let me just say, you were an utter disappointment."

"I'll try to do better next time," Dean smirked, and then he kicked the demon's legs out from underneath her.

Julie, who had been hovering nearby in the shadows, everything in her screaming to kill the bitch hitting her boyfriend, leapt forward now, while the demon's leader was still surprised. She hurled her silver angel blade through the air and it landed with a satisfying _thunk _in the back of the demon holding Sam's arms. The younger Winchester immediately tackled the nearest demon, and Julie retrieved her blade from the demon's back.

"Julie?" Heather cried in a shocked, horrified voice.

"Oh my god…" Greg whispered.

Julie didn't have time to even spare them a glance. Dean had tackled the demon, and they were scrabbling wildly on the ground, kicking and punching each other as they both tried to reach Dean's demon-killing knife lying a couple feet away. Normally, Dean would overpower the demon, but his face was covered in his own blood and he was still a little weak and sore from the serious beating he had just taken. Julie took a step to go to his aid, but then Elaine shrieked and something came whistling towards her.

Julie ducked just before a bullet whizzed over her, right where her head had been. She turned on the demon firing on her, a woman in a pantsuit, and managed to slice her shooting arm. The demon dropped the gun and shrieked horribly at Julie before lunging at her.

The two women spun in a blur of flying fists and feet until Julie managed to get in a good solid hit to the demon's head. She was stunned for a moment, and in that second, Julie drove her blade hilt-deep into the demon's heart. The demon flashed with a fiery light and collapsed, dead.

She whirled around, just in time to see Sam scoop up a nearby shotgun and fire two rounds of salt into the two demons he had been sparring. They collapsed, unconscious, and Sam and Julie both turned just in time to see the female demon finally pin Dean down.

"Dean!" they both shrieked, but the hardened hunter wasn't done yet. He grinned, his teeth stained with his own blood, and drove the blade, which he somehow must have grabbed during the scuffle, into her gut. The demon shrieked, glowing with the same fiery light as the other two demons Julie killed, and then died. Dean threw the poor, dead woman who had been possessed off of him and Julie and Sam rushed to help him to his feet.

Dean was weak and battered, but somehow still grinning. "Looks like we're back in business, Sammy," he smirked as they were finally able to haul him to his feet.

Sam shook his head with a little smile, and they turned to the three humans. Heather and Greg were clinging to each other, pale and terrified. Elaine's eyes were wide with fear and amazement. "What just…?" she started to ask in a trembling voice.

Julie sighed internally. Here we go. She was about to lose three friends and she knew it. "Look, guys, if you would just let us explain…" she started.

She took a step towards her friends, but they all backed away. "I don't know what the hell just happened, but I swear, if you don't stay right where you are…" Greg said, trying to sound fierce, but he was shaking.

Dean pushed off of Sam and stood on his own. "Greg, listen to me-"

"Stay away!" Heather shrieked, and he too froze.

"Let us explain, please," Julie said quietly.

"You…you're killers! You're crazy!" Greg snapped. "I don't know who the hell these people were, but you killed them."

"Hey, look pal, they were going to kill you if we didn't stop them," Sam snapped.

"Sam…" Julie said in a warning voice.

"Who are you people?" Elaine asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

Julie looked so heartbreakingly sad, Dean wanted to hug her and hide her away from this mess. "We're the same people you knew before, your friends," Julie insisted.

"You're crazy," Greg said. "Stay away from us! I'm calling the cops!"

He and Heather took off for their home. "Hey, Greg!" Dean yelled. "Come on, man! We just saved your friggin' lives!"

"Elaine…" Julie tried, but the young woman turned and fled back to her own home. Julie sighed, defeated.

"Look, guys, I'm really sorry, but we've got to go," Sam said gently, touching his brother's arm. "The cops will be here soon."

"Right, right…" Dean sighed. "Okay. You two go and exorcise those poor guys over there, and I'll see if I can get anything out of the fire."

"Be careful," Julie said softly, gently touching his arm.

Dean nodded and left his brother and his girlfriend to clean up their mess. The whole house hadn't burned just yet, and Dean was able to slip in the back door and get the emergency supplies they kept in the closet before the smoke became too much. When Julie and Sam returned, they found Dean sitting on the Impala, holding two bags of spare clothes, weapons, salt, a couple thousand dollars, a little bit of food, and studying a picture. Julie smiled a little when she saw it was the two of them, arms around each other's waists, grinning at the camera. Really, truly happy.

"Let's go," Sam said gently.

"Where?" Dean asked hollowly.

"Look, Dean…" Sam took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. About me and Cas leaving you before. It was wrong, it hurt you, and…I'm sorry."

"It wasn't wrong, Sammy-"

"No, it was," Sam said firmly. "You're my brother, and you needed me, and I wasn't there. But…I'm here now, and, if you can forgive me…do you…will you and Julie come back to the bunker with me? And stay there?"

There was a tense moment, and then Dean broke into a grin and hugged his brother. "Are you kidding me, Sammy? Of course I'll come back!"

He glanced at Julie. Before he could even ask, she said, "Of course."

Sam smiled. "Alright then. Well, before the cops come and arrest us…what do you say we go home?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Dean stretched out across his old bed on his stomach, resting his head on his arms. This room was so familiar to him, his home for a year, along with his brother. Though it had been nine months since he had last lived here, this room was the same. The same books of lore and porno magazines he'd spent hours poring over. The same bed where he'd spent countless nights not sleeping. Those familiar spots on the wall which he had stared at for hours, struggling with a new case or the guilt of lying to Sam or the awful nightmares brought on by the Mark and the Blade, the desire to get up out of bed and stride into his brother's room and end his life with a single swing of his Blade, to end all lives…

He shook off those awful thoughts, but he felt the burn begin again in his forearm. He resisted the urge to scratch at the Mark and tried to put it from his mind. It hadn't bothered him in so long, hadn't caused him to think like this or burned or even itched in so long…

The reason why stood in front of him, unpacking their two emergency bags and a few other supplies they had picked up along the way into the lone dresser and the closet. Dean watched her move with efficiency, making the room look like a home in the space of a few minutes like only a woman could. He shook his head as he took her in, a pretty, slim, young woman in jeans that fit her in just the right way and a sweater that hugged her curves perfectly. For a minute, Dean just stared at her hair, a lovely shade of gold in the yellow light of the room, tied in a loose knot at the base of her neck. She hummed a little as she finished folding his flannel shirts into a drawer of the dresser. He smiled.

"There," Julie sighed after a while, dusting her hands off. "Everything is officially unpacked."

"Great," Dean chuckled. "Now why don't you lie down, get some sleep? You've been awake over twenty-four hours."

"I am a _hunter_, Dean Winchester, I can go for _days _without sleep," Julie retorted with a smirk, turning to a stack of Dean's old stuff that Sam had left untouched all this time Dean had been gone.

Dean smirked and shook his head again. There was something both wonderfully familiar and unsettling about seeing Julie in his old room, a place he had only shared with Sam and occasionally friends like Kevin or Charlie or Cas, or reluctant allies like Crowley. Things were changing here at the Men of Letters bunker. Dean had no idea what the future may hold, but he was pretty sure that he was going to like it, having the two people he loved most together with him in the same place.

"Uh…Dean, sweetie…what is this?" Julie asked carefully, holding up a faded copy of the unmistakable porn magazine he had once loved, _Busty Asian Beauties._

Dean swallowed and laughed nervously. Okay, so maybe things wouldn't be all happy and fun with Julie here at the bunker after all.

"In my defense…this was long before I met you," Dean said quickly, giving a hopeful, winning smile.

Julie rolled her eyes at him and shrugged it off like it was nothing, although he did catch her crumple the magazine slightly before stuffing it back in the pile. "C'mere," Dean grinned. She rolled her eyes again, but she did come and sit on the bed next to him. Dean sat up and pulled Julie into his lap, kissing her before she could protest.

After a moment, she pulled away, laughing a little. "You can't appease me just like that," she said, trying to sound gruff and failing miserably.

"I'll just have to try harder," he smirked, pushing her gently onto her back and straddling her.

"I thought I was supposed to sleep," she replied with a smirk.

Dean didn't reply, just kissed her again. Julie gave in and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him even closer. Dean smiled as he brushed his lips across her collarbone, slowly untangling her hair out of its knot, letting her hands slip up under his shirt…

* * *

Dean awoke several hours later, Julie's head resting on his chest, her golden curls trailing across his skin. Before he could quite gather where he was, someone knocked on his door, and Sam's voice came through the door. "Dean…you up? Dean, there's, uh…there's someone here who wants to see you."

Dean sat up a little in bed and Julie gave a soft moan and rolled over. "Sammy…?" Dean asked groggily. "What? Who are you talking about…?"

"It's me, Dean," a familiar low, rough voice said in its usual flat, awkward tone. Dean's eyes widened, and he was suddenly wide-awake. Next to him, Julie groggily opened her eyes and sat up, pulling the sheets up to cover her.

"Cas?" Dean called after a moment. "What are you doing here?"

"Look, Dean, why don't you come on out here and we'll talk," Sam said quickly.

"I don't understand, why don't we just go-"

"He's got a girl in there, Cas," Sam said in a quiet voice that somehow all four of them heard.

"Oh."

"I'll be out in a minute, guys," Dean called after a moment, and he heard their footsteps retreat into another room.

He turned to Julie's wide blue eyes and unruly blond bedhead and almost smiled. "Was that really…?" she started to ask.

"Castiel?" Dean smirked. "Yeah, yeah it was. I had better get dressed and talk to him."

Julie watched Dean quickly find a clean pair of pants and a dark button-down shirt. "Dean…how are you feeling?" she asked gently.

"About last night?" He took a moment to grin at her. "Pretty damn good."

Julie rolled her eyes as she got out of bed herself and started getting dressed. "I mean about Cas. And Sam too, for that matter. I mean, they were gone for nine months, and now they're just back in your life and I just…are you sure you're okay?"

Dean stopped for a moment to think, and then smiled. "Jules, I really am."

She couldn't resist smiling, too. "I'm glad." They kissed for a brief moment before continuing to get dressed. Once Dean was fully dressed and Julie was wearing a tank top and jeans, Julie stopped him for a moment and said, "I'm glad you're happy, Dean, but…are you sure I really belong here?"

"What?" Dean cried. "Jules, of course you do!"

"Dean, you've gone through more with this angel and your brother than I probably ever will with you, and I just…I don't want to make things uncomfortable for you guys," she said carefully. "I don't want to get in the way."

Dean took her hands. "Julie Carters, I love you. If these guys want me back in their lives, then they sure as hell better be ready to take you in too. Besides, they'll love you. Sam already does!"

"Really?" Julie asked uncertainly.

"A couple nights ago, at the motel? You and Sammy were hitting it off so well I barely got a word in edgewise!"

Julie laughed a little. "You ready to meet a real live angel?" Dean smirked after a moment, and he pulled Julie out of the room with him before she could protest.

Dean froze for a moment, staring at the two men talking in the main hall of the bunker. There was his brother, his tall, buff, floppy-haired bitch of a brother that he loved. And there was his best friend, or his former best friend, a dark-haired, blue-eyed guy in a trench coat. You would never think that the not-very-impressive guy in front of you was a kickass angel unless you had fought side-by-side with him or been dragged out of hell by him.

Sensing that Dean was there, Cas glanced over and froze as well. For a long moment, the two men stared at each other, until Julie, who was hovering behind Dean, gave him a little nudge forward.

The spell was broken, and Dean walked up to the two other men, Julie following a few steps behind him. "Sorry about that, Cas," Dean said, trying to act as if it had been nine days since he had seen the angel, and not nine months. "Eight in the morning is far too early to expect _me _up."

Cas just stared at him. Dean swallowed. "So. Uh, what's up? Just dropping by, or…"

"He's got a case for us," Sam said quickly, stepping in when Castiel said nothing.

"Really?" Dean said. "What are we dealing with? More demons? Monsters?"

"Angels, actually," Castiel said.

Julie blinked, but didn't say anything. "I thought you took all the angels back up into heaven with you when you took down Metatron," Dean said slowly.

"There were a few angels who had learned to appreciate earth and wished to stay," Cas admits. "And…there were others who did not trust me, and did not want to return to a heaven where I was in control."

Dean felt a twinge of sympathy for this angel in front of him. It was pretty clear his friend didn't want to be in control either, but God had up and left during the apocalypse, and no one knew where he had gone to, leading to a civil war between Castiel's angels and Raphael's angels, and then later a war between Metatron and Cas. The angel before him had already had a rough life, but it had gotten so much worse since he had become Dean's friend. Dean couldn't blame him for leaving…

"Cas says that a couple angels here on earth have gone a little kill-crazy, smiting people who preach falsely or non-believers," Sam explained. "They're killing people, and we've got to stop them, and Cas's grace is too weak for him to do it on his own…"

"Wait, what?" Dean asked. "Cas, are you okay?"

"I…am fine, Dean," the angel said haltingly. "My powers have not been the same since Metatron made me human, but…I am okay."

Dean nodded, and for a moment they just stared at each other. Then Cas's blue eyes flicked to the woman hovering nearby, and he frowned.

"Who is…?"

"Cas, this is Julie Carters," Sam said quickly. "Dean's girlfriend."

"Dean's…" Cas repeated slowly. His expression was unreadable. "I see. A lot had changed with you, hasn't it, Dean?"

Dean chuckled nervously. "Uh…yeah. Yeah, a lot has."

For a moment, no one spoke. Then Julie stepped forward and held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Castiel," she said kindly. "Dean's told me a lot about you."

Cas stared at her hand for a moment before shaking it. His face was still blank, and Julie stepped back, sensing that he didn't seem to like her much. When the angel didn't reply, Sam stepped in.

"Well, we should get to work on that case," he said quickly. "Cas, do you have any leads?"

"I know who the angels are," the angel said gravely. "One is Rebekah. She was once a lieutenant of mine, and very powerful if a bit…harsh. The other is Jonah, an old friend of hers. Jonah does not seem the type to kill like this, so I would assume he is simply following her orders. Either way, they must be stopped."

"Right, so we'll find these angels and put a stop to them before they kill somebody else," Dean said.

"Dean, wait," Cas said quickly. "We do not want to just kill them. They may be killing humans, but they are still my family. And we do not have a lot of angels left. If there is any way we can stop them without killing them…that would be ideal."

"Got it," Dean replied. "Stop them without killing them. Sounds simple enough."

"Now we've just got to find them," Sam sighed.

"They're not too hard to track," Cas admitted. "Most people notice when an angel smites someone in broad daylight."

And so, the three hunters and the angel went to work, searching for a lead. It was only a couple hours before they found a pastor who had been smote only a few hours ago, in a neighboring state. But within those couple hours, it became pretty clear that Cas was not very fond of Julie.

It wasn't anything she had done. In fact, Julie was perfectly kind and accepting of Castiel. But he was cool and distant, all but ignoring her. It was bothering Dean, and it was making Julie feel even more out of place. As they prepared to head out, Sam grabbed Dean's arm and pulled him aside.

"I'm sure you've noticed how Cas is behaving," Sam muttered.

"Yeah? What am I supposed to do about it?" Dean shot back.

"Look, I don't know what's up with him, but I'm pretty sure being in the car with Julie for three hours is not going to help."

"What are you suggesting, Sam?"

"We split up," Sam sighed. "I'm perfectly happy to drive with Cas, and you with Julie, but…I think it would also really help not just Cas, but you, if you two worked together." Sam's face softened. "Cas really missed you Dean, and I'm sure he wants to fix your relationship as much as you do. And I think the best way for you two to do that…"

"Is to go kill some sons of bitches together, yeah, I know," Dean sighed. "That sounds good, I guess. You sure you and Jules will be okay?"

Sam turned around to look at Julie, who was standing nearby, carefully not making eye contact with Castiel. "Hey, Julie!" She looked up. "You cool with riding with me and investigating just the two of us?"

She smiled. "Sure, Sam. Sounds good."

Sam turned to Dean with a smirk. "We'll be fine. You'll have enough to worry about just you and Cas."

And so, the two groups split up. Cas and Dean went to investigate the church where the pastor had been killed, and Sam and Julie went to investigate the nearby churches and places where the angels would most likely strike next. Sam and Julie's car ride was easygoing and fun, the two of them chatting happily and getting to know each other better, listening to the classic rock Dean so loved, or riding along in an easy, comfortable silence.

Then there was Cas and Dean's car ride.

At first, the two estranged friends had nothing to talk about. Dean's classic rock blared out of the car as they drove in silence. Then, Dean was brave enough to ask, "How have things been, Cas?"

"Good, I suppose," his old best friend sighed. "Sam and I…we've been hunting together occasionally."

"Yeah, I heard."

"Yes…well, we've been good. Okay, at least." Castiel sighed.

"Alright, cut the crap, Cas," Dean snapped. "You're not okay, are you? What took you so long to get to the bunker? It's been three days since Sam called you to say he was going to find me, and you couldn't just zap yourself here or whatever it is you angels do?"

Cas was silent. Dean sighed. "Right. You said something about your grace not being strong enough…is that true?" The angel nodded. "So…what does that mean? You don't have your mojo?"

"That's part of it," Castiel admitted. "I am weaker now than I have been in a while. Hannah and some of my other followers are supporting me, but…I can't keep it up like this for much longer."

Dean spared a concerned glance for the angel that was once his best friend. "What does that mean, Cas?"

"It means…well, I'm not sure, Dean. But…I'm fairly certain unless I find another angel's grace to take, well…I may die."

Dean shook his head. "Not happening. Alright, if we can't reason with one of these angels, we'll take their grace, okay? You're not dying on us, you hear me?"

Dean glanced over at Cas when he didn't reply, and was surprised to see the angel smiling. "What?"

"I missed you, Dean."

"I…I missed you too, Cas."

After that, the two friends were able to slip into their usual banter, Dean teasing Cas and roaring with laughter at the angel's naivety, and by the end of the car ride, things were almost back to normal between them.

The two of them changed into cheap suits, fished out the good old FBI badges, and entered the church. Almost immediately, a distraught, frizzy-haired woman in her forties leapt on them. "You must be here about Pastor Jacobs!"

"I, uh…" Cas stammered.

"We are," Dean said firmly. "Agents Shirley and Jonathan. What can you tell us about the victim?"

"Oh, he was just wonderful!" she cried. "He was the nicest man, so good to everyone. He never hurt anyone, and I just don't understand why…why anybody would want to hurt him!" She was dissolving into tears, and Dean did his best to soothe her.

"Did you see him die?" Cas asked bluntly. Dean shot him a look over the stunned woman's head.

"I…I did, yes," she said in a shaky voice.

"Ma'am, I know this must be very painful for you, but can you please tell us what happened?" Dean said as gently as possible.

"He…he was right up there," she said, pointing at the pulpit. "He was teaching a Wednesday night Bible study and then…" Her bottom lip shook. "A strange woman came in. No one knew her, and she said…she said he was a hypocrite. Then she said she was from…from _God, _and then she…she touched his head and then his eyes bled and…and…"

The woman dissolved into tears again. Dean awkwardly patted her shoulder and consoled her. Once she had collected herself a little more, Cas asked, "I am sorry for your loss, ma'am. But, uh…do you have any idea what this woman meant, about him being a hypocrite?"

She frowned. "Well…people say the most awful rumors, you know how it is…but some people believed he was cheating on his wife. With a _twenty-year-old. _It's ridiculous, but…"

"Thank you for your time, ma'am," Dean said quickly. "We will do everything we can to catch the killer."

Once they were out, Dean turned to the angel beside him. "First off, how many times do I have to tell you: _empathy_!"

Cas sighed. "If that rumor is true, that would explain the angel killing him," he said. "And it sounds like Rebekah did it. It's very much her style, dramatically accusing her victim before she smites him…"

"Alright, so we know who, and we think we know why," Dean muttered. "Now we need to figure out where this Rebekah bitch is and stop her before somebody else dies."

* * *

"That's the third church today, Sam," Julie sighed, sitting on the hood of the car. "I'm having no luck finding angels by pretending to be an innocent passerby. How's the fake fed doing?"

"No better," Sam admitted, sitting next to her and loosening his tie. "I really hope Cas and Dean have a lead, or else we're screwed."

"Right, Cas…" Julie muttered.

Sam studied her. "Is he bothering you that much?"

"I just don't get it!" Julie said. "I'd really like to like the guy, as much for Dean as for myself. But I feel like he hates me, and I have no idea why!"

"My guess would be he's jealous," Sam shrugged.

"You're kidding, right? Why would a freaking _angel_ be jealous of _me_?!"

Sam smirked. "My brother and Cas…they've got an..._interesting _relationship. I don't know what's going on between them. I feel like I never do. But…they're close. Or at least they were. Cas isn't going to like anyone else getting close to Dean, and he probably is also hurt that Dean went and found someone else while he was separate from Cas."

"Wait. Are you saying Cas and Dean were like…together?" Julie said slowly.

"No! No, nothing like that," Sam said quickly. "Just that…well, Cas is very protective of Dean, and the other way around. He doesn't know you well enough to realize you would never hurt Dean."

"And if he keeps this up, he may never know me well enough to realize that," Julie muttered, pulling her hunting jacket tighter around her.

"Hey," Sam said gently. "Give it time. Cas is still getting used to having Dean back. Before long, he'll love having you around. He just needs time to adjust. I mean, hell, it was months before he got used to Dean, and look at them now!"

"Where are they, anyway?" Julie muttered. "I thought we were meeting them some time soon."

"They're over at the dead pastor's house, investigating," Sam explained. "They aren't sure when they'll be back."

"So…next church then, I guess?" Julie sighed.

Sam pulled out the keys and they drove to the next church on the list. This church had lost one of their leaders two days ago, and they were holding a prayer meeting for him. Sam went around talking to church leaders, trying to get information, but no one had been at the church when this man had died.

Meanwhile, Julie joined the thirty or so people talking quietly or praying in the pews. She had learned long ago that sometimes being a pretty woman could get you answers that even an FBI agent couldn't get. So she set out for the nearest guy around her age, a skinny, nerdy-looking guy sitting and talking with a couple people around her age.

"Hey," she said shyly, and he looked up, smiling.

"Uh, hi," he stammered. "Would you like to sit?"

"Thank you," she blushed, playing the shy, pretty new girl perfectly. She sat down next to him and he smiled eagerly at her.

"I'm, uh, I'm Alex," he said almost nervously.

"I'm Natalie," Julie said, saying the first name she thought of.

"Are you new here? I don't remember seeing you here before."

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm new in town," she admitted. "I came to see about joining this church and I was just wondering why there are so many people here."

"Oh, well…" Alex glanced over at the young man and woman next to him, who were bent over in prayer. "One of the leaders here, Frank Halstead…well, he died a couple of days ago."

"That's horrible!" she said. "Do they know what happened?"

"People are saying heart attack, but…" He glanced around excitedly.

"But what?" Julie asked.

"I was here with one of my buddies the night they found him," Alex admitted. "I saw the guy, and, well…I don't want to scare you."

"What do you mean?" she asked, putting on a confused expression and batting her eyelashes.

"I don't think it was a heart attack," Alex muttered, proud of himself for figuring this out. "His eyes…they were all bloody. I've never seen anything like it."

"Wow," Julie breathed. "That's…that's crazy. What do you think caused it?" She gasped. "You don't think…someone actually killed him, do you?"

"Nah," Alex said, blowing it off.

"No?" the young woman sitting nearby asked, sitting up. She had shoulder-length red curls and she was rather pretty, although her face was stony.

"Oh. Uh, hi, Kathy. Didn't see you there," Alex said nervously.

"Do you think he was killed?" Julie asked Kathy innocently.

The woman narrowed her eyes at Julie. "I…I do not. But he was a liar, and he preached lies. I can see why someone would kill him."

"Kathy, that's horrible!" Alex, said appalled. "Frank was a good man."

The young man next to Kathy sat up. He looked to be about Julie's age, with a slightly less stony expression than her, but he still seemed cold. "Perhaps we should go, Kathy," he said carefully.

They both stood and walked stiffly away. Alex stared after them, confused. As for Julie…well, as suspicious as they seemed, she was distracted by Sam, who looked almost comedic, a good head taller than anyone else in the church, dressed in a suit, and looking more than ready to go. He shot her a look, and she nodded.

"I should probably go, too," Julie told Alex. "It was nice meeting you."

"You too, Natalie," he smiled.

She almost felt bad for lying to him. He seemed like a nice enough guy. She gave him one last smile and walked over to where Sam waited, near the door. "Any luck?" she asked under her breath.

"Same old, same old," he sighed. "You?"

"Not much," she muttered. "Let's go."

What neither of them noticed was the young man and woman watching them suspiciously. When the FBI agent and the new girl walked out together, Kathy smirked and shook her head. "I knew there was something off about that Natalie girl."

"Did you see him?" the young man hissed nervously.

"The tall one in the suit? He was a little hard to miss," she snapped.

"Bekah, that was a _Winchester_!"

"You think I don't know that?" she hissed.

"If there's a Winchester on our trail…"

"Don't worry, Jonah," "Kathy" smirked. "The other one is out of commission, remember? We'll take care of him and that girl before they get in our way."

"Rebekah, are you sure-" Jonah started.

"How many of our brothers and sisters has that man killed?" the angel snapped, turning on her companion. "We will end him before he ends us."

"One problem," Jonah pointed out. "Castiel is supposedly travelling with the Winchester."

Instead of looking scared like he expected, Rebekah grinned. "Perfect," she smiled. "If Castiel is indeed here, he will come for his human friend, I'm sure of it." She shook her head. "Alright, Jonah. I have a new plan…"

Julie leaned against the wall of the church as Sam dialed Dean's number. There were no other churches they could think to investigate, and the two hunters were all out of options. But Dean still wasn't picking up. "He and Cas must still be busy," Sam sighed, hanging up.

"What do we do now?" Julie sighed.

Before Sam could reply, something collided with the back of his head. Julie cried, "Sam!" as he collapsed to the ground, unconscious. But before she could even get her knife out, a silver angel blade was pressed against her neck and someone pinned her arms to her side.

Julie swallowed carefully, trying to avoid cutting her neck on the cold blade pressed to her throat. Her eyes were locked on her friend, sprawled unconscious on the ground. But as she stared at Sam, a woman stepped over his fallen body and she stared at the redhead from inside the church, Kathy.

Julie glared at her. "I knew something was off with you," she spat at the woman before her.

"Kathy" smirked at her, stepping closer to study her. "I'm afraid I don't know who you are, girl," she said haughtily.

Julie just glared at her enemy. "Very well," the other woman sighed. "Jonah, take care of her. I'll deal with the Winchester."

Before Julie could even try and get free and help Sam, something hard hit the back of her head and everything went dark.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

The first thing Julie became aware of was the lump on the back of her head. For a moment, the pain was blinding, but slowly it faded to the point where she could open her eyes. She was in an old, dusty house, clearly abandoned. When she tried to move, she realized that her arms and legs were bound to a heavy, solid chair.

"Julie? Julie, are you okay?" Sam asked, sounding panicked. It took her a moment to realize that he was also tied to a chair back-to-back with hers. When she tried to move her hand, it brushed his.

"I'm okay, Sam," she said. "You?"

"Well, I'm tied to a chair in a strange house probably about to get killed, but you know, other than that I'm fine."

She snorted despite herself. "Has anyone come in yet?"

"No, but I've only been awake a few minutes," he admitted. Julie wished she could see Sam's face, but instead had to just focus on his voice and hope he was going to be okay. That they both were.

"Sam, I saw one of them before they got me," Julie said in a quiet, careful tone. "It's that redhead I was talking to before, Kathy. She seemed suspicious in the church, and I think she may be that Rebekah angel Cas talked about."

"So we got trussed up by the very angels we were trying to stop," Sam sighed.

Before Julie could reply, the young man and woman from the church walked in. Sam groaned. "Great. I'm guessing you two are Jonah and Rebekah?"

"How do you know about us, Winchester?" the man, Jonah asked, sounding more concerned than angry.

"He's working with the traitor Castiel, remember?" the woman, Rebekah snapped.

"Cas is not a traitor," Sam snapped. "If anyone is betraying heaven and their cause, it's you two."

Rebekah's eyes flashed. She moved in front of Sam. "You know not what you speak of, human," she snarled. "Castiel caused our people to fall. He started the civil war, and many of our brothers and sisters died because of him, and then he expects us to follow him and serve him again? No! I am no traitor for refusing to serve a murderer."

"Metatron is the one who made you all fall!" Sam protested. "Metatron started that whole war, Metatron is behind all of this. You can't blame Cas for somebody else's mistakes."

"Silence," she snarled. "I do not wish to hear you defend Castiel."

"Well then, what do you want?" Julie snapped. "Because we're not false preachers or anything like that, so whatever you're doing this for-"

"Be quiet, girl," Rebekah snapped, moving to face Julie. "I do not know who you are, but I do not need you alive. So you will do what you are told, or I will put you out of your misery."

"I'm actually not very miserable-" Julie smirked, but before she could finish whatever snappy comeback she was about to make, the angel smacked her so hard her head snapped to the side.

"Hey!" Sam yelled. "Leave her alone!"

"So she's your little girlfriend, then?" Rebekah smirked.

"What? No, she's…" Sam stopped himself. "Look, what do you want with us?"

"We don't want you," Jonah snapped. "We want Castiel. But you're how we find him."

"Fantastic," Julie muttered. "We're bait."

Rebekah picked up Sam's phone and dialed Cas's number. Sam swallowed. To his surprise, Julie took his hand, and for a moment he thought she wanted to hold his hand. Then he felt her fingers begin to pull at the complicated knots binding his wrist and understood.

While Julie worked painstakingly at the ropes, Cas picked up the phone. Rebekah put him on speakerphone so they could all hear him ask, "Sam? We just finished up at the pastor's house. Where are you two?"

Sam opened his mouth to shout at Cas, but Jonah pressed his angel blade against Sam's throat, daring him to speak.

"Sam can't come to the phone right now," Rebekah smirked.

There was a beat, and then Castiel growled, "Rebekah."

"That's right, Castiel," she smiled. "I have your little human friends, and I will end their pitiful lives if you do not surrender to me."

There was the sound of a scuffle on the other end of the call and then Dean's low, dangerous voice growled into the phone, "Listen, bitch. I don't know who the hell you think you are, but if you so much as touch either of them-"

"Who is this?" Rebekah asked haughtily.

"This is Dean Winchester, and I will personally kill you myself if you hurt either of them." Sam wanted to be happy with the knowledge that his big brother was out there, wanting to help him, but they were still in a whole lot of trouble. As for Julie, she had stopped trying to untie Sam when she heard Dean, but she started up again, fueled by the anger in his voice.

"I thought you were gone," Rebekah said flatly. "Possibly dead."

"I was, and now I'm back," Dean snapped. "Now you let the two of them go, or I swear to God I _will _kill you."

"You are in no position to make threats, Winchester," Rebekah said haughtily. "Now put Castiel back on the phone and learn your place."

"Leave Cas out of this," Dean snapped.

"This is _about_ Castiel," she said coldly. "If he doesn't surrender to us, then your brother and this girl will die."

"No," Dean snarled. "This is about you. You messed with the wrong people, sweetheart. So either you let my brother and 'that girl' go, or I kill you. That's how this is going to be."

Rebekah's eyes flashed. She turned towards Sam and Julie and studied them. "Cut the girl," she ordered Jonah.

"What?" Dean asked.

Jonah moved away from Sam and faced Julie. Rebekah moved closer and held the phone up to Julie. Carefully, Jonah made a cut from Julie's jaw down her neck, but she kept her teeth gritted, refusing to cry out. Sam, on the other hand, was snarling, "Stop it! Leave her alone! Hey!"

"What are you doing?!" Dean growled into the phone.

"This girl is stronger than I thought," Rebekah said, surprised. Then, without another word, she took Jonah's angel blade and drove it into Julie's shoulder.

Julie screamed through gritted teeth, and Dean yelled, "No!" into the phone. Rebekah pulled out the blade as Sam struggled wildly to get free and help his friend. When he realized how pitifully stuck he was, he had to settle for gently squeezing Julie's hand and telling her it would be okay.

"What did you do to her?!" Dean snarled into the phone, but there was fear mixed in with that rage.

"Dean, I'm okay-" Julie cried before Jonah hit her, silencing her.

"She is still alive, although that will change if you do not put Castiel on the phone right now," Rebekah snapped.

Dean hesitated for a moment, but within a few seconds they heard Cas ask, "What do you want of me, Rebekah?"

"There is an abandoned house about fifteen minutes away from the town you are currently in," the angel said slowly. "I will give you instructions and expect you here within twenty minutes. Any longer and these humans start losing fingers."

Rebekah left the room, continuing to talk on the phone with Cas, and Jonah followed her, pausing to give Julie an almost apologetic glance. As soon as they were gone, Julie hissed, "Sam, we have to get out of here!"

"How?" he shot back.

"See if you can untie me," she replied. "I have a knife that I can almost reach, and if I'm untied I can cut us free. Then, hopefully, when Dean and Cas get here, we can help them finish off these angels."

"Good plan," Rebekah smirked, and they realized with a start she had returned. "I'm afraid not, though. Jonah and I will be keeping a very close guard on you two until Castiel and your brother arrive here. After that, I'm afraid we'll have no further use for you…"

"Since when were angels murderers?" Julie snapped.

"We kill only those who deserve it," the angel said gravely. "Those who lie, those who cheat and steal, those who _kill,_" she added with a pointed look at them.

The two angels settled down to watch them, and Sam sighed. There was no way they were getting free with this close a guard on them. He put his head back in defeat and rested the back of his head against Julie's, trying not to think about the fact that this tough, funny, brave, wonderful girl he had known only a few days could be dead along with him, his brother, and Cas within a matter of minutes.

* * *

"If that bitch so much as touched them-"

"Dean, I'm pretty sure she touched them," Cas said gravely. "To capture them, she would probably have to touch them."

Dean stopped his ranting for a moment just to stare at his friend. "That's…that's not what I meant, Cas."

"Well, either way, she has Sam, and if you go in there guns blazing as usual, she'll kill him," Castiel warned him.

"And Julie," Dean said. "She has Julie too."

"Right. Julie." Cas stared straight ahead as Dean sped to the house where the two people he loved most were being held, his face blank. For some reason, that reaction, on top of everything else going on sent him over the edge.

"What is it about her you don't like, Cas? Because she's great, you know," Dean snapped. "You haven't even given her a chance, and you already hate her!"

"Is this really the time, Dean?" Cas sighed, and Dean didn't reply. After a moment, Cas added quietly, "And I don't hate her."

Before Dean could reply, they arrived at the abandoned house. It was out in the middle of nowhere, where no one would expect to find people, and no one could hear you scream. Great.

Dean and Cas got out of the car. They had formed a plan on the way over, but it was a crazy, reckless plan, and there were about a million ways it could go wrong. Dean fingered the silver angel blade tucked inside his jacket, full of a nervous anger. All he wanted to do was burst in there and skin the angels who had his brother and girlfriend, but their lives depended on him and Cas playing along with these angels.

Dean kicked the door down, which wasn't hard. The house was old, falling apart in sections, and the hinges were weak. There was no point in being stealthy, and anyway, Dean wanted to hurt something, even if it was just a door.

"In here," the woman's voice from the phone call said from a different room. Dean's fists clenched and he took a step towards her voice, but Cas rested a hand on his shoulder. Dean let his friend go first and followed the angel into what was once a sitting room. Two people were sitting in the center of the room, tied to back-to-back chairs. Dean had to fight the urge to leap forward at the sight of the woman he loved and his baby brother tied to chairs, and he had to fight the urge to kill these sons of bitches when he saw the blood on Julie's neck and shoulder.

"Sammy…" Dean breathed as his eyes met his brother's. Sam didn't look afraid, just calm and steady. He gave Dean an almost reassuring look, and that was when Dean realized. At some point, his baby brother had grown into this man in his thirties, a tough, strong, calm, steady man who didn't need Dean to save him anymore. And Dean wasn't sure if that made him proud or sad.

Julie turned her head, and her name slipped out of his mouth before Dean could stop himself. He took a step towards her, and the female angel chose that moment to step in-between them.

"You came, Castiel," Rebekah said calmly.

Cas studied her sadly. "What has happened to you, to drive to you to this, Rebekah?" he sighed. "These people have done nothing to harm you. Leave them out of this. It is me you want, not them."

"This girl was asking about the hypocrite I smote," Rebekah said coldly, sweeping her hand towards Julie. "And I'm sure that the Winchester was making similar investigations. They were hunting us, Castiel, with the intention of killing us."

"We didn't want to kill you-" Sam tried.

"Quiet!" Jonah snapped. "Why else would you be after us, _hunter_?"

"We did wish to stop you, but we had no desire to kill you," Cas said as calmly as possible. "And I was the one who involved them. Do not blame these people for my mistakes, Rebekah. Your quarrel is with me. Please, just let them go…all three of them."

Rebekah approached Castiel and they stared each other down. "You're quite fond of these humans, Castiel," she said softly. "You care for them."

He didn't reply. "I cared for my brothers and sisters, Castiel," she said coldly. "The ones that died in the fall. The ones that died fighting here on earth in your civil war. The ones you slaughtered when you were _God_. Don't you think it only seems fair to take the ones you care about? What is it—an eye for an eye?"

Cas winced. "So he messed up a few times," Dean snapped, moving protectively next to his friend. "We all do. That doesn't give you the excuse to kill him and all of his friends."

"Watch your tone with me, Winchester," she snapped. "I see no reason to spare you, so you should be very, very careful."

"Not exactly my strong point," Dean smirked cockily, and her eyes flashed.

"Bekah…" Jonah said carefully. "Castiel is not wrong. These humans…they're not part of this. You got what you wanted, you got him. Why…why not let them go?"

Rebekah shot him a look. "They must die. These humans are with Castiel, Jonah. They will only attempt to kill us if we do not kill them first."

"You're not wrong," Dean snapped, and before the angel could react, he pulled out his angel blade and drove it into her heart.

"Rebekah!" Jonah cried, as Castiel snapped, "Dean, wait!"

Jonah whipped out his blade and pressed it hard against Sam's neck. Dean froze, just now seeing the big gaping hole in his plan. His brother swallowed, taking shallow breaths to keep from cutting himself on the blade. As for Jonah, the distraught angel was frozen, staring at Rebekah's fallen body.

"Jonah, I am sorry it had to come to that, but please, do not cause any more bloodshed," Cas said as gently as he could.

"You killed her!" Jonah snarled at Dean. "She…she was the only friend I had left!"

"She wasn't herself anymore if she was killing humans," Cas said in the same soothing voice. "That was never our calling, and I think you know that, Jonah. It's our duty to protect humans, not kill them."

"But they can kill us?" Jonah cried, his eyes flicking from Dean to Rebekah.

Dean couldn't speak. All he could do was stare at his brother, one quick slice away from death. He couldn't do a single thing to save Sam, and any second that angel could go over the edge and kill his little brother.

"Jonah…I regret what Dean did, but he did not have much of a choice," Cas said slowly. "Rebekah had two of the people he loved most, and she was going to kill them. You know as well as I what it's like to lose those you love, and what someone will do to stop that from happening."

Jonah was breathing heavily, looking conflicted. "He killed my family," Jonah said quietly. "Why shouldn't I take his?"

"No!" Dean gasped, finally speaking. "No, no please…if you want to punish someone, punish me. Not him, please."

Jonah's hand was trembling, and Sam was pale. Every single one of them was silent, the entire room holding their breath to see what the angel would do.

"Jonah," Julie said softly, and the angel's wild eyes flicked to her. "I don't know you, and you don't know me. But you haven't done anything to make me believe that you don't have good intentions, even if you killed people and hurt me. Angels make mistakes as much as humans do. But please…Sam is a good man. And so is Dean, and so is Cas. Yes, they've made mistakes, but you're not exactly perfect yourself, are you? You didn't want to kill those humans, I don't think. But you were doing what you thought was right. And so were these men. They don't deserve to die, and neither do you. So please…don't shed any more blood today." She swallowed, and he still hadn't moved. "Please?" she whispered.

Hands trembling, Jonah stepped away from Sam. The entire room took a collective breath, just relieved that he wasn't going to kill Sam. "I…" he said softly.

"Thank you," Julie whispered.

After a moment, Dean moved forward and cut the two of them free. He helped Julie to her feet, studying her shoulder. "It doesn't look too bad," he said, more to himself than her. "Are you alright, Jules?"

"Yeah," Julie said quietly, letting him pull her into a very careful embrace. She buried her head in his shoulder, and Jonah stared at them, looking almost guilty.

"I never meant to hurt anyone," Jonah said quietly, and Cas put a hand on his shoulder.

"Neither did I, brother," Cas sighed softly, and the five of them left the house in silence.

* * *

"How's Cas doing?" Sam asked Dean.

"He's alright, I think," the elder Winchester sighed, pouring himself a glass of vodka. "He's in one of the spare bedrooms."

"So Jonah's back in heaven then?" Sam asked, taking the bottle from Dean and pouring himself a glass.

"Cas's lieutenant, that Hannah chick, she's got an eye on him," Dean explained. "He seems to be doing better, though."

"I'm glad you didn't kill him," Sam sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"I'm glad _he_ didn't kill _you_," his brother replied coldly.

"Yeah. You've got your girlfriend to thank for that. Without her and Cas to convince him, I'm pretty sure I'd be dead."

"And it would have been my fault," Dean muttered.

"Here we go," Sam snapped. "We're not starting this already, Dean. You are not going to blame yourself for every bad thing that happens."

"Like you and Julie getting kidnapped because I split off from you guys and I couldn't protect you? Or my girlfriend getting hurt because I wouldn't get off the damn phone? Or my brother almost dying because I couldn't control myself?"

"See, that's exactly what you're _not _going to do," Sam replied. "How is Julie, anyway?"

"She's a lot better," another voice said, and they turned to see Julie approaching, a clean white bandage on her shoulder. She smiled fondly at the brothers and kissed Dean on the cheek. "Where's Cas, honey? I'd like to talk to him, if you don't mind."

"Take a left over there, and then it's the second door," Dean told her. She smiled at him again and followed his instructions.

Sam smirked. "'Honey'?"

"Shut up, bitch."

"Jerk."

Castiel was seated on the edge of the bed, deep in thought, when he heard a soft knock on the door. "Yes?" he called.

"Cas, it's…it's Julie. Do you mind if I come in?"

Cas stiffened slightly, but he called, "Not at all." The door opened and the pretty, young, blond woman entered. She studied him for a moment with sharp, big blue eyes and gave him the tiniest of smiles. "How are you?" she asked carefully.

"I am…alright," he said in an equally careful tone. His expression softened as he noticed the bandage on her shoulder. "How are you, Julie?"

"I'm okay," she said honestly. "That could have been a lot worse."

"It would have been, if you hadn't gotten through to him," Cas replied.

"It wasn't all me."

There was a long pause. Then she sighed. "Look, Castiel, I get it. I'm new, you don't know me. I don't know you either, but I've heard a lot about you. You've saved Dean's life, and Sam's, and you died for them on more than one occasion. You're Dean's best friend in the whole world, and he cares about you a lot, and I'd really like for you to like me. However, I also understand that you have no reason to like me, or even trust me really, and I guess I'm just asking that you…give me a chance."

To her surprise, Castiel smiled. "There's something I never really told Sam," he said. "Every once in a while, when I was missing Dean or concerned about him, I would find him for just a few minutes, to make sure he was alright." Julie blinked. "I watched him fall in love with you. I saw what you did for him." Cas sighed. "I care about Dean Winchester a lot, and I know you do too. He loves you, Julie Carters, and that's more than enough reason for me to like you."

"But before…" she said slowly, still confused.

"I…I'm not sure what was wrong with me," Cas sighed. "Jealousy, I suppose. Dean doesn't have a lot of people very close to him, and I think I was a little concerned that he no longer wanted some angel around, when he was very clearly happy with you. But…you're a good person, Julie. You make him happy, and that's more important than my…insecurities."

Julie smiled at Castiel. "Thank you for that," she said softly. "That means a lot. Now I just hope that I can get you to like me for me, and not because Dean does."

Cas chuckled. "I think we can make that work," he smiled. After a moment he said, "Would you like to watch television with me, Julie? I don't exactly know what's good, and I'd appreciate your input."

To his surprise, she grinned and plopped down next to him. "Just wait, Cas. I've got some shows you'll love, and if not, then at least I'll be entertained."

As she flicked through channels, Castiel allowed himself a small smile. His own selfish desires aside, this woman was a wonderful person. The kind of person Dean deserved. He was just glad that Dean had found someone who loved him, and who made him happy.

Castiel settled back against the pillows with that wonderful person, and within the hour, the two were chatting happily, making jokes, and laughing at the television. Sam and Dean came to investigate, and the four sat down together to watch together, four hurting, tragic people who had found others who loved them, who they could depend upon. A family.

And for that brief moment at least, they were happy.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Officer Jim Morgan was having a bad day. He had woken up to his dog peeing on his foot, which would have been only a slightly annoying and extremely funny incident if he wasn't already ten minutes late to work. By the time he got to work, frazzled and still exhausted from working late into the night, his boss, Sheriff Anderson was pissed at him. Technically, Anderson was just pissed. Anderson was a big, beefy guy, good at his job, but angry at the world. He had never married, and he lived alone, which probably added to all of his anger, but today he had decided to focus all that rage on the unfortunate Jim Morgan, thirty-one, good-looking, good-natured Jim, good at his job and a nice enough guy who had just happened to be late that morning.

But that wasn't even the worst part. Over the past week, three men had gone missing, and yesterday, two of them had been found dead by a dumpster not far from the police station, completely drained of blood. Anderson had no leads, didn't even know what could have drained the bodies like they were, and not knowing made him angry. The whole police force was focused on this strange case, but because of Jim's lateness, he had gotten the worst job. While others got to go out and search for the place where the missing man, Jacob Lee, was, or got to flip through files, or got to take the bodies to the morgue, Jim got the worst job of all.

He got to deal with the feds.

They had called yesterday with the news of the third disappearance and said three agents would be coming to take over the investigation. Sheriff Anderson knew they could use the help, but he, like all small town cops, hated feds. The FBI swept in and took over your case, ignored all the hard work you did, and if they solved the case, they got all the credit. And it they didn't solve it, then no one blamed them. If the feds couldn't do it, no one could. As a rule of thumb, feds were dicks.

But Jim was willing to make an exception to that rule when the three agents entered the police station. There were two tall, classically handsome guys in suits, the kind of really good-looking guys that all other men immediately disliked. The taller one had longer hair framing his handsome face, and the shorter guy, still about six-two, had the absolutely unfair kind of face that made girls throw themselves at him. Jim wasn't a bad-looking guy himself, but these were the kind of guys who could easily beat him out, and they just had that air of arrogance and cockiness that made Jim immediately dislike them.

And then there was the other agent.

As handsome as these guys were, she was just as pretty. She was wearing a nice pantsuit, and somehow she looked sexy even in black slacks, a white button-down, and a jacket. She was plenty curvy, and she had shoulder-length blond curls, a very pretty face, and two of the prettiest blue eyes he'd ever seen. She, on the other hand, Jim liked immediately.

"You must be the agents who called yesterday," Jim said slowly, trying not to stare at the woman.

"That's us," Mr. Sexy over there said. He pulled a badge out of his suit jacket, and his two companions followed suit. "I'm Agent Johnson." He nodded at the shaggy-haired agent, saying, "That's Agent Black, and that's Agent Thorne."

Jim nodded. "I'm Officer Morgan," he said. "It's nice to meet you," he added, although he was really only addressing Agent Thorne. She smiled politely at him, and returned the smile. "I'll be catching you up on the case."

"Yeah, so you've had three disappearances?" Agent Black asked, putting away his badge and cocking his head curiously.

"So far," Jim admitted. "And two…they weren't disappearances. We found the bodies last night."

"Bodies?" Agent Thorne asked, concerned. "So they were murders, then?"

"Well…come see for yourself," Jim sighed.

He led the three agents to the morgue, where a buddy of his, Harry Cooper was sitting behind a desk, looking bored to tears. "Jimmy!" he said as they entered. "Who've you got?"

"The feds that called in yesterday," Jim shrugged. "I want to show them the bodies we found last night."

Harry chuckled. "I hope you guys don't scare easy, because that's some pretty weird shit in there."

The woman smirked, and Agent Black looked like he wanted to laugh. Agent Johnson raised his eyebrows, unimpressed. "Trust me, boys. Whatever you think is weird is an average day for us."

"Oh, really?" Jim smirked, not liking his superior attitude one bit. "Explain this for me then, agent."

He wheeled out one of the victims, pulling back the sheet to show his pale skin and what looked like several teeth marks in his skin. "We would guess animal attack, but this guy, and the other victim as well were both completely drained of blood. Now, tell me what does that, if you can."

"A vampire?" Johnson smirked, and Jim chuckled.

"Okay, now something real."

The three agents exchanged a look. "We're good now, officer," Johnson said. "We can take it from here."

Jim didn't like being dismissed, but he didn't really want to hang around that arrogant fed either. He left, shooting one last glance at Agent Thorne before shutting the door behind him.

"I'd hit that," Harry said without looking up once Jim shut the door.

"Which one, the short-haired pretty boy or the tall one?" Jim smirked.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Hilarious, Morgan. Seriously, if I had known the girls would be that fine, I would have totally been a fed."

Meanwhile, inside the morgue, Sam and Dean, for it was indeed them, were studying the first corpse, while Julie checked the other one. "Same thing, boys," she sighed. "Bite marks on the neck, and I don't feel like splitting him open, but I'm guessing he's been drained, too."

"Look at this," Sam muttered, studying the first victim's wrists. "He's got bruises on his wrists, like he was chained or something."

Julie checked her corpse. "Yep. Same here." She turned towards the brothers. "What do you think? Obviously it's vamps, but don't they usually just kill their victims, not chain them up?"

"Maybe they were saving them for later?" Dean guessed. "We've come across a couple nests that like to play with their food first."

"If that's the case, I'd hate to be that guy who went missing yesterday," Julie muttered, wheeling the second victim back into place.

"What's our next move?" Sam asked, putting the other corpse back.

"Well, I'd say we look for places nearby that could be a nest," Dean said.

"Great idea," Sam muttered. "Got any ideas on where we start?"

"I'd bet you that Morgan guy could be helpful," Dean pointed out.

"That's true," Julie said. "Bet that would be quite the conversation. 'Hey, officer. I was just wondering if you had any ideas if there's a place where vampires might be living nearby.'"

Sam smirked. "So, don't ask him like that," he chuckled. "Use your _feminine charms_."

"Excuse me?" Julie asked, amused.

"Yeah, what was that again?" Dean asked, less amused.

Sam was smirking even more now. "Oh, come on. He was totally checking Julie out. I'd bet he'd tell you anything if you hit on him a couple times."

"Good point," Julie smirked. "And he was kind of cute, too."

"Hold up," Dean protested. "I'm not sure I like this plan."

"I'm kidding, Dean," Julie laughed. "Trust me, I'm only into you." She winked at him as she walked away. "I'll be back, hopefully with answers."

Dean glared after her. Sam laughed. "Look, dude, she's not actually cheating on you. You know that, right?"

"You know how these past few weeks, we've been really busy hunting?" Dean sighed.

"Yeah, I guess," Sam shrugged.

"Well, we've been so busy that Julie and I haven't been having a lot of…alone time, if you know what I mean."

Sam winced. "So, basically, you're horny, that's what you're telling me."

"I have not done anything more than kiss my girlfriend in a week, Sammy," Dean sighed. "And not even a good kiss."

"You know, maybe she's really been cheating on you with Officer Morgan this whole time," Sam smirked. Dean punched his arm a little harder than necessary.

Meanwhile, Julie found Jim Morgan back in the lobby and they talked for a while. Julie hit pretty heavily on him, asking him about his personal life, hinting heavily that she was single, saying flirtatiously how good-looking he was. Normally, Jim was a pretty down-to-earth guy, but her flirting really went to his head. He was floating on such a high from her obvious interest in him that when she began to ask slightly suspicious questions about abandoned houses or barns and other places on the outskirts of town, he gave her several addresses without thinking twice.

When Julie rejoined Sam and Dean, she flicked a piece of paper with several addresses at them, smirking. "Boobs, boys," she said cockily. "They can get you very far in life."

Sam grinned and rolled his eyes, but Dean seemed a lot less amused. Especially when they rejoined Jim Morgan, and he and Julie struck up an easy, flirty conversation. Dean really lost it when Jim asked with a smirk, "So, Agent Thorne-"

"Please, call me Julie," she insisted, smiling at him.

"Julie," Jim amended with a grin. "Well, Julie, what time do feds get off work. Is it a never-ending sort of job or more of the nine-to-five variety?"

"My job is over when this case is either solved or declared unsolvable," she replied with a smirk. "But, if the nights get slow, well…"

"I'll call you," Jim said cockily, and Sam knew it was time to stop this flirting before Dean broke somebody's nose.

Sam quickly pulled Jim away to go look up something or other. Dean didn't really care. He grabbed Julie's arm and dragged her over to an empty section of the police station, by the bathrooms.

"Dean, what is wrong?" Julie hissed, pulling her arm away.

"What is going on with you and this Morgan guy?" Dean snapped.

Julie laughed. "You're joking. You don't actually think I'm serious, do you?"

"You got the information, so you can cut the act now, right?" Dean said coldly.

"We never know when we could use his help, Dean, so I'm keeping up the act," Julie snapped. "Because that's what it is. An _act_."

"Hey, if the nights get slow though, at least he can call you," Dean muttered. "You gave him your number?!"

Julie stared at him for a long moment. "This isn't really about Jim, is it?"

"Oh, he's _Jim_ now?"

"Oh, calm _down_, Dean!" Julie snapped. "There is nothing going on there, and you know it! Now, what is this really about?"

Dean sighed, and some of the fight went out of him. "I don't know, Jules. Things have been so crazy busy lately, and, well…I don't know. I guess I just…miss you."

"_That's_ what this is about?" Julie asked in a much more gentle voice, stepping closer to him. "Dean…I'm with you literally twenty-four-seven."

"Yeah, I know, it's just…I miss just _us_ time."

"You mean you miss sex," Julie smirked. Dean opened his mouth to protest, but Julie gave him another look, and he gave up. He went for a winning smile, and thankfully it worked.

"You know, since we've spent over a week sleeping in the same hotel room as your brother, that would be a little weird," Julie pointed out with a smirk.

"Sam's not here right now," Dean replied, putting his hands on her waist.

"Yeah, and we're also kind of in a police station pretending to be FBI-" She was cut short by Dean kissing her. For a moment, she melted and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around him and pressing as close as she could to him.

Dean pressed Julie's back against the wall, kissing her almost hungrily. Suddenly, it wasn't enough, and he pushed open the men's bathroom door and dragged her in.

"You're kidding," she panted, looking around.

In response, he picked her up and hitched her legs around his waist. Julie gave up and let Dean kiss her neck while she worked his tie off. He pressed her up against the wall and got her jacket off within a few seconds. She pulled Dean's jacket off as well and they both were working on unbuttoning each other's shirts, kissing each other's lips, necks, cheeks, ears, and jaws when the bathroom door opened.

Neither of them realized for a moment, until a man cleared his throat.

Julie and Dean froze, and then slowly looked over at the doorway. Jim Morgan stood there, his expression cool and unreadable. "Glad to see you're behaving professionally," he said drily, glancing from their jackets and Dean's tie on the floor to their half-unbuttoned shirts and position. He left without another word.

For a moment, neither of them moved. "Well, that was awkward," Dean muttered, and then Julie started to laugh. Soon, the both of them were laughing as they quickly got dressed again. Dean stopped Julie before she could leave and kissed her one last time.

"When we get back to the motel, we are getting a separate room and finishing that," he warned her, and she shook her head, smiling.

* * *

"Hurry back," Julie muttered into the phone. "I know we decided I'd stay behind, but avoiding Jim is getting increasingly harder."

Dean chuckled. "So you don't think you're going home with Officer Morgan anymore?" he smirked, tucking his phone between his ear and shoulder as he helped Sam force open the door of an abandoned barn on the outskirts of town open.

"Watch yourself, Winchester," his girlfriend said darkly, but he just chuckled, and he could imagine her face softening.

"Just keep us posted on any developments," Dean said. "If they find that other missing guy, Jacob Lee or whatever, or if somebody else goes missing-"

"I'll call," she sighed. "Go kill some vampires, honey."

Dean smirked. "I'll try. Talk to you later."

He hung up, and Sam turned to smirk at him. "What? No 'Love you, honey'?"

"I am not afraid to beat your ass, Sammy," Dean said, giving him a warning look, but Sam just laughed. Dean sighed and turned to enter the abandoned barn.

Then someone screamed.

The two brothers whirled around, gripping their handy machetes. "Hello?" a woman's voice wailed. "Is somebody there? Help me!"

Dean edged around the corner of the barn and saw a young woman who looked to be in her twenties stumbling towards them. There was blood on her white blouse, and she looked terrified, her dark hair tangled and dark eyes wild.

"Help!" she shrieked when she saw Dean, and he moved towards her suspiciously.

"What's wrong?" he asked gruffly. "Are you hurt?"

"I…I was looking for my boyfriend," she said shakily. Sam joined them, keeping an eye out for attackers. "Jake…he's been missing since yesterday."

"Miss, I need you to calm down," Dean said firmly. "My partner and I, we're investigating your boyfriend's disappearance. Now, I need you to tell me what's wrong."

"I was…I went inside that barn, trying to find him," she said breathlessly. "And then—is that a machete?!"

"Oops," Dean muttered, trying to hide it behind his back. Sam did the same, but it was too late. "Are you guys going to kill me?!" she wailed.

"No! No, miss, we're not going to hurt you," Dean said quickly. She sobbed until he finally threw down his machete and kicked it away. "Look!" he snapped, holding his hands up in surrender. "We're not going to hurt you."

Sam followed suit. "We're here to help," he said gently.

The young woman stared at them for a moment, and then suddenly grinned. "Bad move, boys," she laughed.

Dean's blood ran cold. He turned to dive for his machete and found himself staring right at a pretty woman with long blond curls, wearing very short shorts, a cut-off tank top, and flashing vampire teeth. She held up a long knife and rested the tip on his heart. "Hello, Dean…" she said slowly, grinning. "How kind of you to join the fun."

Sam winced as two female vampires twisted his arms behind his back and pushed him towards the barn. One had choppy, short, bright red hair and there was blood on her tattered army jacket. The other one, a tall, black, Amazonian-type teasingly brushed Sam's hair out of his face when he stumbled. "Careful, Jade," the black vampire smirked. "We don't want to bruise such a nice specimen."

Everything in Dean wanted to cut these bitches up for putting their hands on Sam, but he was a little preoccupied with the blond in front of him, and the "victim" they had been about to help. "What do we do with them, Scarlett?" the vampire who had tricked them asked, studying Dean with big, clever dark eyes.

"Let's have some fun, Tasha," this Scarlett vampire smirked, stepping too close to Dean. "It's not every day we catch the Winchester's…"

The two vampires forced him into the dark barn, digging the tip of Scarlett's knife into the small of his back. Tasha left him to Scarlett and disappeared into the darkness. A moment later, light went up to reveal…well, not what Dean was expecting.

The place was pretty well-lit for a vampire nest. There were a few beds spread around the barn, the fancy, plush kind of beds you saw in mansions and pornos. More concerning were the chains dangling from the walls. There was an Asian young man dangling from chained wrists in one corner, and he lifted his head when the lights went up. His eyes widened, seeing the vampires had brought home new victims, and Jacob Lee, for Dean was sure that was him, gave them a pathetic look.

"Well, at least this is nicer than the last nest we took out, huh, Sammy?" Dean smirked.

"Those psychos in Washington?" Sam replied with a smirk, glancing over at his brother. "The nest looked like a bad set from a cheap horror film."

"And they weren't even hard to kill," Dean chuckled. "There were what, four of them?"

"There were seven, but you only killed four of them," Sam replied, keeping up their lighthearted banter. "I took out the rest."

"Right," Dean smirked. He locked eyes with the blond vampire pinning his arms. "Killing four vamps? That's nothing."

"Scary," she smirked back. "But I think you'll find us a little harder to kill, handsome."

Scarlett waved her hand lazily, and the two vampires pinning his brother forced him down slightly so the black one could prepare to bite his neck. "Hey! Leave him alone!" Dean yelled angrily.

"That's just to make sure you don't try anything stupid," Scarlett said soothingly. She let go of him, but he couldn't fight her with Sam a swift bite away from death.

"Take your jacket off," Scarlett said after a moment.

"You're kidding me, right?" Dean smirked.

"She's not, pal," Jacob Lee groaned. "You're going to want to play along."

"I am not giving anyone a lap dance, just to be clear," Dean snapped, pulling off his suit jacket and throwing it at Scarlett's feet.

She pouted. "Oh, don't be like that," she said teasingly, and the other vampires laughed. She moved closer to Dean and started undoing his tie. Everything in him wanted to kill this monster and raise some hell, but there was Sam a few feet away, a vampire a second away from ending his life. As long as his brother was in danger, Dean could do nothing but stand there and let Scarlett pull his tie off and undo a couple buttons of his dress shirt.

Sometimes, having good looks like Sam and Dean had paid off, when you could just walk into a bar and pick up the hottest girl there pretty easily. And sometimes, like now for instance, captured by some pretty horny female vamps, they would be better off as average-looking guys.

Scarlett took a long, deep breath, drinking in the smell of Dean's blood. She grinned a shark's grin at him and smirked, "You smell _delicious,_ hunter."

The next moment, she and the other vampire holding him, Tasha, were pushing him against the wall, forcing him to his knees and chaining his wrists in place. Dean felt pretty useless as the other two vampires pulled off his brother's jacket and tie and forced him to his knees next to Dean.

"We've got quite the haul today, don't we, ladies?" the redheaded vampire, Jade, smirked. "I'm still pretty full from Bill last night," she sighed almost longingly. "Anybody else hungry?"

"Hank was pretty filling," Scarlett smirked, rubbing her toned stomach. "Tasha? Olivia?"

Tasha giggled. "I just got a snack from Jake." She winked at the two brothers and added, "But don't worry, boys. I'll be hungry soon. Or should I say thirsty…?"

"I could eat," the black vampire, Olivia, shrugged, and without another word suddenly she was crouching over Sam, pulling his head back by his hair, and then Sam was moaning in pain.

"Hey!" Dean cried, pulling at the chains holding his wrists. "Get off him! Leave him alone, bitch!"

After a few seconds, the vampire pulled away from Sam and grinned at Dean, her teeth stained red. Sam groaned as he lifted his head, and Dean's stomach flipped at the sight of his brother's bloody neck.

"You're going to pay for that," Dean snarled in his lowest, most dangerous voice.

They all laughed again. Scarlett bent a little to run her hand through Dean's hair, and he suppressed a shudder. "Don't worry, pretty boy," she smirked. "We'll be back for you soon…"

The vampires went into another room of the barn, tittering and discussing how Sam tasted. Dean's fists were clenched so hard he was losing feeling in them. "I'll kill every last one of those bitches, I swear to god…"

"Good luck with that," the other man, Jacob Lee said flatly. "Hank used to be like you, pal. He was going to get out of here and get his revenge on these…these vampires. And now, well…let's just say they got to him first."

Dean didn't reply. He shifted as close as possible to Sam, who was breathing heavily, and asked softly, "You okay, Sammy?"

"I…yeah," his brother sighed. "It wasn't a bad bite. I'm guessing these vamps are pretty good at keeping their victims alive for a while."

"How do you guys know them?" Jacob Lee asked suspiciously.

"We don't," Sam said. "I'd never seen them until one of them pretended to be a victim so the others could get the jump on us."

"But they know who you are," Jacob pointed out.

Dean snorted. "Well, every monster who's been around for a while knows who we are, _pal_."

Jacob blinked. "Wait. You mean there's more than just these ones?"

"A lot more," Dean explained. "And not just vampires. Werewolves, ghosts, shape shifters, demons, angels…you name it, we've probably killed it."

"Are you messing with me?" Jacob said suspiciously.

"How is it anymore hard to believe that there are werewolves than vampires?" Dean pointed out.

"Aw, man, I'm literally living in a Twilight book," Jacob Lee moaned, and both Winchester's smirked.

"Not exactly," Dean said. "These vamps sure aren't drinking animal blood, and I doubt they're really looking to fall in love."

Sam turned his bloody head to stare at his brother. "How do you know that much about Twilight?" he smirked.

"Shut up," Dean muttered, glaring at him.

Jacob looked back and forth between them, and asked suggestively, "So…are you two…?"

Sam's eyebrows shot up in surprise and amusement, and Dean groaned and leaned his head back against the wall. "We're _brothers_," he said in the exasperated tone of a man who was all too used to being mistaken for his brother's boyfriend.

"Oh, just making sure," Jacob said quickly.

"I've got a girlfriend," Dean added, just to be sure. "Speaking of which…shit. Julie's going to flip when she realizes we're missing."

Sam glanced over at him, concerned. "How long do you think it'll take for her to figure out…?"

"An hour or two? She's pretty sharp."

"Shouldn't be too hard to find us," Dean said almost hopefully. "As long as she doesn't go rushing in and lose her head…"

"These…_vampires _will kill any help you've got coming," Jacob muttered darkly. "Face it, guys. We're not getting out of here."

"Cheer up, Jake," Dean smirked. "We've been in plenty worse situations than this."

"I highly doubt that," the other man smirked.

Sam and Dean exchanged a look. "Forty years in hell makes this look like a picnic, don't you think, Sammy?" Dean said coolly. Jacob Lee gave them a disbelieving look, and then his eyes widened when he saw they were dead serious.

For an hour or so, Sam and Dean worked tirelessly, trying to get out of their chains, but there was no point. By the time Dean finally gave up and flopped back against the wall, the vampires returned, Olivia and Jade taking swigs out of beer bottles and laughing raucously.

"Hope you boys weren't too lonely without us," Scarlett smirked. She knelt down in front of Dean, her hazel eyes locking with his green ones. He gave her a look so full of hatred and anger most people would have folded under it. Instead, she just smirked and forced his head to the side. She inhaled deeply again. "Mm. I'm honored. Not many girls get to drink from a Winchester…"

And before Dean could try to throw her off, she sank her teeth into his neck. There was a stabbing pain, and then a strange sore, aching pain as she drank his blood. For a moment, Dean flashed back to a time in his life where he had been turned into a vampire for a brief spell. He remembered the burning need to feed, the thirst for blood. It sickened him to think once he had been like this monster.

Eventually she pulled away and wiped her bloody mouth on her hands. She cleaned her hands with his shirt as he struggled to get his head to quit spinning.

He closed his eyes and tried to block out the laughing, jeering vampires and his brother's concerned, angry exclamations. Just make it all go away. Let him sleep…

Scarlett jerked his head upright and he was forced to open his eyes and glare at her. "Don't give up on me yet, Dean," she smirked. "We're just getting started…"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Jim was having a really, really bad day.

His boss was pissed at him, they were making zero progress on the case, his dog had peed on him, all that crap. And now to top it all off, the funny, sexy FBI agent he had been really into, and who had seemed really into him, was playing him. Either that or she was playing Agent Johnson, and judging by the fact that they were tearing each other's clothes off in the men's bathroom, he would guess that he was the one she had been fooling.

He hadn't seen Julie Thorne since that incident, and he was kind of okay with that. He didn't want to have to face her and realize what a total idiot he was, _again._ Agents Johnson and Black had gone off to investigate and she had stayed behind, but they were doing a great job of avoiding each other in the small police station.

At least until the door to his office opened and she walked in, uninvited.

He cleared his throat. "Agent Thorne," he said carefully. "Can I help you?"

"Look, we both know that I was using you earlier, and I'm sorry about that," she said quickly, not one to beat around the bush. "That was pretty awful of me. But I need you to move on past that, just long enough for you to help me."

Jim wanted to still be pissed at her, but she looked truly concerned. He sighed. "What do you need help with?"

"I haven't been able to get ahold of my fellow agents for almost two hours," Julie Thorne said. "And before you tell me not to worry, that's very serious. They were investigating the addresses you gave me, and I think they might be in trouble."

"What do you need me for?" he asked, still not comprehending, although he was a little concerned now.

"They took the car," she admitted. "So I kind of need a ride. But I want you to help me find them. I know it's a lot to ask but they're…they're my coworkers, as well as my friends, and I don't want anything to happen to them."

"Just your friends?" Jim muttered, and she didn't reply. He sighed and gave in, standing up and heading towards the door. "Well, come on. I've got a cop car out back. And if you're really lucky, I'll even let you use the sirens and the flashy lights."

Julie smiled despite herself as Jim led her out to the parking lot. She was in love with Dean, and no other guy could compare to him or take his place. Still, this guy was nice, and funny, and a good, brave, competent cop, and he wasn't too bad-looking either. He was the kind of guy she would have maybe been interested in, if it weren't for Dean.

It was a twenty minute drive to the barn where Sam and Dean had been when Julie last spoke to them. For the first couple minutes of the drive, there was an awkward silence, but eventually Jim's phone went off and he pulled over to the side of the road to read it, brow furrowed. After a moment, he looked up and asked, "So, these guys. Have you known them a while?"

"Well…I've known Agent Johnson almost a year, and I've only known Agent Black a couple of months, but he's a great guy," Julie said carefully, but also truthfully. "If something happened to them…"

Jim turned to Julie and put his hand on hers. "Hey," he said gently. "They'll be okay."

Julie looked up and gave him a brief smile, and then suddenly he was closing a handcuff on her wrist. She just stared at him as he handcuffed her to the dashboard and gave her a cold look. "Jim, what-?" she started, completely surprised and confused by this change of events.

"I looked you and your 'friends' up," Jim Morgan snapped. "There is no Julie Thorne or Dean Johnson in the system. There is a Sam Black, but he's five-six and, in fact, black." Julie stared at him, trying to think fast and coming up blank. "You're not FBI," he said coldly. "I don't know what you're up to, but I am taking you in right now, and we'll figure out what to do with you there."

"No!" Julie gasped, snapping to her senses. "Jim, please, you can't do that!"

He smirked. "Pretty sure I can."

"Jim, please," she said desperately. "You're right, I lied. I'm not an FBI agent. But I wasn't lying about my friends. Please, I think they're in a lot of trouble, and I can't let something happen to them. At least give me a chance to explain!"

Jim Morgan stared at her for a long second. "You've got two minutes to convince me before I haul your ass back to the station," he snapped.

"Thank you," she sighed. "Okay, so my name's not Julie Thorne, it's Julie Carters. Those guys that were with me…that's Sam and Dean Winchester. They're brothers, and Dean is my boyfriend of almost a year." Jim nodded a little to himself. Of course a guy like that would get a girl like her.

"This is going to sound crazy, but this is our job," she continued. "This is what we do, we investigate murders and disappearances like this that the government can't explain. I know you probably won't believe me, and you'll think I'm crazy, but we think that…well, we think a vampire or more than one is killing these people."

Jim blinked. Then he smirked. "Okay, you almost had me," he chuckled. "Alright, we're going to jail now-"

"No! No, Jim, please, you have to believe me," Julie said, and he was surprised to see real honesty and fear in her eyes. "Look…I care a lot about Sam, and I love Dean. I cannot lose these guys. So please, just…give me a chance. You can turn us in if I'm lying, just please…let me save them." Jim stared at her, looking conflicted, so she whispered, "Please. _Please_, I can't lose them."

After a long pause, Jim sighed. "I'm going to let you out of those handcuffs," he explained. "If you try to run, I'll knock you out and you can forget about finding those guys."

"I'm not going anywhere," Julie said firmly, and he unlocked her wrist.

Jim sighed again. "Okay. Let's find those lying bastards," he muttered. Julie gave him a look, and he corrected, "Sorry. Let's find your lying _friends_."

* * *

Sam suppressed a groan as the vampire crouching over him pulled away from his neck. He was extremely lightheaded from blood loss, and yet these vamps had only been toying with them for an hour or so. The dark-haired vampire in front of him, Tasha, wiped her mouth and smacked her lips. "You're right, he's pretty tasty too," she sighed. "And a real pretty boy, too…"

She brushed her fingers along his cheek, leaving a smear of his own blood. Sam spat at her, hitting her square on the cheek, and he was gratified that Dean had the strength to laugh.

"Thatta boy, Sammy," his brother chuckled weakly. Tasha glared at him for a moment, wiping off her cheek, and then hissed, opening her mouth to reveal what looked like shark teeth.

Sam tensed, waiting for the vampire to leap on him and kill him, but their leader, Scarlett, laid a perfectly manicured hand on Tasha's shoulder.

"That's enough, you two," she said with a smirk, and Tasha stepped away from Sam, although she still looked murderous. Sam wondered what it was about this pretty blond vampire that made the others obey her without question.

"So what do you think, Tash?" Scarlett sighed. "Which do you prefer?"

Tasha looked thoughtfully between the two chained, pissed brothers. "Hmm…I'm going to have to go with Dean," she said, winking at him.

Dean smiled sarcastically. "I'm flattered, sweetheart. No, really, thank you. I'm glad you'd rather eat me than these other guys. It's what every guy wants to hear."

Sam almost smirked. "I'd have to go with Sammy," Olivia sighed dreamily, giving him a seductive look. Sam bit back a few choice words and just glared at her.

"Jade?" Scarlett asked, amused.

"Jake's blood is a bit thinner now, but I'd have to go with him," she said after a moment. "Sorry, boys."

"Bummer," they muttered simultaneously.

"What about you, Scar?" Olivia asked. The other vamps looked to their leader eagerly.

Scarlett looked thoughtfully around. She approached Sam and he tensed. She bent and touched his bloody neck, causing him to wince, and next to him Dean jerked on the chains holding him and swore quietly. Scarlett slowly tasted the blood on her finger, then walked over to Dean.

Sam's stomach clenched at the sight of his brother chained to a wall, his neck and half-buttoned shirt bloody. If there was anything worse than being chained up and toyed with and having your blood sucked by vampires, it was having the same thing done to your brother.

She dipped her finger in the blood on his neck and tasted it, then grinned. "Sorry, Liv. I'd say Dean wins this round."

"Lucky me," Dean muttered, and Scarlett smiled.

The next second, she was sinking her teeth into his neck. Dean cried out in pain before he could stop himself, and Sam struggled violently against his chains. "Hey! _Hey_! Don't hurt him, _stop it_, you-"

"Get the hell away from my boyfriend before I kill you," a deadly calm, cold voice said from the doorway of the barn, and everyone froze.

Scarlett whipped around, her chin and mouth red with Dean's blood, and Dean put his head back against the wall, breathing heavily, eyes closed. But Sam had eyes for only Julie, who stood several yards away, holding a machete and wearing the most dangerous, pissed expression he had ever seen on her pretty features.

"Who is this?" Scarlett snarled, standing in-between Dean and Julie, which was a very dangerous place to be.

"Julie Carters," she said calmly. "I'm a hunter, and I would kindly ask that you step away from him before I make you."

The vampires exchanged a look, and then laughed. "What are you going to do, sweetie?" Scarlett called teasingly. "There's four of us and one of you, and to top it off, we've got three victims I'm sure you wouldn't want us to hurt any further, isn't that right?"

"I'm giving you one chance to let these men go and leave here and never return," Julie said slowly. "Otherwise…I will kill you, I can promise you that."

"How about…no?" Scarlett smirked.

"Suit yourself," Julie shrugged, and in the next second she had raised a gun and fired on Olivia, who was standing near Sam. The vampire howled and crumpled, and when she fell, Sam saw a dart sticking out of her chest. Dead man's blood. This girl was good.

Jade howled and leapt at Julie, but she swung her machete and in one quick, swift, neat movement, Jade's head left her shoulders.

However, Tasha had gotten behind Julie and before the hunter could turn around, the vampire grabbed her arm and twisted it painfully behind her back until Julie gasped and was forced to drop her machete.

Tasha yanked Julie's head to the side, leaving her neck exposed. "No!" Sam cried desperately, trying to help her but getting pulled back by his chains. Dean lifted his bloody head and even though he was weak, he still managed to look horrified at the sight of Julie an inch from death.

Scarlett moved away from Sam and Dean and approached Julie. "Kill her," the leader of the vampires spat, and Tasha growled, her mouth stretching wide to reveal her vampire teeth.

"Jules…" Dean cried weakly, as helpless as Julie was.

Thankfully, Julie hadn't come alone.

Tasha was stopped literally dead in her tracks as her head was taken clean off her shoulders. Jim Morgan stood there, holding a bloody machete and looking absolutely shocked at what he had done. Julie whirled around, looking for Scarlett, but the leader of the vampires had disappeared the moment she realized she would lose the fight. "Dammit," Julie muttered before quickly rushing over and finishing off Olivia before the vampire could get back up.

"You…weren't lying," Jim Morgan breathed, looking around, white and shocked.

"No, I wasn't," Julie muttered.

"Hey! Officer! Somebody, get me out of here!" Jacob Lee cried, rattling his chains. Jim moved to help him, while Julie turned to the Winchesters.

"Are you guys alright?" she breathed, taking in for the first time the blood on their shirts and necks.

"We're okay, thanks to you," Sam assured her.

She smiled genuinely at him, and then knelt down in front of Dean. "Oh, god…Dean, honey, are you…?" she asked in a horrified voice, trailing off as she took in the blood all over him and his pale skin.

Dean raised his head and gave her a weak smile. "I'll be fine, Jules. Although we both would have died without you."

"And me!" Jacob Lee snapped, and they turned to see him standing shakily, pale from blood loss. Jim tossed Julie the keys, and she nodded gratefully. Julie quickly unchained Dean, and he collapsed into her gentle embrace. For a long moment they held each other, Julie being careful not to brush her head against his wounded, still bleeding neck.

Jim unchained Sam, and he rubbed some life back into his arms. The officer helped Sam up as Julie helped a shaky Dean to his feet. "We should get going before she comes back," Sam pointed out, and the others nodded.

"We need to get you guys some medical attention," Julie said, slipping into nurse mode. "I don't think you two have lost too much blood, but Mr. Lee here is probably in worse shape. He'll need hospital attention-"

"Don't you think that's for a medical expert to decide?" Jim Morgan said uncertainly.

"Good thing I've been to medical school and worked as a nurse for two years," Julie replied coolly.

Jacob turned to Dean. "That's your girlfriend?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Where can I find another one?"

Julie started to smirk, but her smile faded as she heard sirens approaching. Dean and Sam both tensed and looked up as three police cars pulled up to the barn. Julie whirled on Jim. "What the hell?!" she cried.

"I'm sorry," he said, and he sounded like he genuinely meant it. "I didn't realize you really were being honest. So…I called backup."

"The hell is this about?" Dean snapped, instinctively stepping back as the sheriff got out of his car. He had been arrested countless times, gone to jail repeatedly, and been on the FBI's most wanted list so many times it wasn't even funny. The thought of going to yet another prison was not something he was too thrilled about…

"Jim kind of realized we weren't really FBI," Julie said carefully, shifting into a defensive stance in-between the approaching police and Sam and Dean.

Jim saw her move and sighed. "Look, Julie, I really am sorry about this. But please…don't make this harder on yourself. Since you were honest about this whole situation, I think I should be able to help get you out within a couple days if you just work with me."

"And Sam and Dean?" she asked. He didn't reply or meet her glare, confirming her suspicions. Julie turned to Dean, who was staring down the sheriff. "Hey, Dean, how long does someone go to jail for assaulting a cop?"

"Depends," Dean rattled off without thinking. "If you hit him and knock him out and run, versus just hitting him and maybe causing a bruise-"

"Time frame, please, sweetie."

"Could be years-"

Before Dean could even finish his answer, Julie had slugged Jim Morgan so hard he fell flat on his butt, nose gushing blood. Sam, Dean, and Jacob stared at her as she smirked, "As long as my boys are going in the slammer, might as well join them."

Dean shook his head and grinned. He put his arm around Julie and kissed her head. "God, I love you, Jules," he said as the officers moved forward to arrest them.

* * *

"Does it burn with silver?" Dean asked in a distant, bored voice.

"Nope," Sam answered in the same flat tone.

"Um…does beheading it work?" Julie asked, clearly as disinterested as the brothers.

"Guess again."

"Can you kill it with fire?" Dean guessed, absently rubbing a strand of Julie's hair between his fingers.

"Yeah."

"Wendigo," Dean said confidently. Sam nodded. "Yahtzee!" Dean said triumphantly, and Julie rolled her eyes.

They were a funny sight, three people in handcuffs sprawled around a small jail cell. Sam sat on the metal bench, the sleeves of his bloody shirt rolled up, picking absently at the sterile bandage on the side of his neck. Dean lay sprawled on the floor, his arm around Julie a little awkwardly, due to his handcuffs. Julie was snuggled close to him, resting her head on his chest, absently playing with the silver chains on his hands. They were about the most calm, collected prisoners to ever be in this cell, as comfortable in a jail cell as most people were in their own homes.

"Your turn then," Sam sighed.

"Alright…I've got mine," Dean said after a moment.

"It's a vampire," Julie and Sam said simultaneously, and he frowned.

"How did you-?"

"That's been your answer the past three times!" Julie complained.

"Well, maybe that's because that's the monster that used me as their personal chew toy just a few hours ago!" Dean snapped.

"Julie, go," Sam said, ignoring his bitching brother.

"Got it," she said after a moment.

"Iron?"

"Nope."

"Salt?" Dean guessed.

"Nice try."

"Silver?" Sam sighed, rattling through the basics.

"Guess again," she replied.

"Angel blade?" Dean guessed, and Julie hesitated to answer. "Angel!" Dean cried triumphantly, and Sam and Julie rolled her eyes. "I win again!" he chuckled.

"Just pick something," Sam snapped, and a moment later Dean said, "Ready."

"I swear to god, if the answer is vampire, you are getting no sex for a week!" Julie growled, and Dean quickly said, "Wait, just kidding, I still need to think."

Jim Morgan backed away from their cell, shaking his head. He had sneaked past his fellow officers to check on the hunters, expecting angry people trying to escape. Instead, he found the three calmest prisoners he had ever seen, completely at ease, sprawled around a cell, playing some game about how to kill monsters. Anyone would think they were insane, but the worst part was, he knew they weren't. Well, at least not about the monsters.

Jim backed away, and returned to the main office. It was night, and there were three other officers besides him and Sheriff Anderson, waiting for the real FBI to come and take these three people away. Jim couldn't help feeling a little guilty, even though he was carrying out his job. They had broken the law and they had to face the consequences, even if they did seem like nice enough people who really had been trying to do the right thing…

He sighed. This was ridiculous. He had never felt so guilty about arresting someone. Maybe it was Julie's expression when she realized Jim had betrayed them. Maybe it was the way he had seen her rush to Dean Johnson…no, Winchester, the concern in her eyes, the way they held each other…once they went to jail, they wouldn't see each other again for god knows how long. Most likely though it was his conversation with Julie in the car as she pleaded with him. She loved him, she had said. Jim hadn't truly loved someone since…well, he had never loved someone. Not like she loved him. And he didn't want to be the one responsible for ruining that.

Someone walked into the police station. Jim didn't look up, not wanting to have to look at the men who were coming to take away the people he had turned in. But then one of his fellow officers, Kyle Simmons asked, "How can we help you, miss?"

Jim looked up, surprised, and a cold wave of panic swept over him. A pretty, scantily-clad, blond woman stood in front of the desk Kyle sat at, smiling seductively at him. Jim knew the second he saw her that she was the one vampire who had escaped, and he cried, "Kyle, no! Get away from her!"

The vampire's eyes flashed to him and she hissed, her lips curling back to reveal pointy teeth. Kyle cried out and scrambled back. Jim turned and ran into the other room, Kyle on his tail. Right as Jim reached the safety of another room, Kyle screamed, and Jim turned to see his coworker fall, the vampire tearing at his neck. For a moment, Jim was too terrified to move, and then he slammed and locked the door just before the vampire abandoned Kyle's body and lunged towards him.

Jim backed away from the door, horrified. Kyle was dead. That took a long moment to process, and then an almost blinding panic overtook him. He could very well be next, with that dangerous vampire loose in the police station.

Jim turned around and there were Anderson, his friend Harry, and the only female officer, Maggie Bloch, staring at him. "Did…did that woman just…?" Harry sad shakily.

"That's the thing that's been kidnapping and killing people," Jim told the shocked officers. "She just got Kyle, and if we don't fight back, she'll get us, too."

"We should be safe in here, right?" Maggie asked shakily.

"As long as that door stays locked, we'll be fine," Jim said, more hopeful than certain.

"What about those prisoners?" Anderson pointed out, and Jim's blood ran cold again.

* * *

Dean was trying to braid Julie's hair when they head a man scream in pain. All three hunters sat straight up, immediately on high alert. They scrambled to their feet and backed up to the far wall of the cell, pressed shoulder to shoulder, waiting. "Do you think…?" Julie started quietly.

"Scarlett," Dean said, and there was no question in his voice. "She doesn't seem like the type of bitch to just forgive and forget."

For a long, tense minute or two, they stood listening and waiting for a vampire to appear. After a couple of minutes, all three of them jumped slightly as someone started trying to force open the door to the room where all the prison cells were. Dean subtly tried to push Julie behind him, and then the door swung wide open.

"Jim?" Julie sighed in relief. "God, don't scare us like that!"

"There's a vampire," Jim Morgan gasped as he rushed to their cell. "Somewhere in here, that other vampire."

"We figured," Dean muttered. "Get us out of here, we'll take care of it."

Jim hesitated for a moment, looking conflicted. "For god's sake, let us save your life!" Julie snapped. Jim gave in and quickly unlocked their cell. The three hunters scrambled out and quickly found their weapons lying nearby. But just as Dean was enjoying the feeling of his good old machete back in his hands, the power went out.

"Son of a bitch," Dean muttered, finding Julie's arm in the dark. "Sammy?" he hissed.

"Right here," his brother breathed from a couple feet away.

"Get your back up against a wall and get ready to swing," Dean ordered the three other people, doing so himself. "Morgan, don't you guys have emergency power?"

"It'll take a couple minutes to kick in," Jim replied, feeling around for a wall and pressing his back to it. He tried to steady his breathing, but his heart was pounding so wildly he was certain that the vampire could hear it beating.

They waited in tense silence, trying to sense the vampire coming. But vampires were creatures of night, and they moved with such silence and stealth that no one heard Scarlett coming until it was too late.

Julie screamed next to Dean, and there was a thud in the darkness. "Jules!" he cried, but he couldn't dare risk swinging the machete if it could hit Julie instead. He waited in the darkness, hoping to hear Julie's voice or Scarlett's cry of pain, but he heard nothing.

After a few moments that seemed to last years, the lights finally flickered and came on, dimmer but before, but working at least. "No!" Dean cried, when he saw Julie lying on the ground, blood trickling from her forehead, and Scarlett standing over her, pressing Julie's machete to the unconscious woman's throat.

"One move and I'll kill her, Winchester," Scarlett smirked, gloating. "Like she killed my sisters."

Dean froze, staring in horror at Julie. He couldn't tell if she was breathing or not. Sam and Jim Morgan were frozen as well, unable to help Julie or kill this vampire before them. Scarlett grinned, enjoying their helplessness. She nudged Julie with her toe. "So," she smirked. "This is your girlfriend, huh, Dean?"

Dean didn't move or speak, just gritted his teeth.

"Do you love her?" Scarlett continued, grinning now. "Would you cry if I killed her?"

"Stop," Sam said in a voice so filled with pain it surprised Dean. "It's not her you want, not really. It's us."

"She killed my sisters," Scarlett snarled.

"Vampires killed her father," Sam replied, and Dean blinked. He didn't tell Sam that. How did he know that? Had Julie told him? "So she had a reason. Killing vampires is all she's ever known."

"You're still not explaining to me why I shouldn't slit this bitch's throat right here and now," she snapped.

"Because I'll surrender," Sam said, and both Dean and Scarlett blinked, surprised. "You leave her alone, promise not to hurt her, and I won't try to kill you. I'll do whatever you want, just leave her and the rest of these people out of it."

Scarlett studied him for a moment, and then laughed. "Dean, sweetie, I thought you were the boyfriend," the vampire smirked. "Yet it's Sammy here who is trying to save her, who is willing to take her place."

Dean gritted his teeth, unable to explain why those words bothered him so much. Before he could reply, though, he realized that Julie's eyes were open. She winked at him, and before he could even be stunned, she rolled over and stabbed a dart into Scarlett's leg.

The vampire shrieked as dead man's blood shot into her system, and Dean took his chance. He leapt forward and with one clean slice, he killed the last vampire.

Sam moved forward, and the two brothers helped Julie to her feet. "You okay?" Dean asked her, gently touching the spot on her head where she must have been hit, his fingers coming away bloody.

Julie nodded a couple of times and buried her face in his chest for a moment. When she pulled away, she turned to Sam and said, "Thanks for the distraction."

He nodded at her, smiling slightly. "Anytime."

"But that better have just been a distraction," Julie continued, giving him a sharp look. "I never want you, or Dean, or anyone taking my place in situations like that."

Sam shook his head. "Come on, Julie. We both would, without hesitating. And you know that."

Julie sighed. "I know. And I need to work on fixing that."

Sam chuckled, and Dean looked back and forth between them. He couldn't explain it, but something about that exchange had bothered him. He tried to ignore the strange emotion trying to crawl its way out of his stomach, and he turned to Jim Morgan. "Alright, Morgan. We took out your vampire. I'd say it's only fair if, in return, you _accidentally _let us go."

Jim sighed and smiled slightly. "Sure. That's twice I owe you three now. Just get out of here before my fellow officers get brave enough to risk coming out."

Sam and Dean gathered their stuff and headed for the door. Julie stopped for a moment and surprised Jim by giving him a brief hug. "Thank you," she said quietly, nodding at him.

Jim Morgan nodded back at this strange, tough, funny, brave, sweet, beautiful woman, and as he watched her walk away with those two men, Sam and Dean Winchester, he felt a pang of concern for her. Life with those two didn't seem very safe, and she was a good person, the kind who deserved to live a long, happy life.

Jim just hoped she got to live it, before a monster came along, one that they couldn't beat.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

"This is ridiculous," Julie laughed. "There is absolutely no way those Ringwraith's couldn't find the hobbits."

"What, you really think they could sense the Ring's presence from a whole three feet away?" Sam chuckled.

Dean shook his head as he watched them. His brother and girlfriend, sitting together on the couch, eating popcorn and mocking _The Fellowship of the Ring_. He'd be totally cool with being in there with them if they were just watching the movie. But, _no_, those two nerds had to compare it with the book!

Sam, Dean, and Julie had been living together here at the bunker for three months, although they spent most of their time in motel rooms on a hunt. They were having their first break from work in weeks, and the two were having a great time, marathoning Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Sometimes it concerned him how nerdy his hot girlfriend could be.

More concerning was how well she got along with his brother. They had become close friends by the second hunt the three had done, and now they were the best of friends. They never fought, and they never seemed to run out of things to talk about. It was actually a little scary, how much the woman he loved was like his brother. They were both extremely smart, talented, hardworking people who could easily have had successful lives and careers if it weren't for hunting. They had similar interests, and not just hunting. They liked the same books and movies, and Dean often caught them trading books and discussing them afterwards. It was quite scary.

There was another thing that bothered him a little about the amount of time Sam and Julie spent together, although he tried to ignore it. It was the primal instinct any man felt when he saw another young, handsome guy with his girl. But it was Dean's brother, and he knew Sam would never do anything to hurt him. But every time they exchanged a look or smiled knowingly at each other or laughed at some inside joke, something deep inside him stirred angrily.

It was stupid, and he knew it. So he ignored it. Instead, he just focused on the positives. If Sam _didn't_ like Julie…now imagine how awkward that would be. This couldn't work, and he was so happy right now…he should just be grateful.

The phone rang, but Sam and Julie were far too engrossed in the movie to notice. Dean sighed and got it himself. "Hello?" he asked gruffly.

"Dean?"

Dean grinned. "Jasper! How are you?"

"I'm doing great, son," Julie's uncle said. "Well, actually, I was doing great until a couple of hours ago."

Dean frowned. "What happened?"

"I got a call. From Julie's grandmother."

"What happened? Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah, don't worry," Jasper said quickly. "Listen, can you put Julie on the phone? I should probably tell her this."

"Of course," Dean sad quickly. He covered the phone with his hand and yelled, "Julie? Jasper's on the phone, he's got something to tell you!"

A moment later, Julie appeared. "Thanks, sweetie," she said, kissing him briefly. "Here, go keep your brother company. And tell me how many inconsistencies there are with the book while I'm gone!"

Julie watched Dean walk away, knowing he would have no idea what were inconsistencies and what weren't. Then she turned to the phone. "Uncle J?"

"Juliet," her uncle said fondly. She cleared her throat and he quickly amended, "Julie."

"What's up?" she asked, sitting down.

"Okay, so, first of all, don't hate me," he said. That made her nervous, but he plowed on. "So, as you may remember, this weekend is your Grandmother Helen's annual family get together-"

"No."

"Julie-"

"Uncle Jasper, you know how much I hate those things!" Julie cried. "I'm twenty-seven years old! I don't need to spend an entire weekend getting told what a disappointment I am and how I should marry some rich old guy like she did so she won't be ashamed to mention my name."

"I know, Julie, they're awful," Jasper sighed. "God, you know how much she hates Taylor and I. But the thing is…well, over the past month, two maids have gone missing, and a chef was found dead in the house."

"Wait, what?" Julie asked. If she didn't know better, that sounded like…

"We think there may be a case going on there, and this seems as good a time as any to investigate."

Julie thought for a moment. "Okay. So, say maybe I'm interested in the case. I am not going alone to that thing, though."

"Of course not!" Jasper said quickly. "Tay and I will be there, and you should definitely bring Dean."

"Sam too," she added quickly.

"Ah, yes," he said. "The infamous Sam Winchester."

"That's right, you haven't met him!" Julie realized. "Well, I'll convince the two of them, and we'll be there. When is it?"

"We're meeting there tomorrow night at six for a formal dinner," Jasper groaned.

"Thanks for giving me lots of time to prepare!" Julie snapped.

"Hey, I was hoping she might cancel!" There was a beat, and then uncle and niece laughed. "So, I'll see you tomorrow. You better give those boys fair warning. And you also might want to pretend Sam is like a billionaire lawyer or something, and you're actually dating him and Dean is just your personal servant…"

"Goodbye, Jasper," Julie said firmly, hanging up on him. She took a deep breath to steel herself and then walked back into the room, forcing a smile. "Hey, guys."

"What was up?" Dean asked.

She took another deep breath. "You guys like me, right?"

"Of course!" Sam said, confused. "Why?"

"Well, just remember how much you like me…" Julie sighed.

* * *

"I still can't believe you talked me into this," Dean muttered, fiddling with his tie as they got out of the car.

"Oh, no you don't!" Julie cried, smacking his hand away and tightening his tie. "She cannot stand a man with a loose tie."

"Or a man who drinks beer out of a bottle, or a man who discusses sports at the dinner table, or a man who shows public displays of affection, or a man who doesn't speak at least three languages, or a man that doesn't read classic literature, or a man who doesn't have at least a few hundred thousand dollars in the bank, or a man who wears cheap suits, or-" Dean rattled off sarcastically.

"Okay, I get it, it's a lot to ask," Julie sighed. "But this is my family, and I do want them to like you, even if I hate them."

Sam pulled their suitcases out of the trunk. "Is this everything?" he called.

"Let's see, there's our three bags, plus her gift which has to be separately bagged, and then the hunting bag which we're going to have to hide because it's burlap…" Julie stopped when she realized both brothers were chuckling and shaking their heads at her. "What?"

"I've seen you take on demons and angels and vampires and ghosts and every monster imaginable," Dean said. "And yet I've never seen you as terrified of anything as you are this woman."

"Shut up," Julie muttered, shoving his chest lightly. He grabbed her and pulled her into a long hug. She sighed and relaxed a little. "I hate this," she admitted.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Dean smirked, letting her go. He smiled at her and added, "Have I told you that you look beautiful yet?"

"Four times," Julie muttered, blushing a little.

"Well, you do." And she did. He blond hair was twisted back into an elegant bun, a couple blond curls framing her face. She wore some light makeup, two inch black heels, and a sleeveless black dress with a deep neck that showed off her ample cleavage. Sam and Dean both wore suits, against their will, but Julie had made it very clear they could not get into the house if they were not dressed in black tie formal.

"Julie!" someone cried, and the three of them turned to see a man wearing a suit, with greying hair and Julie's blue eyes approaching. A busty blond young woman walked behind him, somehow keeping up in three inch heels, wearing a strapless purple dress with a short hemline. She looked bored and moody until she spotted Sam and Dean, and just like that, her expression turned flirty and suggestive.

"Jasper! Taylor!" Julie cried, rushing to meet her family. She hugged them both as the Winchester's joined them. "I've missed you guys."

"We missed you too, sweetheart," Jasper smiled. He grinned at Dean. "Dean Winchester…"

"Hey, Jasper," Dean smiled, giving the man a brief, one-armed hug. "Good to see you."

"Hey, Dean…" Taylor practically purred.

Dean smirked and nodded politely at her. "Taylor."

"And this must be your brother, Sam," Jasper said, turning to face the other Winchester. He stuck out his hand. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"You too," Sam said, shaking his hand. "I've heard a lot about you. I have to say, I'm very fond of your niece."

"Aren't we all?" Jasper grinned. "You two are the lucky ones. We get the occasional call saying she's not dead, but besides that…"

"Oh, shut up," Julie said, pushing his shoulder. "We've been busy!"

"So…you're the famous Sam Winchester, huh?" Taylor asked flirtatiously. Sam smiled a little uncomfortably. "What is it with your family and handsome men? Your girlfriend is pretty lucky."

"I don't have a girlfriend," Sam said carefully.

"Really? Lucky me," Taylor said, and she winked at him.

"I am so sorry," Julie muttered to Sam, and he smirked. "What do you say we get this over with?" she asked the group, and the five of them approached the huge mansion in front of them.

A doorman took their bags and waved them into the huge dining room where several well-dressed people stood talking, holding cocktails. "Where is the alcohol?" Jasper asked right away. "I need the alcohol."

Sam, Dean, Julie, and Jasper headed straight for the bar, while Taylor peeled off to go hit on a couple of Julie's second cousins. The nice thing about this for Taylor was that she was not related to a single person in here by blood, and therefore, they were all available to her.

Julie didn't even make it to the bar before one of the bachelors found her. There were several people here like Taylor and Jasper, who were only related by marriage, and far too many were men for Julie's taste. Chris Book was one of these men, and for the past six years, he had been trying to sleep with Julie. He caught her before she even made the bar and said, "There she is. The ever lovely Julie Carters."

"Bye, Chris," she said coolly.

"Oh, don't be like that," he said. "Let me buy you a drink."

"They're free."

"I'll pay you to have a drink with me, then," he smirked. "Come on, Julie. What do you say?"

"Is this guy bothering you?" a low, gruff voice asked, and they both turned to see Dean standing there, arms crossed.

"Who's this guy?" Chris asked coolly. "I don't remember seeing you before."

"Chris, this is my boyfriend, Dean," Julie smirked, putting an arm around Dean's waist. Dean smirked and did the same.

"Wait. Seriously?" Chris groaned. "Is it serious?"

"Very."

"Dammit. I bet Gabe five thousand that I could get you in bed by the end of the weekend," Chris grumbled.

"And that was a stupid-ass bet you would not have won even if I was single," Julie snapped. "Now, bye, Chris."

He walked away and Dean raised his eyebrows. "Is that normal?"

"Dean, that was just the beginning," Julie sighed. "I'm going to need that open bar if I'm going to get through this weekend."

Julie hadn't even gotten a whole glass in her before a woman cleared her throat behind her. _I'm not drunk enough for this,_ she thought, but then she turned around anyway and forced a smile. She took in the woman before her, looking surprisingly good for a woman nearing eighty, dressed in a deep purple dress, her silver hair swept up in an elegant bun. "Grandma!"

"I insist you call me Grandmother," Helen Mayor said in her unbelievably pretentious way. "It sounds much more sophisticated, and if you cannot do that, then call me Helen or Mrs. Mayor; you know the rules." She was the mother of Julie's mother, Katrina, but Helen was as different from Julie as could be. Helen Mayor, then Helen Aldrich had married an extremely wealthy man when she was twenty and he was forty-six. She was his beautiful young trophy wife, and proud to be so. She gave birth to two strong, handsome, wealthy sons who had gone on to be great business men and had several children each, creating for her a nice, big, wealthy family. And then there had been her only daughter.

Katrina was a small, sweet, shy, beautiful girl who had fallen in love with a boy in high school and eloped with him. She and Thomas Carters barely scraped by, raising their little daughter in a small home, both working to keep themselves afloat. Helen had frozen their assets when Katrina refused to go with the plans her mother had made for her, and Katrina was the disgrace of the family.

Still, she had been Helen's favorite. No one said it, but everyone knew it. And when Katrina was murdered in her home by a vengeful vampire, leaving behind a widowed, vengeful, young hunter and a two-year-old daughter, it broke Helen's heart. She never forgave Thomas, blaming him, and it wasn't until after Thomas had died and Julie was eighteen that she finally began trying to reach out to her estranged granddaughter.

Julie knew, deep in her heart, that Helen loved her. Helen saw in her at least the tiniest spark of Katrina, and she hoped that Julie could be everything Katrina wasn't. But that wasn't who Julie was. Julie couldn't be the perfect little doll, marrying an old, rich politician and being his beautiful trophy wife until he died, leaving her rolling in piles of money. That was not her. Helen and Julie both knew it, but Helen was determined to change that.

"Sorry, Grandmother," Julie sighed. She took another swig of her drink.

"What is that you're drinking?" Helen asked, sounding offended. "It doesn't look like the sort of thing a lady should drink."

"I don't even know," Julie shrugged. "Sam made it for me."

"Pardon? Who is this _Sam_?" Helen sniffed.

Sam, who had been pouring himself a drink a couple feet away looked up. He joined Julie and nodded at Helen. "You must be Julie's grandmother," he said in that impossibly charming way of his. He held out a hand to shake hers. "It's a pleasure to meet you. This is quite the gathering."

She delicately shook his hand, taking in the tall, well-built, handsome man in front of her. She nodded, satisfied with his appearance at least. "This is Sam Winchester, Grandmother," Julie said, encouraged by that nod. She searched quickly for something about the hunter next to her that would actually please her grandmother. "He got a full ride to Stanford right out of college and was top of his class."

"Impressive," Helen said, actually giving a small smile. "And how long have you two been dating?"

Both Sam and Julie blanched. "Uh…" Julie stammered, then laughed nervously. "Grandma...Grandmother, I mean…we're not dating."

"Yeah, we're not…" Sam said, laughing nervously as well.

"No?" Helen asked with a smirk. "You bring a handsome, intelligent young man here with you, and yet you're not dating? Jasper did inform me you were bringing your boyfriend with you in that charmingly vague way of his."

"Well, I did bring my boyfriend here," Julie said, still reeling slightly.

"And yet it is not this Sam. Although he is standing here next to you, and he poured your drink, and you just praised him to me, and you two make a very handsome couple," Helen smirked. "Do you see my confusion, Juliet?"

"It's Julie, and that's actually my boyfriend over there with Jasper," Julie explained, pointing to Dean a few feet away, chatting with Jasper. He noticed her pointing and came over.

"It is rude to point," Helen said coolly as Dean joined them.

"What's up?" Dean asked Julie, completely ignoring Helen. She frowned.

"Um, Dean, I just wanted you to meet my grandmother, Helen Mayor," Julie said quickly, gently turning him towards her.

"Ah, right," Dean said, sticking out his hand. "Nice to meet you, ma'am. This is quite the house you've got here."

Helen did not shake his hand, just raised her eyebrows. "It is, isn't it?" she said drily.

Dean dropped his hand and shifted awkwardly. "Thank you for inviting us," he tried again, smiling weakly.

"I don't actually recall inviting anyone but Juliet. However, she's such a strong independent woman she chooses what to do and who to bring herself, doesn't she?"

Julie bit her lip to keep from snapping at her grandmother. She had been rather nice, for her at least, to Sam, but she was already acting like she hated Dean. And that wasn't fair.

"Well, Grandmother, I thought you would want to meet my boyfriend," Julie said, going for a smile. "This is Dean Winchester. He and I have been living together for a year now, and I thought you would want to meet him since things are pretty serious."

Dean gave her a small smile. "Winchester?" Helen asked suspiciously. "Isn't that also Sam's last name?"

"We're brothers," Dean explained. Helen shot him a cold look that said very clearly she was not asking him. He gulped and took a small step back.

"I see," she said slowly. "And why exactly did you feel the need to bring your boyfriend's brother along then, if you two aren't also dating?"

"Well, Grandmother, Sam and Dean are very close," Julie said carefully. "They're…business partners. I actually…work with them, and we live together, so it just made sense to bring Sam-"

"You mean to tell me you live with two men?" Helen asked, sounding scandalized.

"Yes, Grandmother, I do," Julie snapped. "Sam is a very close friend of mine, and Dean is my boyfriend, and they both agreed to come with me, so I ask that you treat them both with the utmost respect and courtesy."

Helen studied her. "I shall try, Juliet," she sniffed after a moment.

"Julie."

"So, what is it you do then, Dean Winchester?" Helen asked coolly.

"I…well, Sam and I actually…we work for the government," Dean explained. "Julie actually does, too."

"My granddaughter works for the government, and no one thought to tell me?" Helen asked.

"It's a small job, Grandmother, not important-"

"Does it pay well? Are any of you very wealthy?"

"Well…" Dean glanced to Sam and Julie for help. "Not exactly."

"Of course," Helen said almost under her breath. "Alright then. Well, Dean… how old are you?"

Dean blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Do you have hearing problems? I asked how old you are. Is that hard to understand?" she snapped.

"No, no I just…I'm thirty-six," he finally got out.

"And you, Sam?"

"Thirty-two."

"Hmm." Helen sniffed. "Don't you think he's a little _old _for you, Juliet?"

Julie glared at her. "Your husband was over twenty years older than you, Grandmother," she shot back.

Helen smirked slightly. Then she sighed dramatically, "I suppose that is all. I should go speak to some of my other guests."

She walked away without another word, and Julie swore quietly. "I cannot believe her!"

"You weren't exaggerating," Dean muttered. "She really hated me."

"She didn't…" Julie tried weakly, but no one believed her.

"Hey, I think she liked _me_, at least while she thought I was your boyfriend," Sam said, trying to lighten the mood.

"What?" Dean snapped.

Sam and Julie both sighed. "It's going to be a very long weekend," Julie muttered, before pouring herself another drink.

* * *

If Dean had not already been to hell, this would probably be pretty close to how he would have imagined it.

He was surrounded by the kind of judgmental, pretentious snobs he despised, and every single one of them hated him. Some hated him because he wasn't one of them and all the women hated him because when they hit on him, he turned them down. The men hated him because he was with Julie, who was the most desirable bachelorette here, apparently. And then Helen Mayor hated him because he wasn't an old, rich guy who was about to die and leave Julie filthy rich. She hated him because he wasn't intelligent and mannerly and wealthy and perfect. She hated him because he wasn't good enough for her orphaned granddaughter.

After that first long, painful first evening, where neither Sam, Dean, Julie, Jasper, nor Taylor could get any information on the case (although Tay wasn't trying very hard), he and Julie collapsed into bed. Dean got out of the suit he had to wear and just tried to sleep. Julie joined him, and she touched his bare shoulder gently. He opened his eyes and stared at her. She was so beautiful, and young, and intelligent, and good. She deserved to live in a place like this, deserved a guy who could give her everything she wanted. Not a guy like him, who would probably eventually get her killed.

"I'm so sorry," Julie whispered, and he pulled her as close as he could to her and tried to forget the way these people made him feel. It was ridiculous, because normally pretentious assholes like this would make him laugh. But this was Julie's family, and he knew that she wanted them to love him. And they didn't. He wasn't good enough for them, for her, and everybody here knew it, and he saw it in the way they looked at him, and it really got to him. He hated to admit it, but it bothered him. A lot.

Julie stroked his hair, touched his cheek. "Dean, I hate this," she said. "These… these assholes…" She laughed bitterly. "My _family_…they shouldn't treat you like this. You're too good for this."

He snorted bitterly. "You are," she insisted. "Sam too." But they weren't as rough on him, because he wasn't a surly, borderline alcoholic high school dropout. Sam was the kid who had gotten a full ride to Stanford and been top of the class. He was charming and intelligent, and he easily could have been one of these people, with beautiful Jessica on his arm, living a life like this if Dean hadn't dragged him back in.

Dean sighed and kissed the top of her head. "I like you better than the rest of your family," he muttered.

She laughed lightly. "I love you," she whispered.

"Get some sleep, Jules," he sighed. She rested her head against his shoulder and he lay still until her breaths were regular on his skin. Then, finally, he was able to fall asleep too.

* * *

The next day, they were able to dress in their normal clothes. The five hunters met up for breakfast, a serve-yourself kind of thing at a huge buffet in the dining room. Full of delicious food, Dean felt a little better. He and Julie split off from the group to talk to some of the older couples about the accidents that had happened recently, while Sam talked with a group of guys who were grilling out for lunch, Taylor tried to get information out of all the single men, and Jasper talked with the more serious adults.

The hunters rendezvoused for lunch, but not a single one of them had found any leads. Lunch was another tough ordeal, when Helen reappeared and sat down next to Julie, surprising all five of them. She then proceeded to spend the entire meal asking Julie questions about her life and the two brothers she now lived with, hinting heavily that Julie should be dating Sam, not Dean. At one point, Helen was so blatantly obvious and rude that Dean excused himself and walked away.

"That's it," Julie snapped, and since the meal was wrapping up anyway, she stood up and said coldly, "Grandmother, if you would come with me."

Helen glared at her. "You cannot be serious?"

"Deadly."

Helen sighed dramatically, excused herself, and the two women stalked angrily upstairs to Helen's grandiose bedroom before Julie whirled around. "You are being horrible," she snapped, not bothering to beat around the bush.

"Juliet, that is terribly rude to say-" Helen started.

"No, you're the one who is being terribly rude!" Julie cried. "I didn't have to come here. I didn't even want to come! And I brought Sam and Dean with me because they're a very important part of my life, and if you don't approve of that, then I'm sorry but-"

"I didn't say I don't approve of Sam," Helen sniffed. "He seems like a fine man, and a very good match for you."

"Stop!" Julie snapped. "Just. Stop."

"Juliet, I don't understand-"

"It's Julie, _Grandma_!" Julie said, finally letting everything out. "And you're right. Sam's a great guy, and he's a very close friend of mine. But I've known him three months, and I've been with Dean coming up on a year!"

"Just because you meet this Dean first doesn't mean he's the right one for you," Helen said, and her voice wasn't cold or superior, but honest. She was really trying to convince Julie.

"Listen to me," Julie said. "I admitted to myself that I was in love with Dean a week after I met him. And you're going to think that's crazy, but it's not. And he's a high school dropout, and he isn't wealthy, and he has a hell of a lot of baggage. Being with him isn't always easy. We fight sometimes. He's in danger a lot of the time, and I could lose him while he's…working. And those are all reasons I'm sure you think I shouldn't be with him."

"He's not good enough for you," Helen said coldly. "You may not be my only granddaughter but…you're the only one who matters, really. You were Katrina's…you were her only daughter, and she made a foolish mistake when she was young, and look where it got her."

Julie was surprised by the pain in her grandmother's eyes, but she wasn't done. "My mother didn't make a mistake," Julie said softly. "She married a man she loved, and she was happy with him. Life wasn't easy, and her life…it ended bloody. But I'm sure if she was still here, she wouldn't change her decision. And neither will I."

"Why?" Helen asked softly. "Why does it have to be him? This _Dean Winchester_? Why can't it be someone who can take care of you and treat you well, why can't it be the kind of man you deserve? Why can't you just…why can't you just make the smart decision?"

It struck Julie how right her grandmother was, even though she didn't even know how dangerous and crazy being with Dean Winchester really was. Why couldn't she pick a nice, normal, good guy who would take care of her and love her? Someone who she could be safe with, someone she could marry and raise a family with and grow old with. Why did she have to pick this crazy life, when she could have a nice, normal, simple one like that? A good life.

"Because I love him," Julie whispered, surprised by the overwhelming wave of emotion that hit her as she admitted it.

Helen shook her head and turned away. She strode over to her dresser and studied the picture on it, of her, a good forty years younger, with her husband, Heath. She shook her head, and Julie realized with a start that her grandmother looked on the verge of tears.

"I didn't love him," Helen Mayor choked out after a moment. "Not like I should have. Not like you love this…this Dean."

"Grandma…" Julie tried gently, concerned.

Helen stiffened suddenly, and then a moment later she turned around, and her expression was hard again. "I am getting old, Juliet," she said flatly. "My time is running out, and before long, I'm sure I will join the husband that I didn't love."

"Grandmother-" Julie started.

"I wrote my will a month ago," her grandmother continued. "I could have given all of my property to one of my sons, and they would continue my husband's legacy, run this house and this business right. But instead…" She chuckled bitterly.

"Instead, I'm giving it all to you," she continued. Julie blinked, stunned. "I'm giving this house and a good chunk of the family fortune to you, the foolish daughter of my foolish daughter. And maybe, if you were with that Stanford-graduate Sam or some other man who knew what he was doing, my fortune would be safe, but no, you have to be with a high school dropout who will probably just leave you when someone better comes along. It's okay though, because you _love him_."

"Grandmother!" Julie snapped, hurt and appalled.

"You're young and naïve, Juliet," Helen sighed. "You've never known heartbreak. You haven't learned yet that there are more important things in life than being with someone who can make you happy, for a time. You have to make smart decisions, decide what you want out of life, and then go and get it yourself. Me? I wanted to be rich and live in a fancy house and have everything I desired. I wanted a large, successful family of people like myself, and I have all of those things. And you, Juliet? What do you want?"

"I want you to quit calling me that," her granddaughter snapped. "I want to be with the people I care about, people who care about me. I want to help people. And I'm doing those things, with the people I love, and while you may have a family here, I can almost guarantee you that there is not a single person here who actually genuinely loves you, Grandmother."

"I am appalled at you!" Helen said disapprovingly.

Julie laughed. "I can say the same. Look, just…don't talk to me. Don't talk to Dean, or Sam, or Taylor or Jasper either, because I know you hate them. Because they're my family, and I love them, unlike everyone else in this hell of a family. Just let us get through this weekend so we can go home and never have to see each other again. And give your inheritance to someone who actually wants it."

Julie walked out without another word, and Helen stared after her, mouth hanging open. Eventually, she composed herself, but the words stung. And the worst part wasn't even that they had come from the granddaughter she wanted most to love her. The worst part was that…she was right.

Helen looked up as a young, fresh-faced maid walked into the room with a tea tray. "Tea, ma'am?" the maid asked sweetly.

"Did I ask for tea?" Helen snapped. "Get out of here, you foolish girl!"

The girl's eyes flashed, and she stepped away from the tray. "Wow. Bad call, _ma'am_."

Everyone else was still down at lunch, and Julie had already rejoined them, so no one could even hear Helen scream.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

"I hate this place," Julie muttered, as the five hunters sat on a marble bench, surrounded by beautiful smelling rose bushes, overlooking a glorious fountain and a neat, extravagant garden.

"Thirty-six hours, and we are out of here," Jasper muttered, looking down at his watch.

"But that also means we've only got thirty-six hours to figure out why those maids disappeared and that chef died," Sam pointed out.

"Maybe the maids changed their name and moved to a different country to escape Helen Mayor," Julie said sarcastically.

Dean chuckled. "And maybe the chef dropped dead of sheer terror of that woman."

Taylor sighed and stretched. "Whatever's going on here, can we just figure it out? I think your hot cousin, Jason, is totally into me, Julie."

"But…you're also my cousin," Julie pointed out.

"Not by blood, darling, and that's what counts," Taylor said, winking at them. "Well, it seems I'm not going to be of any further use here, so…" She hurried away before they could stop her.

"Let her go," Jasper sighed. "I hate to admit it, but I think we'll do better without her helping, actually."

The four of them sighed. "So. Let's think. We have no leads, and everyone here is either clueless or hiding something," Julie said after a moment.

"Gee, this thinking is fun," Dean muttered, and she kicked him.

"If you two could quite playing footsie, I think I've got an idea," Sam smirked as the couple shot him glares.

"We're all ears," Jasper said, eager for something to do. They had been avoiding all guests for nearly two hours, relocating to a new spot outdoors every time they heard voices, but even that was getting tiresome.

"So, we've talked to almost every guest about the disappearances and the death, but we haven't talked to the actual staff," Sam pointed out. "And they're the ones who knew the people anyway. Wouldn't they be more likely to know?"

"I see," Jasper smirked. "So Sam's the brains of the operation, Dean's the muscle, and Julie's the eye candy."

"Shut up," Julie muttered, kicking him too for good measure.

"It's a good plan," Jasper pointed out. "I say go for it. I'll go hit on—I mean check on those maids…"

Julie rolled her eyes. "Let's split up. Dean and I do kitchen duty, and Sam can keep an eye on you while you check with the maids. Sounds good?"

"Sure, I guess," Jasper sighed. They all got to their feet and prepared to go back to work. "Sam, son, I don't suppose you have a thing for maids, do you?"

Julie shook her head as she watched them walk away, talking and laughing. "Ready to go?" she asked Dean.

"Hell yeah!" he said. "I may hate this place, but I do love the food."

"We're working, not eating, you know."

"Yeah, whatever."

They didn't end up getting a lot of work done, though. The help was cold, quiet, and being paid enormous amounts of money not to answer any questions not about food. After a while, Dean and Julie gave up, and Dean stole a couple muffins just to spite them.

They met up with Jasper again, but he had made no progress either. Sam had gone off to question the guests that they hadn't spoken to yet when the maids had no answers, and the three hunters were at a loss. They sighed and went back inside, but Julie was grabbed almost instantly by her grandmother.

"I don't want to talk to you," Julie snapped coldly.

"Julie, please, I need to speak with you," Helen insisted, and Julie was surprised by the earnest look in her eyes and the use of her right name. She gave in and left Dean and Jasper behind to go speak with Helen in an empty room.

"What do you want?" Julie snapped after Helen shut the door behind them.

"Julie, please," her grandmother said. "Can we just talk civilly?"

"Fine," she replied, crossing her arms. "What is it you wanted, Grandmother?"

"I wanted to talk about these men you travel with," Helen said carefully.

"You mean live with?" Julie snapped. "We're not homeless."

"Right. I'm sorry." Helen collected herself. "How well do you know them?"

Julie snorted. "Uh…pretty well."

"So what is it exactly you do then, for a living?"

Julie's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I told you…we work for the government."

"But, see, sweetheart, that's a little vague," Helen said, trying to smile sweetly, her face looking unnatural when she did so.

_Sweetheart? _Julie took a half-step away from her. Something was off about her grandmother. "Grandmother, what's wrong with you?" she said suspiciously.

"Nothing, Julie," Helen said quickly.

"You keep calling me Julie."

"That's your name, isn't it?"

"Yeah, and you don't call me that."

Helen, or whatever else this was, because Julie was becoming more and more certain it wasn't her, frowned, trying to think of an answer. Julie reached into the pocket of her jacket for the small silver knife she carried around with her at all times, and realized it was gone.

Helen grinned suddenly. "Looking for this, sweetheart?" she smirked, holding up the silver knife in her gloved hand.

Julie turned around and tried to open the door, but it was locked. She whirled around and glared at the thing pretending to be her grandmother. "What are you?" she snarled.

"I don't really have a name," the monster said thoughtfully. "I was a really gorgeous prostitute for a couple months named Myra, and I really liked the name. I guess you could call me that, or Grandma, if you'd prefer that."

"You're a shifter?" Julie guessed.

"Busted," this Myra monster smirked, and it was so odd to look at this old, silver-haired, elegant, cruel old woman and realize she really was a monster. "So you really are a hunter, too, then."

"And you're the one killing people and making them disappear."

"A sharp one, too," Myra smirked. "My brother and I, he likes to go by Horace, we came here and pretended to be some maids for a while, but they were pathetic, so we got new bodies as chefs. Then one of the other chefs caught on, so something had to be done about him…"

"And I suppose the other maids are dead, then?" Julie said slowly.

"Unfortunately," the monster sighed. "They tried to resist us. Don't make their same mistake, Julie Carters."

Julie smirked. "Why are you here, anyway?"

"Your grandma's rich," the monster pretending to be her grandmother said with a sly grin. "And we want her inheritance once she's dead. So our plan was to take her out while the whole family was here, see who got the inheritance, and become them long enough to get loaded, and then split town. Pretty ingenious, huh?" Myra grinned.

"Only problem was, then you showed, and the inheritance goes to you, a hunter. Of course, we wouldn't have known you were a hunter, but then you brought the two most dangerous hunters alive along with you, so that was a bit of a tipoff."

"Yeah, and those two hunters you're so scared of?" Julie smirked confidently. "They're still here. And they'll notice when I don't come out of here, they'll find you and take care of you."

"Don't worry about them," Myra chuckled, and it was so eerie looking at her grandmother and knowing she could be about to kill her. "My brother is working on taking care of the Winchester's as we speak. And as for you…well, you will come out of here. Or rather, I will, and you'll be dead, but close enough."

"Don't bet on it," Julie replied cockily.

"Oh, really? Why not? I've got your silver knife, sweetie. You can't touch me."

Julie bent and pulled something out of her boot. Before Myra could move, Julie threw a small silver knife through the air, and it lodged in the center of her throat. Julie smirked as the shifter fell to the ground, dead, and replied, "Because I've always got a second knife."

Julie hid the body in the closet after retrieving her knives, and she found a key in the shifter's pocket. She unlocked herself and rushed to find Dean.

"Hold this knife!" she ordered him as soon as she saw him.

He blinked. "What?"

"Just hold the damn knife, Dean!"

"Okay, I will! Calm down," Dean said, surprised, but he took the silver knife she was holding and didn't flinch or burn. She sighed and relaxed visibly. "What's wrong?"

"My grandmother just tried to kill me."

"Hold on. What?!"

"There was a shifter pretending to be her, and she was going to kill me, but thankfully she monologued first, so I know her plan," Julie said in a careful whisper. "She and her brother want the inheritance, and they know we're here and that we're hunters. They want to take us out, kill my grandmother, and then become whoever would normally inherit the inheritance. Anyway, I took care of one of them, but anyone here could be a shape shifter, and they're after you and Sam."

"Damn. Okay." Dean took a deep breath. "We've got to find Sam, and warn Jasper and Taylor for that matter. We should split up."

"Right," Julie breathed. "Here, take one of my knives."

Dean took the silver knife again and kissed her quickly. "Stay safe."

And the two hunters took off in opposite directions without another word.

* * *

"This place has a pool," Sam said in disbelief.

The man with him, Julie's cousin, Jason chuckled. "Yeah. Helen's loaded. I mean, she's a bit of a bitch, but she's got a hell of a house."

Sam smirked slightly. As far as Julie's relatives that Sam had met so far went, Jason seemed okay. He was about Sam's age, a couple years younger, and less snobby than the others. He had asked Sam to drink a beer and chat with him, and Sam was more than willing to chat with this guy, hopefully furthering the investigation.

"So," Jason said after a taking a long drink of his beer. "You're here with Julie, huh?"

"Yeah," Sam shrugged.

"Julie Carters…" Jason said thoughtfully. He smirked. "The black sheep of the family. And one hell of a woman, although I'm sure you know that." Sam blinked, a little surprised at how this was going. "These gatherings are for the people who are actually related by blood to catch up, and those who aren't to hook up, and for Helen to feel like she actually cares about her family and feel good about herself," Jason explained. "And Julie is number one on most guys' hit that list. She is probably the hottest unmarried woman here."

Sam almost choked on his beer. "But…isn't she your cousin?"

"Relax, Sam," Jason chuckled. "I'm not going to hook up with her. She's all yours, buddy."

Sam almost choked again. "I-"

"There's a lot of guys here who want to be you, pal," Jason said, shaking his head. "There's no good way to say this as her cousin, but that is one smoking girl you got there."

"I'm…we're not…she's not my girlfriend," Sam finally got out.

"So it's just sex, huh? She seemed more like the serious relationship type to me."

"No, I…" Sam took a deep breath to clear his head. "I'm not with Julie. My older brother, Dean…he's the one dating her."

"Oh. Well." Jason laughed. "Sorry, man. That must be awkward."

"Not really," Sam muttered. If one more person here mistook him for Julie's boyfriend, he was afraid he would hit them. And it wasn't because he didn't like Julie. She was great. She was funny, and sweet, and brave, and a kickass hunter, and she was so smart, and they had so much in common, and she was so pretty…it wasn't that he would mind being her boyfriend. That could never happen, though. She and Dean were together, and they were so happy, and he would never do anything to change that. That's how things were, so if everyone could just leave them alone…

"But you're…business partners with her, right? That's it?" Jason asked curiously.

"Uh…yeah, we work together. It's government work, actually."

"Hmm." Jason studied him, and there was something unnerving about how cold and calculating his eyes were.

"Something wrong?" Sam asked carefully.

"I've just never heard hunting referred to that way before," the man smirked.

And before Sam could react, Jason smashed his bottle against the top of Sam's head.

The shifter wanted to stop and gloat, but he heard a man yell, "Hey!" His deep, angry voice echoed around the pool. The shape shifter looked up and saw Dean Winchester running towards him.

The monster posing as Jason hesitated for a moment, and then heaved Sam's unconscious body into the deep pool before taking off running. "Sammy!" Dean yelled, torn for a moment. But in the end, he leapt into the pool to save Sam, letting the monster go.

Sam was sinking quickly, leaving a little trail of red in the water from a cut on his forehead. Dean grabbed the back of Sam's jacket and swam hard, struggling to get them back to the surface. Once they were back above water, Dean had to work hard just to keep Sam's head above water. After a few moments, Sam started spluttering and his eyes opened.

Dean breathed a sigh of relief, and he managed to swim over to the edge of the pool. He heaved himself out and helped Sam onto dry ground. The two brothers lay side by side, gasping for air and sopping wet. "Sammy…you okay?" Dean asked after a few moments.

"I…think so," Sam sighed. "God, my head."

Dean sat up just as someone else entered the room. "Dean! Sam!" Julie shrieked, and she ran to them, Jasper and Taylor behind her.

Julie knelt beside Sam, helping him sit up. "What happened to your head?" she asked, concerned.

"That guy, Jason…he hit me over the head with a bottle and tried to drown me," Sam said slowly. Julie gasped. "If Dean hadn't been there…"

"Somebody get me a first aid kit," Julie ordered, and Jasper disappeared to find one.

"They both clean?" Dean guessed, eying Taylor suspiciously.

"I checked, and they're good," Julie said as she forced Sam to lie back down again and rest. "Taylor was actually hitting on Jason when I found her, so when someone said Sam was with Jason in the pool room…"

"What's going on?" Sam asked, confused. "What was that? A shifter?"

"There were two of them, but Jules took care of one already," Dean explained. "And, of course, they know who we are, and they want to kill us before we kill them. Dammit, Sammy, when did we get so famous?"

Julie smirked and ran a hand through Dean's wet hair, spiking it up. "I'm glad you two are okay," she said softly.

"Well, my head is bleeding and I just almost drowned," Sam pointed out.

"You're fine, you big baby," Julie retorted, although she did fret over him quite a bit as she patched up his head once Jasper returned.

Sam, Dean, and Julie returned to their adjoining rooms and the two men stripped out of their wet clothes and changed into fresh, dry ones. Then the five hunters reconvened, quickly checked each other with silver, and made a plan.

"We need to find out what happened to Helen, and we need to find that last shape shifter," Jasper said once they were all together. "Any ideas?"

"The last place I saw Grandmother was up in her room a couple hours ago," Julie replied. "Some time after that fight, one of the shifters must have done something to her."

"Alright," Dean said. "Here's the plan. We go search that room, look for Helen, hope we find that shifter. And no more splitting up," he ordered. "Gets too confusing and easy for it to take out one of us."

"Makes sense," the others agreed, and so the five hunters slipped past the party, which was celebrating another extravagant dinner, not even realizing or caring their hostess was missing. When Dean opened the door to Helen's bedroom and four hunters poured in, they saw about the last thing they were expecting though.

Helen was awake, sitting there tied to a fancy oak chair. Jason, or the shape shifter posing as him stood nearby, holding a small pistol to the woman's head. The four of them froze in the doorway, glaring at the monster, but unable to attack as long as he had a hostage.

"Please, do come in and shut the door like gentlemen," he said reprovingly. "And lady," he added with a flirtatious wink at Julie.

Sam closed the door, and Julie growled, "Look, asshole, I'm having a really hard time not coming over there and killing you, so I'd suggest you surrender, and we might spare you."

"Now, why would I do that?" he smirked.

"Because you're outnumbered?" Dean replied coldly. "Just saying."

"I could have hidden in that huge crowd down there, or fled, but I didn't, even though you've already killed my sister," the shifter said coolly. "Obviously, I'm not going to surrender, if after all of that, I still wanted to face you." He added mockingly, "Just saying."

"Just kill the monster so we can be done with this," Dean muttered to Sam.

"I'll blow dear Granny's brains out if you even try it," the shifter smirked.

"You overestimate how much we actually want her alive," Julie said coldly, and Jasper and Taylor stared at her, surprised.

"You talk tough, Juliet," Jason smirked. "But would you really let me kill your grandmother in cold blood?"

Julie hesitated, and he smirked. "I thought so."

"Of course she wouldn't let you do so, you fool!" Helen cried. "She is my granddaughter! Now surrender to them, and these nice men will make sure you get put in prison."

"Now we're nice?" Dean muttered to Sam bitterly.

"You're not calling the shots anymore, Helen," the Jason imposter smirked. "In fact, you are so out of depth, I suggest you keep your mouth shut entirely, so as not to sound stupid."

Helen looked outraged, but Jasper added, "Yeah, Helen, you really should shut up." He turned to grin at Julie. "Always wanted to tell her that."

The shifter shook his head. "You think this is a joke? _I'm_ the one calling the shots now, and I say the four of you are going to put down all your weapons and get on your knees, now."

The four hunters obeyed reluctantly, kicking their silver weapons over to him and kneeling down. As the four hunters surrendered, there was a loud noise just outside, and Julie shrieked, "Taylor, go! Warn the others!"

The shape shifter growled angrily and took off towards the door. He swung it open, and Jasper tripped him. The shifter stumbled through the open door and straight into Taylor's waiting silver knife.

"Oops," she smirked, before throwing the dead monster to the ground.

"Nice, Tay," Julie said, high-fiving her cousin as the three men moved to quickly gather the corpse and hide it in the closet. The two cousins quickly cut Julie's grandmother free, but the old woman sprang away from the five of them the moment she was free.

"What _are_ you people?" she asked in a low, horrified voice.

Julie glanced at the others. "We're hunters," she sighed. "We work together and kill monsters like this one."

"Your _cousin_, Jason? You just killed your cousin and now you're calling him a _monster_?"

Julie looked to the others for help, but they were silent. "That wasn't my cousin. That was a shape shifter pretending to be him."

Helen blinked. "So, not only are you a murderer, but you're all insane, too!"

"He tried to kill you!" Dean cried.

"I don't want to hear anything from _you,_" Helen said coldly to him.

"And you won't get to, because now that we've saved your ass, and everyone else's here, we're getting out of this hellhole," Julie snapped. "And you can keep that inheritance, give it to some other person who actually wants it. Come on, guys," she said, and they all started to leave.

"I can't believe I ever saw anything in you," Helen said coldly, and Julie stiffened.

Dean turned around and looked her in the eye. "With all due respect, Helen, and that is none, the fact that you saw something in Julie…I think that may have been the only time you were actually right."

And without another word, the five of them left, and they never returned.

The hunters said their goodbyes, promising to keep in touch and work together again soon, and then Taylor and Jasper went their own way. Sam, Dean, and Julie didn't say a word for much of the drive home. "God, I hate my family," Julie said suddenly after a long silence, and she sounded near tears. "Every last despicable one of them."

Dean was driving, so he couldn't comfort her, but Sam, who was sitting in the back with her, put his arm around her. "Forget about them," he said gently. "We're your family now, if we're not too despicable for you."

Julie laughed a little and buried her head in Sam's shoulder. He hugged her for a long time, and Dean watched them in his rearview mirror, trying to ignore the angry beast in his chest. They were just friends. Sam was just being a good friend, comforting her after the ordeal she had just endured.

Julie eventually fell asleep like that, with her head on Sam's shoulder instead of Dean's. Dean knew it shouldn't bother him, but it did, just the tiniest bit. And as for Sam…he knew it shouldn't make him happy. He knew he shouldn't love the feeling of Julie in his arms…but he did. Just a little bit.

"Hey, Sam?" Dean asked after a while.

"Yeah?"

"I just…I'm glad we're not like that. Being judgmental and cruel, secretly hating each other…I'm just glad I've got family. Whatever you call that, it's _not _family."

Sam smiled a little. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm glad too. Thanks, too. For saving me earlier, in the pool…"

"Hey, what is family for?" Dean said with a small smile. And Sam smiled back, before closing his eyes and drifting off himself.

* * *

Julie looked up when someone knocked on the door of the library. Ever since they left the hellhole that was her grandmother's home yesterday, Julie had spent a lot of time in the library, curled up with warm tea and a soft sweater and a pile of thick, leather-bound books, her favorite way to de-stress. For a while, Sam had sat and read with her, but now she was alone.

Dean stood in the doorway, looking amazingly good in blue jeans, combat boots, and a red plaid flannel shirt. He gave her a small smile, his green eyes twinkling. "Hey, Jules. You got a minute? I found something I want to show you."

Julie closed her book and got up. "What is it?" she asked.

"It's a surprise," he said, and his excitement was so contagious, she couldn't stop herself from smiling back.

He led her into a room of the bunker she had seldom visited, one of the storage rooms with a wide open floor. Dean walked over to something, an old record player, and started it up. Julie grinned when she heard the song, an old jazz song, "The Way You Look Tonight." She shook her head at Dean. "How did you know?"

"That you love this song?" Dean asked. He grinned. "Back at our house, you used to sing it all the time while you cooked. And when I found it, well…"

Julie shook her head, smiling. She loved him so much. No matter how truly awful her family was to Dean, they didn't matter. What mattered was him, and how funny and charming and sweet and good he was, even if he didn't realize it.

"Dance with me?" he asked.

Julie laughed. "No way. You don't actually expect me to believe the great Dean Winchester can dance?"

"You tell me," he smirked, holding out his hand. She took his hand, and he pulled her in close. They began to waltz a bit awkwardly to the song. He really couldn't dance very well.

"You don't really know what you're doing, do you?" she smirked.

"Not even a little," he replied, and they both laughed. "I've only ever seen people dance in movies. How am I doing?"

"You keep stepping on me," she pointed out.

"True. At least I've got one part down." And as the song swelled, Dean suddenly dipped Julie, and she shrieked with laughter. He kissed her, the kind of sweet, tender kiss girls dreamed about. When they straightened up, Julie stared at him, and maybe it was because she was lightheaded from the dip and the kiss, but she was speechless.

"I love you, Jules," Dean said after a moment.

"Stop it," she said. He blinked, confused. "Stop being so goddamn perfect!"

"Trust me, I am _not_ perfect-" he started.

Julie kissed him just to shut him up. "Shut up," she told him when they pulled apart.

He chuckled, and they continued to dance, teasing each other and laughing and kissing, in a blissful little bubble of love. And neither of them noticed Sam watching them through the crack in the doorway almost…jealously.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Sam took another handful of popcorn from the bucket and shook his head at Dean and Julie. The three had spent twenty minutes arguing over what movie they should watch, with Dean and Julie finally teaming up on Sam to watch one of their personal favorites, _Back to the Future._ They were only twenty minutes into the movie, and yet already Sam was ready to lock his brother and best friend in another room. They were quoting every other line in weird voices, to boot. And as much as he loved them, he was seriously considering knocking them both out just so he could enjoy this movie in peace.

"Come on, Sammy," Dean said happily. "You gotta admit, this movie is a classic."

"Yeah," Sam smirked. "Now if only I could actually watch the movie and hear what was going on."

"We're much more entertaining," Julie replied, draping her arm over Dean's shoulders. She was sitting on his lap, sharing their own bowl of popcorn, which translated into Dean eating all the food _and _drinking both of their beers.

Sam opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, they heard a door close from down the hallway. Dean and Julie, who had been about to kiss, froze, and Sam paused the movie.

Without a word, the three hunters stood. Julie started to slip towards a nearby table, where her angel blade lay. But before she could even reach it, a woman's voice called, "Sam Winchester? Dean Winchester? Are you here?"

The brothers exchanged a look. "Hannah?" Sam called.

"Yes," her voice came again. "Where are you?"

"If you're in the main hall, it's the fifth door down on the right!" Dean yelled. Then he turned to Sam and Julie. "What is she doing here?"

"I don't know," Sam shrugged.

"How did she even get in?"

"Oh, I fixed the place so Cas and Hannah can just come in," Sam replied.

"Wait, when was that?"

Before Sam could reply, Hannah walked into the room and flipped on the light switch. The dark-haired angel stopped for a moment and cocked her head, confused. "Sam, Dean, there is a woman in here."

The three hunters exchanged a look. "Um…yes, there is, Hannah," Sam said carefully. "What's the problem? Is there a…a reason you're here?"

"Yeah, where's Cas?" Dean asked.

Hannah's normal blank expression suddenly changed into one of pain and worry. "That's why I'm here, Sam and Dean and…" She glanced uncertainly at Julie.

"Julie Carters," she said quickly. "Dean's-"

"Dean's girlfriend, yes," Hannah. "Castiel mentioned you a few times."

"Where is he?" Dean asked again, his expression dark and concerned.

"He's in heaven," Hannah sighed. Her stiff, robotic shell was breaking down, and the pretty woman looked overwhelmed. "He…he's in trouble."

"What's wrong?" Sam asked, concerned.

"His grace has been weakening, but he won't let any of us help him anymore." Hannah took a deep breath. "He's dying, and he won't let me help him. He's so weak that he can't leave heaven anymore, and since everyone else is afraid to go up there, we can't help-"

"Hold on," Dean stopped her. "What do you mean, everyone is afraid to go into heaven?"

"It's…it's Metatron," Hannah sighed. "He's powerful, even now, in a cell. He's figured out how to manipulate small parts of heaven at a time and, well…it's tolerable, just a nuisance. But, well…"

"You're all terrified of him," Sam guessed. The angel sighed, but didn't try to deny it.

"So let me get this straight," Dean said coldly. "That asshole of an angel is chasing you angels out of heaven, where Cas is trapped, and he's dying? How long does he have?"

Hannah gave him a pathetic look. "A few hours?"

"You're kidding me." Dean looked at Sam and Julie in disbelief. "How could you wait this long?!" he cried angrily.

"Castiel ordered me not to tell you!" Hannah snapped. Her blue eyes flashed as she stared him down. "But I could not let him die and so…I need your help."

The three hunters exchanged a look. "Of course we'll help!" Julie said after a moment. "It sounds like we don't have a lot of time, though. So…what's your plan?"

Hannah shook her head. "I don't know. There's nothing I can do to help Castiel. He won't take one of his follower's graces. And besides, Metatron is careful to manipulate heaven so we cannot approach the prison anymore. I was hoping that…well, one of you could come up with a plan."

Sam and Julie exchanged a look, at a loss for words. But Dean stepped forward and said, "I've got a plan."

"Really?" all three of them asked.

"Yeah," Dean shrugged. "It's obvious. I'll kill myself."

* * *

"I can't let him do this," Julie said desperately.

"Julie-" Sam said gently.

"No! No, I can't, Sam. I can't let Dean die! Are you really saying you can let your brother kill himself, not even knowing if he'll be able to come back?!"

"Julie," Sam said in an even softer, gentler tone. "I know it's hard, but you've got to let him do this."

"Sam!" she cried.

"No, listen to me. You know Dean. He'll do this whether we want him to or not. And going off of his track record, I'm pretty sure we'll find a way to get him back. But, Julie, the thing is…he has to do this. For Cas. He cares about Cas, so much, and if there's anything he can do to save him…he'll do it."

"But…does he really have to die?" Julie asked, and she was ashamed to realize she was on the verge of tears.

"Hey…" he said soothingly, pulling her into a hug. "Listen to me. He'll be okay. He'll get into heaven, find Cas, get him some grace, kick some angel ass, and be back before we know it."

"How are you so sure?" Julie muttered into his shirt.

Sam sighed and shook his head. "Honestly? I'm not. But if I don't believe that… I'll never be able to let him do this."

After a long moment, Sam and Julie pulled apart. They composed themselves and walked back into the room, where Dean was sitting on a couch, Hannah hovering nearby, with a small bottle of a rare and deadly poison they'd found in the bunker. "You guys ready?" Dean asked gently.

"No," Julie snapped before sitting down next to Dean on the couch and kissing him for a long, sweet moment.

"I love you," Dean told her when they pulled apart.

Julie buried her face in his shoulder and murmured, "Then don't do this."

Dean sighed and stroked her hair. "I've got to, Jules. He needs me."

Julie got up and took a few steps back. Sam shook his head. "You're coming right back, you hear me, Dean?" he said firmly. "Because otherwise I'll do anything to get you back."

"I'll be back before you even realize I'm gone," Dean said confidently. He studied Sam for a moment and then suddenly smiled. "Sammy…I just want to say how glad I am you were able to forgive me and-"

"Stop it," Sam snapped. "Don't you dare say goodbye. You're coming right back, with a fully functional Cas as well."

Dean nodded and smiled slightly. "Damn right. Alright, Hannah. Where's that poison?"

"Dean…I can't ask this of you," the angel said as she handed him the bottle.

"So, you're not asking. I'm volunteering." Dean took one last look at the two people he loved most and gave them a small smile. "Bottoms up!"

Julie knelt beside him and took his hand as he swallowed the dark liquid. For a few seconds, he felt fine. Then his throat began to burn. He coughed, and then suddenly he was choking. Dean grew lightheaded, and the room began to spin. His stomach was churning and his throat was like fire.

Julie barely bit back a scream as Dean began to choke, foaming at the mouth. She squeezed his hand as his whole body trembled with spasms. "No," she breathed. "No."

All at once, Dean gave one last twitch and slumped to the side. Dead. "No," she repeated in a dull, flat voice. Sam's arm went around her and he drew her into another hug as Hannah gently pushed Dean's eyes closed. Julie closed her eyes, trying not to sob as she clung desperately to his hand.

* * *

"Another job done," Sam sighed, holding a beer out to Dean.

Dean took the beer from his brother and popped the cap off. Sam took a swig of his own beer and sat down on the hood of the Impala next to his brother. The two of them took a sip of beer and sighed in unison

Sam didn't need to say anything, and neither did Dean. The two brothers could just sit next to each other, drinking beers in silence, and they would understand all the things the other wasn't saying. That's the way things were between them. They loved and understood each other, they took care of each other, they were each other's missing half. And as long as Dean was here, content to be with Sam…it was like heaven.

Or, rather, it was heaven.

"Dean? Is that really you?" Dean looked up, snapped out of his peaceful bliss by the sound of Cas's voice. His voice was thinner than usual, and when he saw Castiel, he understood why. The angel was dressed in his usual suit and trench coat, but he was much paler than normal, and he had dark circles under his eye.

"Cas." Dean stood up and set down his beer on the car. Sam didn't notice because, as much as he hated to admit it, Sam wasn't real. None of this was, it was all just…memories.

"What are you doing here?" Dean asked. "In _my_ heaven?"

Cas winced, slightly embarrassed. "Well…I can't exactly leave heaven right now because I'm…well, I'm-"

"Dying," Dean finished. "Yeah, I know. Me too, actually. Not exactly though, because I'm already dead, so…"

"What happened to you, Dean?" the angel asked, looking heartbroken. "Who killed you?"

"Me."

"What?"

"Well, Hannah came to Sam and Julie and I and told us that you were in trouble so…" Dean shrugged. "I'm helping you."

"I could not ask that of you," Cas sighed.

"You didn't ask that of me; I volunteered," Dean replied firmly. "Now, come on, Cas. Let's go find that bastard Metatron and get you some grace back."

Castiel smiled sadly at Dean. "Dean Winchester, you are a better friend than I deserve."

"Shut up, Cas. We don't have time for you to get all sappy and emotional. Just tell me how we get to heaven's prison. Is there like a yellow brick road or what?"

Cas shook his head. "You've been to heaven before, right?"

"Several times, apparently, although I only remember one time," he answered.

"Well, humans travel differently through heaven than angels, but I believe if you just know where you want to end up and keep plowing through, we should eventually arrive at the prison."

And so, angel and human, or whatever Dean was now that he was dead, set out. They passed through memories of Dean's childhood home, walked past a young Dean teaching an even younger Sam how to shoot a gun. They stopped for a few moments to watch Bobby Singer teasing an adult Sam back in his old home, but Dean moved on within a few minutes, when the memories of Bobby became too painful.

Dean was very tempted to stay when they entered the bunker to see Sam and Julie playing poker, and they invited Dean and Cas to join them. However, they had to keep going. Dean again grew weak when he stepped into the roadhouse and Ellen and Jo Harvelle offered him and Sam drinks at the bar. And when he entered the Carters' household and Jasper asked him to stay for dinner, he wanted more than anything to stay with them at least for a few minutes. But Cas was growing slowly weaker, and Dean could see it, so he forced himself to keep moving, pushing aside all the happy memories he would love to relive.

Dean stopped when the scene changed into a small, cute, suburban house, complete with a neat green lawn and white picket fence. Dean had never seen it in his life, and everything here was supposed to be a memory of his. He frowned and looked around curiously.

"Where is this, Dean?" Cas asked, noticing his hesitation.

"I…don't know," he admitted.

The two exchanged looks and then headed towards the front door. Dean knew he should keep moving, but the curiosity was killing him.

He knocked on the door and heard someone yelling, a woman's voice from the sound of it. A moment later, footsteps thudded down a flight of stairs and the door opened. A tall, skinny, brown-haired, eerily familiar-looking teenager of about fourteen or fifteen grinned at Dean. "Oh, hey, Dean! There you are. Mom was just about to call."

"Is that Dean?" a woman's very familiar voice called, and Dean froze. This couldn't be happening. "Tell him to come in here before I kick his ass for being late!" she yelled.

The kid shrugged. "You heard her." He stepped out of the doorway, expecting Dean to come in, but Dean was completely frozen in shock.

"What's going on? What memory if this?" Cas asked Dean quietly.

"It's…not a memory," Dean replied carefully.

"Then it must be Metatron," Cas sighed. "But I don't understand. This doesn't seem like some violent, torturous vision. Why would he…oh."

Cas stopped when a tan-skinned, dark-haired, pretty woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties stepped into the doorway and put an arm around the teenage boy. Of all the things he had expected…this was not it. _She _was not it.

"Hey, Dean," Lisa Braeden said with a smile. "Are you coming in?" She laughed, and something in Dean broke. "I was just kidding about kicking your ass. In fact…" She stepped away from the teenage boy, her son, Ben, and grabbed the collar of Dean's shirt. She stretched up on her toes and kissed him briefly before he could recover from seeing her.

"Gross, Mom," Ben moaned. "Get a room!"

Lisa turned to smile at her son and then turned back to Dean. She noticed his shocked, conflicted expression and asked, "Sweetheart…what's wrong?"

"I have to get out of here," Dean said softly, turning away from her.

"What? Wait!" Lisa cried, running after Dean and grabbing his arm. Ben followed, and Cas stood nearby, just watching. "Dean, what are you talking about? Are you okay?"

"I can't…this isn't right," Dean got out, his heart breaking all over again for these two people he had lost. These two people represented a whole life that he had given up for Sam, two more people he had loved who had gotten and hurt and almost died because of him. It still hurt to think about how he had to have Cas wipe their minds so they would never get hurt because of him again.

"What are you talking about? Of course it's right!" Ben snapped. "Dean, what's wrong with you?!"

He was scared. The kid was scared, scared to lose Dean, and Dean felt his love for his almost-son swell up in him again. He had almost moved on, almost forgotten the pain, and here it was again being thrown in his face. "I don't belong with you two," Dean said, more to himself.

"What?" Lisa asked, sounding hurt. "But…_Dean…"_

"This life, it…had to end. It wasn't mine." Dean took a deep, steadying breath. "Lisa…Ben…I don't belong here with you guys, living happily ever after. I belong on the road with my brother and my girlfriend, saving people, hunting things…Believe me when I say I didn't want to leave you two, but…I never belonged here."

He felt stronger now. He knew he was right, and he would just walk away without a backwards glance, Dean Winchester the hardened hunter once more. But Lisa, eyes shiny with tears, said softly, "Dean, of course you belong here. You were happy here. You loved us, and we loved you. _I _love you."

Where was that resolve again, that strength to leave? Why did he even want to leave?!

Lisa leaned in to kiss him, and all of the sudden, Dean saw Julie. The last thing he had seen before his vision gave out, her face above him, concerned and caring. Julie. Jules.

He stepped away from Lisa, who blinked, hurt. He turned and walked quickly away. "Dean, wait!" she cried after him. "Don't you love me?!"

He kept walking.

Ben joined her. "What did we do? Were we not good enough for you? Was _I _not good enough?! Dean, I _loved_ you! You were the closest thing I ever had to a father and now you're leaving me? _Again?_ Dean. _Dean!"_

Dean kept walking until Ben's voice and that house that could have been his home faded away. To think that those people could be his family, that house could be his home, if only he hadn't chosen this life. And just as he had finally been moving on…

"Dean," Cas said gently, and Dean became aware of the angel following him. Cas sounded comforting, and he started to console Dean further, but Dean could not take any more pity. He could not take thinking about those people and that life for another second.

"Don't," he snapped. "Don't try to…comfort me or whatever. In fact, don't ever mention this again."

Castiel blinked in surprise, but he respected his friend's wishes. The two men walked in silence until the scene changed, and they were suddenly in a white chapel. The place was practically empty, except for a man in a suit standing by the altar. He grinned at Dean. "Hey, Dean," the tall, long-haired man in a tux said. "Nervous?"

Dean stared at his brother, confused. "What is this?" Dean asked Cas quietly.

"You don't remember this either? It looks like a wedding."

"The only wedding we've gone to in…well, ever was _Sam's,_ and this isn't it," Dean explained.

"Sam got _married?!_"

"Long story," Dean muttered, looking around. The place was small, yet elegant, a nice, quiet little chapel. The kind of place people went for discreet, quiet little weddings and ceremonies. It felt weird to admit, being a tough guy and all, but this was the kind of place he could see himself getting married, if that was ever a possibility.

"Whose wedding is this?" Dean muttered almost to himself.

Cas was smiling and looking past Dean at something, or someone. "Well, judging by the best man and the bride coming down the aisle, I'd say _yours_," Castiel said softly.

Dean turned around and his heart jumped into his throat. Because there she was, halfway down the aisle, blushing like she felt stupid, but real joy in her sparkling blue eyes: Julie. She was wearing a beautiful, strapless white dress, her blond curls up in an elaborate hairdo underneath her veil. And she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Now this is more like heaven," Dean said softly, smirking slightly. Because he was really, truly happy in this moment. He had never wanted to admit it, because it wasn't possible, but he wanted to get married. He wanted to have a nice little house with a wife who he loved. He wanted them to raise their kids together; he wanted a beautiful little girl and he wanted a little boy who he could raise right. But he was Dean Winchester, and those things weren't possible.

But he had to admit, in the joy that he felt watching his beautiful bride coming down the aisle towards him, that he wanted it. Bad.

Julie was close to Dean now, a couple feet away, and she gave him the most dazzling smile. He grinned back.

And then everything went wrong.

The chapel went dark. The windows shattered, and Cas tackled Dean as broken glass rained down on them. When Dean raised his head, he saw Sam several feet away, his face cut up and bloody, a large chunk of glass embedded in his forehead, his eyes open, but with no life in them.

Dean felt something die in him. "Sammy!" he cried, his voice breaking. He hauled himself to his feet, but before he could run to his brother, a woman screamed.

Dean looked up and another wave of cold horror rushed over him. "No," he breathed.

But it was happening again. Julie, in her beautiful white wedding dress, was pinned to the ceiling, pale and terrified, mouth opened wide in an endless scream, her dress bloody from a gash in her stomach. "No!" Dean screamed as she burst into flames. The fire spread across the ceiling of the chapel, and Dean couldn't move. Within a few seconds, Dean had lost Sam _and _Julie, and he couldn't move. What was the point?

The fire was swallowing the chapel, and he could do nothing but stare at the ceiling in shock and horror. "Dean!" Castiel roared. "Move!"

The next second, someone tackled him and Cas and Dean fell through the doorway of the chapel. Their surrounding changed to stark white walls and floors, but Dean didn't care.

He lay on his side, eyes closed, just focusing on the cold floor pressed against his cheek and nothing else, trying to recover. Sam and Julie weren't dead. They were alive, back on earth, waiting for him to come back. Because _he _was the one who was dead.

It was alarming how soothing that thought was to him.

Dean's eyes opened when a familiar voice started cackling. A burning, fiery hatred rushed through him as that all-too familiar voice shrieked, "Sammy! Oh, Julie, no!" He burst out laughing again as Dean got to his feet, breathing heavily, eyes dark with rage.

And there he was. Standing there in his cell, wearing a straightjacket and laughing gleefully. Metatron smirked at Dean, "What did you think of my visions? The one with Ben and Lisa was pretty well-done, I'd say, but that last one…" He chuckled. "I thought, why not give Dean Winchester his most secret desire, and then take away everything he cares about!" Metatron's gleeful eyes suddenly went icy. "It's exactly the kind of end a self-hating, pathetic maggot like yourself deserves."

Dean lunged forward and grabbed the collar of his shirt through the bars. "One more word and I will kill you, you sick son of a bitch," Dean snarled in his deadliest voice.

"You can't," Metatron giggled. "Kill me, and my law-abiding brethren will come down on you, and you know it. Besides, you tried it before, and dear old Sammy stopped you, remember?"

"Sam's not here now," Dean smirked.

Metatron looked scared for a fleeting moment, and then his expression hardened. "Go ahead, Dean Winchester. Kill me. It won't save Castiel, though. In fact, I'd say it's already too late to save him."

"What are you-?" Dean started, turning around to look back on Cas. The angel was still lying on the ground, pale and weaker than before, and as Dean watched, he began to choke until he coughed up his own blood.

"No," Dean breathed, panicked. "Cas!"

"He was already dying, and then when he had to save you, well…that took the last of his strength," Metatron smirked. "Say goodbye to dear old Cassie, and your ride out of here."

Dean turned back to the asshole of an angel and punched him hard in the face, probably breaking his nose. As good as that felt, he had other problems. He rushed to Cas's side, and his best friend weakly moved his hand to the inside of his jacket. "Do it," Cas whispered weakly.

Dean nodded and reached into the pocked inside Cas's trench coat, pulling out his angel blade and a small vial. Before Metatron could fully recover, Dean grabbed his jacket again and slammed his bloody face into the bars.

"You can't kill me!" Metatron shrieked, sounding truly scared.

"Not going to," Dean smirked, putting the small vial against Metatron's neck. "I've got a better plan."

"No, wait!" the angel shrieked, realizing what he intended to do. "You don't want to do that!"

"And why not?" Dean snapped.

"I still know where Castiel's true grace is," Metatron said quickly. "Let me go and I'll give it to you. He'll never need another angel's grace ever again."

"Nice try," Dean smirked. "I'm not letting you screw us over again. I think I'll just take your juiced up grace and give him that." And Dean made a small cut in Metatron's neck, carefully catching the silvery substance that oozed out in the vial. Metatron wailed throughout the entire process, until Dean screwed on the top of the vial and punched him again for good measure.

Dean rushed to Cas's side and poured the vial into his mouth. For a moment, nothing happened, and Dean worried he was too late. And then Castiel began to glow, and Dean scrambled away.

When the white light faded, Dean looked up to see Castiel standing tall and strong, looking healthy and kickass once more. He helped Dean up and gave him a hard to read look. "You saved me again, old friend," he sighed.

"I didn't-" Dean started.

"You did, and for that I thank you," Cas insisted. "Now, it's time I return the favor."

Cas touched his palm to Dean's forehead and everything glowed white.

* * *

Sam watched Julie sadly. She had been sitting there in a chair next to Dean's…Dean's corpse for four hours. Hannah had tried to get her to move several times, but Julie simply refused. Granted, Sam hadn't left the room, either, but he couldn't help pacing around, trying to keep moving so he could ignore the fact that his brother was dead, and he had let it happen.

He tried to tell himself that Dean would be right back. Hannah had never been involved in anything like this, and she had no idea how long it would take. So, things could be going excellently in heaven, and they could be waiting agonizingly down here for days even!

Dean had died far too many times though. Sam was far too accustomed to this grief, this awful, agonizing pain. At least usually he had a goal to work towards: doing anything he could to get Dean back. But now…all he could do was wait.

And Julie…well, she had never had to lose Dean before. Although she had watched him almost die several times before, there was nothing that could compare to actually seeing his body stiff and cold. She had never felt so alone, even though an angel and her best friend were also in the room, and he could be coming back any second. She had cried twice already, and not the gentle weeping of beautiful movie actresses, but full-out sobbing, where Sam had to hold her until she could control herself. He had cried a little himself the second time.

She loved Cas. He was Dean's best friend, and in the few times they had talked or seen each other since their initial meeting, they were quickly becoming close friends themselves. She would do anything to help him, and so would Sam and Dean, but… there must have been another way besides this! This…this _hell_.

Julie could feel the tears coming on again, and then suddenly Dean took a huge gasp and his green eyes flew open. Julie gave a soft scream, and then promptly burst into tears. Sam rushed to Dean's side and helped the weak, disoriented man sit up.

"Dean…Dean, you're alive," Sam said softly as Dean slowly adjusted, and Sam suddenly felt near tears himself.

Dean smiled sadly at Julie and Sam, so relieved to see them alive, and not at all like they were in the nightmarish vision Metatron had given him. He touched Julie's cheek as she wiped furiously at her tears, and she surprised him by practically tackling him in a hug.

"Never do that again," she muttered sullenly into his ear, and he chuckled, wrapping his arms around her. She started to laugh, too, which eventually turned into more crying.

Dean smiled slightly at Sam over her shoulder, and his little brother shook his head. "You scared me, Dean," Sam said carefully, and Dean heard the emotion in those four words and gave his brother an apologetic look.

"Castiel!" Hannah cried, and the three humans looked up to see the angel standing a few feet away, smiling slightly.

"Cas, you're okay!" Sam cried, getting to his feet and hugging to angel. Cas hugged Sam awkwardly back as Julie released Dean and quickly wiped her tears away.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Cas," she said with a watery smile.

"You have Dean to thank for that," Cas said. "I'd be dead for sure if it weren't for him…well, dying."

"I am glad you're alright, Castiel," Hannah said carefully, and Cas gave her a warm smile. Sam, Julie, and Dean exchanged a look, wondering what exactly had just passed between the two angels.

"So…you're back to full strength then, Cas?" Sam asked after a moment.

"Yes, I am," Castiel said, and he smiled slightly at the thought of it.

"And Metatron is down to no power," Dean smirked cockily. They all grinned at the thought of that.

"I'm not sure what to do now," Cas admitted after a pause.

Dean looked around at the two angels and two humans around him, all a little emotionally unstable right now. They all needed a pick me up, including him.

"I've got an idea," Dean said, standing up and pulling Julie up with him. "We have a movie to finish, don't we?"

Sam and Julie grinned at him, and so the five of them settled down in front of the TV and started _Back to the Future_ over again. After a lot of explaining, Hannah was able to understand what was going on, and the first time that a joke got Hannah and Castiel to laugh, Sam and Dean grinned at each other.

Julie drew closer to Dean, and he put his arm around her waist. "I love you," he murmured into her hair so softly she couldn't even hear it. His mind wandered away from the movie, to that vision of Julie coming down the aisle, looking so beautiful, his soon-to-be wife and the way that had made him feel.

But then that last vision came crashing through, shattering those happy thoughts. That vision of Julie burning on the ceiling like his mother had, and Sam's love, Jessica. The pain and horror of that moment was stronger than anything happiness a marriage could bring him.

And so Dean pushed all of those thoughts away, and just focused on this one moment, this one moment of peace and happiness with his friends. Because these moments were very few and far between, and he needed to appreciate them before he died again, and this time no one could bring him back.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Dean woke with a start as someone knocked on the door of the motel room where he, Julie, and Sam were staying. He muttered a string of swear words as he kicked off his warm sheets and sat up. Next to him, Julie mumbled something and sat up, pushing her hair out of her face. "Dean…?" she asked sleepily.

Another harsh knock came on the door. Dean groaned and got out of bed, wearing boxers and a t-shirt. As he yanked on a pair of jeans, Sam groaned and sat up, watching blearily as Dean got dressed. "What's going on?" Sam asked, confused.

"Some asshole won't quit knocking," Dean snapped. He yanked a jacket on over his t-shirt and, after a moment of hesitation, grabbed the demon knife off the counter. They always demon-proofed wherever they were staying, but he still wanted to be safe.

A third impatient rap came on the door. "Just a minute!" Dean snapped, losing his cool.

"I'd like to speak to you _now_, if that's alright, Dean," an all-too familiar voice with a British accent snarled through the door.

Dean froze, surprised and on-edge. Sam slipped out of his bed and pulled on his own pair of jeans. "The hell do you want, Crowley?" Sam asked coldly as he got dressed himself.

"Wait. That's…?" Julie said softly, surprised. She got out of bed herself and quickly got dressed as the boys snapped at the king of hell through the motel door.

"I understand you boys are here on a case?" the king of hell sighed through the door.

"Some kids have been disappearing in town lately, yeah," Dean said carefully. "We got here last night, and we're going to see if there is a case here or not. Do you have a problem with that?"

Crowley chuckled. "No need to sound so hostile, Dean. I'm here to help you."

The brothers exchanged a look. "No offense, Crowley, but we really don't need your help," Sam said slowly.

"No? But I've been nothing but helpful to you boys!" he said, sounding truly offended.

They exchanged another look. "You've betrayed us time and time again, you helped send my brother to purgatory, and you then started killing off everyone we ever saved to get to us," Sam said in an icy voice. "_And_ you're the king of hell. You're not exactly my favorite person. You, Dean?"

"I'd have to agree with Sam on this, Crowley," Dean shrugged. "Sorry. Guess we'll be seeing you…well, hopefully never."

"Just let me in, boys," Crowley snapped, sounding completely done with their shit. "You're going to need my help in this case just as much as I'll need yours."

"And why is that?" Dean smirked in disbelief.

"Because I think that this case is about a Knight, boys. A bloody Knight of Hell."

Sam and Dean stared at each other in horror while Julie looked in-between them, confused. "Do I have your attention, boys?" Crowley smirked.

"I'm going to open the door, Crowley," Dean said slowly. "Then you're going to step inside into a devil's trap and _then _we'll talk."

"Fine, fine, whatever you want, darling," Crowley said dramatically. "May I come in now?"

Dean carefully stepped forward and opened the door. And there was Crowley, a rather short, smirking, older man with dark hair and a beard, dressed in a stylish black suit. "Hello, boys…" Crowley smirked in his usual fashion before stepping grandly into the motel room.

Dean quickly shut the door behind him, and Crowley tried to take a step further into the room. But the moment he tried to step off of the rug serving as a doormat, he was pushed back. "Clever," he drawled. He opened his mouth to say some other snappy response, but then he spotted Julie.

"Now, boys…who is this lovely young lady?" Crowley smiled winningly at her and she blinked, unimpressed. "Sam, did you finally get another girlfriend?"

"Why does everyone always assume—she's _my_ girlfriend, okay, Crowley?" Dean snapped, exasperated. "That's not the point, though. What is this you were saying about a _Knight_?"

"I've got news for you boys," Crowley said smugly. "But first—do tell me you have some fine whiskey in this hellhole of a motel room. It's quite disgusting, the squalor you boys live in."

"Nothing but cheap beer around here," Dean shrugged. "Sorry, pal."

"Of course," Crowley sighed dramatically. "Well, miss…" He glanced at Julie again.

"Julie Carters," she snapped, crossing her arms. "And before you ask, I'm a hunter, and I'm not your biggest fan after what you've done to these guys."

"I know you!" Crowley said, to their surprise. "I tried to kill you."

The three hunters stared at him. "Well, not me exactly," Crowley sighed. "One of my henchman, actually several of them have requested to go topside so they could try to kill some upstart hunter named Juliet Carters…none of them ever came back. Hmm. You're pretty tough, aren't you, Juliet?"

Julie just stared at him. "First off, it's Julie. And second of all, telling me how your men tried to kill me isn't helping me like you much."

"Of course, forgive me," Crowley said grandly. "I suppose you're working this case with these two idiots as well, then?" Julie smirked a little and nodded. "Well, hopefully that means I won't be the _only_ one here with the slightest idea what they're doing."

Dean opened his mouth to make a snappy reply, but was stopped when Julie laughed instead of protesting. "I don't know, Dean," she smirked. "He seems alright."

Both the king of hell and his girlfriend laughed a little at his expression. "This is too weird," Dean said after a moment. "I can't handle this. Just explain about this whole Knight thing, Crowley."

"Gladly," the demon replied calmly. "However, I would at least like a chair to sit on if I can't move out of this spot. We may be talking for a while…"

Sam pushed a rolling chair over to Crowley, and he somehow managed to settle into the cheap chair like it was a throne. "So, here's the deal, gentlemen…and lady." He winked at Julie. "I've been having some…management trouble in hell. Somehow, there are still Abbadon loyalists out there, and there are few demons truly loyal to me. Of course, I've been doing my job, and we're getting new souls in hell every day to replace all of those traitors. But…well, it's hard for me to admit, but…I'm losing my grip on hell. There's a lot of chaos and things going on that even _I _can't control."

"Yeah, yeah, you suck at your job," Dean muttered. "Get to the point."

"You've never been a very pleasant person, Dean," Crowley sighed. "The _point _is…a few days ago…or years ago, hell time is very fluid. Anyway, some time ago, a large number of the souls in hell vanished. I discovered later they had been sacrificed, and then all of the sudden, about half of the demons in hell up and left. The kingdom's utter chaos, so I've been topside, investigating, and I think I know why all those souls disappeared…"

Crowley paused for dramatic affect. "You think…they somehow brought back a Knight?" Sam guessed. "How? Dean killed Abbadon, and she was the only one left!"

"Not quite," Crowley admitted. "See…our old friend, Cain, you remember him, Dean?"

"Hard to forget meeting the father of murder," Dean muttered. He touched his forearm. "Plus I've still got his Mark."

"That's good; we'll be needing that," Crowley said. "You see…he didn't really kill his Knights. Any of them."

"What?" Dean cried. "But when we went to his house, he said-"

"I thought it better not to call his bluff, when he could kill me in a second," Crowley replied. "But he exaggerated the demise of the Knights. He did hunt down every single one of them, but he couldn't kill them. He had trained them, turned them into what they were, and he couldn't bring himself to destroy such _perfect _demons. So he placed them under a spell, stopping them, and he threw them into a deep pit of hell and that was the end of it. Except for Abbadon, of course, but you took care of her…"

"What are you saying?" Julie snapped.

"I'm saying, the Knights aren't in that pit anymore," Crowley snapped. "To reverse the spell would take a massive sacrifice, like dumping thousands of souls into the pit so the demons could consume them and rise. And I'm missing thousands of souls _and _some helpless Knights, so one would assume…"

"They're back," Julie breathed.

"How many?" Dean asked sharply.

"Five," Crowley replied gravely.

"You've got to be joking!" Sam cried. "We barely stopped _one_!"

"Unfortunately, I am serious, and deadly so. We've got Asmodeus, their master torturer, and a sex-crazed gambler from the rumors I've heard," Crowley rattled off. "Then there's Apollyon, a psychotic seductress and sister to Abbadon who probably won't be real fond of you for ending her sister, Dean. Then there's Adramalech…he's probably the weakest of the six Knights, so in olden days he preferred to prey on weaker victims like young women and children especially. And then there's Behemoth, the muscle, one of the most powerful, murderous demons in all of history. I hear he was a load of fun at parties. And then… Beelzebub."

"Like in the Queen song?" Dean asked. All three of the others shot him a look.

"Isn't that another name for Lucifer?" Sam asked nervously.

"Common mistake," Crowley sighed. "Beelzebub was Lucifer's favorite demon, and he did most of the pillaging and raping and torture for the big guy. He was practically Cain's equal when that guy was in his prime, and now that he's gone soft and given all his power to Dean…"

"So, basically, that guy is bad news," Dean summarized.

"Yes, thank you, Dean," Crowley said crossly. "I suppose I should have just said that, so you all could understand better with your tiny little brains."

Julie raised an eyebrow. "It's not too hard," she smirked. "This Asmodeus guy is the torturer, Apollyon's a seductress, Adramalech or whatever goes after kids, Behemoth has the raw power, and Beelzebub's the big baddy."

Crowley smirked at the boys. "I'm liking her more and more. She could give you a run for your money, Moose."

"Moose?" Julie mouthed questioningly at Dean. He gave her a _don't-ask_ look.

"And what makes you think that this is a Knight's work?" Sam snapped.

"If I'm right, they've been up here a couple weeks. I can't imagine them staying quiet forever, and this children disappearing act seems like it could easily be the handiwork of Adramalech. And since Dean is the only weapon we have capable of killing a Knight…"

"I don't do that anymore," Dean snapped.

"Of course you don't," Crowley sighed. "Either way…I could use your help. Are you in?"

The three of them exchanged a look. "I don't see why he would be lying," Julie shrugged after a minute.

"Fine," Dean snapped. "But we're calling all the shots, so don't get any ideas."

"Why would I do that?" the king of hell smirked. He gestured to the rug hiding the devil's trap holding him in place. "Well then…why don't you let me out of here so we can get to work…?"

* * *

"So be honest with me," Julie muttered to Sam as they watched Dean and Crowley arguing a few feet away. "Do we trust this demon?"

Sam sighed. "I don't know. He's helped us on more than one occasion. But then again, he's also betrayed or tried to kill us on more than one occasion, so…basically, Crowley works with us when it's beneficial to him, and he works against us when we're doing something that could hurt him. As long as we have the same goal…I'd say we can trust him at least a little."

Julie nodded. Before she could reply, Dean stormed over with Crowley following him calmly, smirking.

"The _king _here says that we need to split up," Dean explained in a moody voice. He was still a bit grumpy about being woken up by Crowley, so anything the demon said was going to piss him off.

"Three children have already gone missing in the past week," Crowley sighed. "Whatever's taking them probably isn't going to stop just because we're here. So I just thought instead of all of us going together to talk to some weeping mothers, two of us can go take precautions with the houses of other children. You know, to try and keep even _more _children from disappearing and possibly dying. But by all means, if you want to risk that so that all three of you can watch me, go ahead, Dean."

The hunter and demon glared at each other until Dean finally backed down. "Okay, so that's not the _worst _idea I've ever heard," he muttered sullenly.

Crowley smirked cockily at him, and Julie touched Dean's arm gently, stopping him from launching into another argument with the king of hell. "So who will talk to the families who've lost kids, and who will go protect the other families?" Julie asked quickly.

"Julie and I can talk to the parents whose kids are missing," Sam suggested.

Crowley gave him a careful, calculating look. "I don't think Dean is very open to working with me," the demon pointed out drily.

"I'm really sorry about this, Sammy, but…can you go with this son of a bitch?" Dean growled.

"What did I ever do to you, Dean Winchester?" Crowley said, mock-offended.

"Really?" Dean snapped. "I've lost track of how many times you've tried to have us killed, Crowley-"

"Oh, move on," the king of hell sighed dramatically. "I mean lately. I've done nothing but help you, Dean. I got you the Mark and the Blade, I got you Abbadon-"

"That was all to help yourself," Sam snapped. "And anyway, the Mark ended up almost making Dean a…"

He stopped abruptly. There had been an unspoken pact between Sam and Dean not to speak of what had happened when Dean had almost killed Metatron. The Blade, Mark, and his hatred of the angel before him combined had driven Dean to become something evil, almost…demonic. And then, Dean had refused to give up the Blade, and Cas and Sam had been forced to leave him, unable to save him from himself.

"I'm also the one who saved our boy here," Crowley snapped. "If Dean had kept on killing with that Blade, it would have made him a demon, and yet, _I'm _the one who actually helped him give it up. And where was his loving brother then, when he needed him most? Hmm?"

This time, Sam was the one who moved towards Crowley, looking for a fight. Julie stepped in front of Sam and gently pushed him back. "Come on, guys. Please," she pleaded softly. "So, there's a lot of water under the bridge. But I think we're all on the same side, and if we don't work together, kids could get hurt. So can we please just…put it behind us?"

She looked between the three men, and Sam and Dean sighed and relaxed. "Juliet, darling, you have no idea how much these two boys have needed a girl like you to keep them from making foolish mistakes," Crowley chuckled.

"My name is Julie, Crowley," was all she said in reply.

And so Sam and Crowley went off grudgingly in a Mercedes that Crowley had probably stolen to take some protective measures on the houses of children, while Dean and Julie drove in the Impala to the house of a woman named Gwen Stephens, a single mother with five children, the oldest of which had disappeared four days ago.

Dean and Julie marched up to the front door in their typical FBI dress clothes. Julie knocked on the door and heard a woman shouting. Maybe twenty seconds later, the door opened and a small girl of about five or six stared up at them. She had light brown hair in pigtails and wore a cute, pink dress. However, she looked a little terrified staring up at Dean, who towered over her.

Julie knelt slightly and said in a gentle voice, "Hi, sweetie. What's your name?"

The girl stared at her, wide-eyed and frightened.

"I'm Julie," she said with a smile. "I'm here to talk with your mother. Is she home?"

"Just a moment!" a woman cried, and a few second later, a slightly-overweight woman who looked to be about forty rushed to the door, cradling a baby of about six months in one arm. She herded the girl away from the door, saying, "Lily, Lily, go keep an eye on the twins. I need to talk to these nice people for a moment."

The girl nodded and rushed away, looking back once to stare at Julie again. The woman let Dean and Julie in and shut the door behind them.

"Mrs. Stephens?" Dean asked her politely.

"Yes, that's me. I'm so sorry about the mess," she sighed, sounding flustered. "The kids are crazy as always, and I haven't had a chance to clean in ages. A lot of questioning going on, obviously."

Gwen Stephens took a deep, steadying breath. "You don't look like police," she said, really looking at them for the first time.

"We're from the FBI," Dean explained, and they held out their badges. "I'm Agent Jackson, and this is my partner, Agent Evans."

A wail went up from the next room. "Well, Agent Jackson, it's nice to meet you," Gwen said quickly. "This is my kid, Max. Hold him for me, will you?"

And without another word, she pushed the baby into Dean's arms and rushed into the next room. Dean awkwardly held the little boy, who blearily opened his eyes, saw that Dean was not his mother, and began to wail as well.

"I—um—Julie?" Dean stammered, trying to rock the baby and shush him at the same time.

Julie rolled her eyes, although his nervousness and inexperience with babies made her want to grin and hug him. She gently took Max from Dean and settled the baby into her arm the way Gwen carried him. Julie shushed the baby gently, rocking him slightly, and he quickly calmed down. She hummed softly to the baby as he stared up at her, wide-eyed.

At first, Dean was just relieved the pressure was not on him to take care of the baby. But then, as his panic passed, something strange bloomed in him. Seeing Julie holding that little child and humming to him…it made Dean feel a strange sort of happiness and longing. She was so beautiful to him in that moment, holding that child, a mother if only for a couple of minutes. And it brought up something in him, something he had pushed down years ago and buried, or so he thought. A foolish, impossible desire to one day settle down, have a beautiful wife and a family, his own little family, to have a child, _his_ child…

"Come here," Julie said softly. Dean blinked. "He won't bite you, Dean! Come here, and look at him. Isn't he just precious?"

She beamed at the little baby, and Dean moved closer to Julie. And the little baby was indeed adorable, a chubby, rosy-cheeked little guy with a tuft of light brown hair and huge, dark eyes. He opened his mouth and gurgled a little, and Dean found himself chuckling.

Julie beamed at Dean, and he put his arm around her waist. God, there was just something about seeing her with a child, even if it wasn't theirs…it made him inexplicably happy.

Dean and Julie looked up as two curly-haired boys who couldn't be more than four dashed past and bounded up the stairs, closely followed by the little girl from earlier, Lily. "Thank you," Gwen sighed, and they realized she was only a couple feet away. "It's a lot of work taking care of fi…four kids on your own."

For a moment, it seemed her composure would snap and the woman would begin sobbing. Then she swallowed and forced a smile. "Anyway. You two got any kids of your own yet?"

Julie and Dean blinked and said nervously, "Oh, we're not…"

Gwen smirked at them. "You really expect me to believe you two aren't in love? I won't tell anyone, if it'll get you two in trouble at work. But that moment there, with Max…" She smiled sadly at them. "It was sweet. Reminded me of Jonathan and I…"

"Your husband?" Julie guessed gently.

"Yes," Gwen sighed. "He died last year. Cancer. Never even got to see his son…" She looked down at her baby, near tears. "And now, now James is gone and I just…"

She looked about ready to break down. "We're very sorry, Mrs. Stephens," Dean said gently. "We are going to do everything in our power to find your son, and these other children as well. If you could just tell us what happened…"

"I have no idea!" she cried, wiping at her eyes. "I put my kids to bed, and then when I got up the next morning, he was just gone. No signs of struggle, no blood, no… there was nothing. He was just…gone."

She was clearly distraught, so Dean and Julie gave her some space. They went up to the boy's bedroom and looked around for a while. The room looked innocent enough, a few Legos dumped in a pile in one corner, the bed unmade, posters of a spaceship and the planets on one wall. A pretty typical room for an eight-year-old boy. They couldn't find anything suspicious, until Dean noticed something on the windowsill…

"Damn," he breathed, running a finger through a thick layer of yellow dust on the windowsill.

"Is that…?" Julie started.

"Sulfur. More than I've ever seen."

They exchanged a look. "So, it's demons," Julie said after a moment.

"A pretty freaking powerful one," Dean added.

"Do you think…do you think Crowley's right?" Julie asked, concerned.

"I'm afraid he might be," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose to ward off the oncoming headache. Killing Abbadon had been hard enough, and it had nearly cost him his humanity. If there were _five_ Knights of Hell now roaming the earth…

Dean picked up his cell and dialed Crowley's number. The demon picked up on the second ring. "Have you found something, Dean?" he asked, sounding a bit smug.

Dean sighed. "Alright, Crowley. I hate to say it, but I think you may be right. Which means…we are in a hell of a lot of trouble."

"That's the first thing you've said all day that I actually agree with," Crowley replied. Dean gulped. If he and the king of the hell were _agreeing o_n something…well, that meant that things were pretty bad, and about to get a hundred times worse.

* * *

Crowley hung up the phone and turned to the youngest Winchester who stood by the stolen Mercedes, waiting stony-faced and cold as he always was towards Crowley.

"What did Dean want?" Sam asked gruffly as Crowley reached him.

"Nothing much," Crowley said nonchalantly, smirking to himself when Sam took the bait.

"Come on, Crowley. What's going on? Are he and Julie okay?"

"They're fine, Moose," Crowley sighed dramatically. "Just called to say they found sulfur at the sight of one of the disappearances, and lots of it. The great Dean Winchester thinks that _I _might be right!"

"I still don't see why he didn't just call me," Sam muttered sullenly.

"He probably realized that I am obviously the best ally he can have working this case. I hope you're not too jealous, Sam. I'd hate to ruin the dream team's dynamic."

"Just stop, Crowley," Sam snapped. "I'd really like to be able to work this case with you without wanting to kill you, but you're making that a little difficult at the moment."

"Someone's sensitive today," the demon smirked. "Could it be because Dean is the one who gets the beautiful girl, while you get to sit by and watch?"

Sam's expression got even darker, if that was possible. "I don't know what the hell you mean by that, Crowley…"

"Never mind. My mistake," the king of hell said innocently, smiling a little to himself when he turned away. He had spent enough time with the Winchester brothers to tell when there might be trouble in the home, and he could sense a slight unease with Sam. And he would bet almost anything it had something to do with Dean's beautiful hunter girlfriend…

"Can we just focus on the case?" Sam snapped. "We've got three more houses we should demon-proof, and then we should meet up with Dean and Julie before I get too fed-up with you and do something I might regret."

"You talk tough, but could you really kill me?" Crowley asked, a challenge. "If I'm right, and the Knights are back, I'm your only hope at stopping them. I'm the only one who knows where the Blade is, and without it there is no way to kill them. You'll lose before you even start."

They stared down each other for a moment, and then Sam opened the driver's seat of the car and snapped, "Let's just get this over with."

"Oh, come on, Moose! You know you've been dying to spend time with your favorite demon again," Crowley said teasingly, getting into the car as well.

As the hunter and demon drove off to the next house where young children lived, a mailman and the old woman who lived next door to the house they had just demon-proofed stepped around the corner of the house and watched the car disappear. "Our lord was right; they came," the mailman said, sounding caught between fear and excitement.

"It sounds like the other Winchester and that upstart girl with them are here, too," the old woman said in a surprisingly low, cruel voice. "I'm surprised the king would really stoop so low as to work with those maggots."

"I'm not," the man replied. "They seem to be his favorite little pets, especially the older one, the one with the Mark."

"Yes," the old woman said thoughtfully. "If he's here, we should warn our lord. He could be a serious threat."

"I'm not worried," the other demon chuckled. "Three humans and a demon are no match for us, as long as our lord fights with us."

"These aren't just three humans and a demon though, you fool!" the old woman snapped scathingly. "These are the same men who took down the queen and stopped the apocalypse years ago, or have you forgotten? And the king is a formidable fighter, even if he is going soft with these humans…"

"We will be fine," the male demon chuckled confidently. "No one can stand against a Knight of Hell."

Both demons chuckled darkly. "Let's go tell him," she chuckled. "Everything is going according to plan."

And the poor humans they were possessing opened their mouths wide as dark smoke poured out of them and sped off to their waiting master, leaving two crumpled humans behind on the ground.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Julie and Dean got back to the motel room first. They changed from their FBI outfits into more comfortable jeans, t-shirts, and jackets and settled onto their bed, watching crappy cable shows for an hour or so until someone unlocked the door and Sam and Crowley walked in. Judging by their expressions, the two of them had not gotten along nearly as well as Julie and Dean had while working.

"What took you guys so long?" Dean asked, getting up.

"Crowley decided he needed to disappear on me halfway through," Sam snapped, glaring at the king of hell.

"You should be thanking me, boys," Crowley smirked. "Once we were pretty sure that a Knight of Hell was behind this, I went off to get some ingredients for a spell that should locate any demons nearby. One use only, so we better be smart about it."

"I hate to say it, but good work, Crowley," Dean muttered. "What's the deal with the spell?"

"I'd try to explain it, but I'm afraid it's too much for your thick head," he said condescendingly. "The point is, it will locate any demons nearby, besides me, obviously. Of course, they already know we're here, so we won't exactly have the element of surprise…"

The three hunters exchanged alarmed looks. "What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"Oh, come on, Moose," Crowley sighed. "Surely you've noticed all the suspicious people guarding almost every house we demon-proofed, just watching us?"

Sam didn't reply, since he hadn't. He had been so concerned with the demon he was being forced to work with and the thought of Dean and Julie off somewhere, possibly in danger that he must have been off his game.

"No?" Crowley smirked. "Well, I counted four different demons following us around town."

"Why didn't you take them out?" Dean snapped.

"They didn't attack us because they were afraid, Dean," Crowley said slowly, so he could understand. "They weren't sure what to do, and I doubt they knew where you were, and every demon in their right mind, even Knights, are at least a little afraid of the man with the Mark of Cain. They were waiting to see what we would do, and so I did the same. Besides, if I attacked them and a Knight appeared, your little brother and I would have been annihilated. So you should be thanking me."

The two brothers glared at Crowley. "He's got a point, boys," Julie admitted. "Until we know for sure a Knight is really here and where he is, starting a fight unprepared is about the most suicidal thing we could do."

"Great," Dean muttered. "So for all we know, we're surrounded by demons, and a Knight of Hell could be literally right around the corner, and we don't have any way to kill him."

"Well…" Crowley started.

"No," Sam snapped, taking a step in-between Dean and the king of hell.

"Come _on_, boys!" the demon sighed, exasperated. "We're talking about one of the most powerful, cruel, dangerous demons in all of existence. If there's a way to kill him, shouldn't we take it?"

"No," Sam and Julie both said this time. Julie moved closer to Dean as she said, "There are other ways to take one out, right? Dean said that before you were able to chop Abbadon up and bury her in different places, and that kept her down, until you put her back together, at least."

"He wouldn't be dead," Crowley pointed out darkly. "If another Knight found him and pieced him back together…"

"We'd try again," Julie insisted. "The Blade's not worth it."

Dean looked in-between his brother and his girlfriend, both standing protectively around him, defending him from the mere idea of using the Blade again. He knew he should be touched, and he was, but there was also a part of him that thought that he might as well just use the Blade to kill the Knights, and if he went dark again, then just let Crowley or someone finish him off. Was his life really worth letting five horrible, powerful, impossible-to-kill demons roam the earth?

And then there was the Mark. It had flared up the first time he saw the sulfur in James Stephens' bedroom, and in every other disappearance site they'd come across. He knew this was the work of a Knight, and so did the Mark of Cain. It was burning like it hadn't in months, and as much as he tried to ignore it, it was calling him to take up the First Blade again and finish what he had started. Wasn't that his job, anyway? To save people and kill evil, no matter what the cost to himself?

"Fine," Crowley said. "As long as Dean doesn't want me to go get it, I'll leave the Blade where it is. That is what you want, isn't it, Dean?" The demon smirked slightly at him, and Dean knew then that Crowley must realize what this conversation and the presence of the Knights back on earth must be doing to him.

"Dean?" Julie asked gently. He looked down and saw her blue eyes staring up at him, concerned and a little afraid.

He cleared his throat and looked away. He met Sam's eyes for a second and saw the little spark of fear in his brother's eyes. That's what decided it for Dean. If two of the people he loved most were so scared at the thought of him taking up the Blade again, then it couldn't be right.

"No," Dean said stiffly. "That's not what I want, Crowley."

"Are you sure?" the demon asked carefully. "It can't be easy. The wielder of the Mark is also meant to wield the Blade. You're meant to carry that Blade, Dean. And think of the good you could do with it!"

"He doesn't want it, Crowley!" Sam snapped. "So back the hell off!"

Crowley raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. My mistake." After a tense silence, the king of hell said, "Well, why don't I set up for the spell, while you people do something useful?"

"We should make some of those devil's-trap bullets," Sam said, and the hunters went to work while Crowley drew circles and symbols on the floor in what he assured them was lamb's blood. He put several different ingredients, including bones, feathers, and what looked sickeningly like an animal heart into a bowl and, when the time had come, he lit them on fire, saying a Latin incantation in a low voice. Once the ingredients were nothing but ashes, he spread them across a map of the county, and a small cluster of them glowed fiery red.

"It looks like they're in…an abandoned prison about seven miles from here," Crowley read. He cleared up the mess and turned to the hunters. "Well, boys. Juliet darling. Are we ready to go take on a Knight of Hell?"

The hunters exchanged a nervous look. As for an answer, Julie turned to Crowley and snapped, "For the last time, it's Julie," and walked confidently past him out of the room, Sam and Dean following her.

Crowley couldn't help but smirk a little as he followed them out.

* * *

"Amateurs," Crowley muttered. "If a bunch of demons are kidnapping children and hiding them away somewhere, the last place you should keep them is the only abandoned prison in town. I mean, really! Clearly I must be teaching these demons wrong or something."

The four of them stood staring up at the dark, run-down prison in front of them. Julie had to admit, it was the stuff of cheap Hollywood-horror-movie sets. Any hunter worth their salt would check here first, with or without a fancy spell.

"I doubt they're really trying to hide from us," Sam pointed out grimly. "We probably don't even stand a chance."

"Aren't you a regular old ray of sunshine?" Dean muttered. "Well, guys. What do you say? Go in guns blazing, try not to get killed?"

"It's a miracle you have survived this long," Crowley sighed, exasperated. "Oh, wait. I forgot. You two have died so many times I've lost track!"

He turned to Julie. "Juliet, darling, please tell me _you've _got a better plan than _that_."

Julie smirked a little. "Yeah, I do, actually. First, you're going to quit calling me that. And secondly, I'd say saving the kids is top priority. So, if you and Sam and Dean could distract any other demons, I think I should be able to find and get them out safely."

"Not a bad idea," Crowley admitted. "You know, maybe I'll just work with her instead of you two idiots."

Sam and Dean rolled their eyes. "Alright," Sam said. "No point in putting it off. Ready?"

"No," Dean and Julie both replied, but the four of them forged ahead anyway.

The door was unlocked, which was never a good sign. Dean walked in first, with Crowley behind him, then Julie, and Sam taking up the rear. They walked in silence through a dark hallway, knives and guns held at the ready. Nothing happened. No one came out, no demons tried to kill them. If Crowley was right, and the demons knew they were here, they were letting them wander around here on purpose.

Julie opened her mouth, about to say something to Dean. But before she could get a word out, Dean swore violently and there was a dull thud a few feet in front of her.

Everything exploded into chaos. Julie ducked out of pure instinct and a knife whistled over her head. Behind her, Sam was tackled by another demon, and he struggled for a moment to overpower the possessed man fighting him. Sam drove an angel blade into the demon's gut, killing him, while Crowley waved his arm and the demon assaulting him flew several feet back.

As for Dean, he was fighting two demons at the same time. As Julie watched, he slashed the throat of one demon with the knife Ruby had once given them. The demon who had tried to kill Julie just a few seconds earlier leapt forward to take the place of the demon Dean had just killed.

A second wave of demons rushed in, and Sam yelled, "Julie, go! Find the kids."

She hesitated for a moment, but Sam, Dean, and Crowley were regrouping, even against the nearly ten demons facing them. And, even though they were vastly outnumbered, somehow Julie wasn't too concerned for those three men.

She took off down the hall until she reached the first locked cell she'd come across. Thankfully, the door had a simple enough lock, and the keys were hanging nearby on the wall. She pulled them down and unlocked the door, trying to ignore the sounds of a battle behind her and the terrifying thought that any second one of those demon's blades could go through Sam or Dean's heart.

The door creaked open on its rusty hinges, and Julie poked her head inside. A small whimper came from the corner, and she spotted three small, dirty children huddled against the wall.

Her heart broke for them. They stared at her, wide-eyed and terrified as she entered the room.

The oldest-looking one, with a dirty mop of brown eyes and big, dark eyes tried to push the youngest one, a small, blond girl behind him. "Hey," Julie said gently. "Are you James Stephens?"

The boy stared up at her. "Look, I'm here to help you," she said as gently as she could, trying to ignore the gunshot that has just went off where the others were fighting. "We need to get you out of here, okay? Can you walk?"

The oldest boy and the little girl stayed where they were, but the other boy stood shakily. "Are you going to hurt us?" he whispered.

He heart broke for them all over again. "No, no I'm not," Julie assured them. "I'm here to help, really. Come on, let's get you out of here. You want to go home, right? Let's get you home safe."

The oldest boy, who she was almost certain was James Stephens, stood up. "How do we get out?" he asked as bravely as he could, although his voice shook a little.

"Follow me." The boys took the hand of the little girl, and the three of them ran after her as they rushed for a door.

They had nearly reached the exit when a tall, muscular, bearded man stepped in front of them, blocking the door. Julie pushed the kids back behind her as he held up a large butcher knife and grinned.

"Get in that room and keep the door shut no matter what happens," she ordered James quietly, and he pulled the younger children into a side room, slamming the door.

"I'll still get them," the demon chuckled darkly. "You didn't save those children. They're going to die, just like you, sweetheart."

"Shut up and fight me," Julie snapped, pulling an angel blade off her belt.

The demon lunged forward, but she was faster. She dodged his first strike and deflected his second one away from her head. She was quick and clever, but she could tell from those two strikes he was much stronger than her. She couldn't overpower him, so she'd have to beat him another way.

"Well, it's pretty obvious _you're _not the Knight of Hell," she smirked.

He growled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"A big, bumbling idiot like you couldn't be one of the strongest demons alive. In fact, I doubt a Knight would deign to work with the likes of you. I bet there isn't even a Knight here, is there?"

"Fool," the demon chuckled. "You have no idea what you're up against. We are just a test set by our lord. This trap is nothing compared to what's in store for you…"

"So he's not here then?" Julie asked.

"No, he's-" The demon stopped, realizing he'd said too much.

Julie grinned. "Thanks, pal. That's all I needed."

"You won't live to tell," he snarled, leaping at her.

But Julie fired one of the bullets they had prepared into his skull, one with a devil's trap carved into it. The demon was powerless to move or fight until Julie stabbed him in the heart and finished him off.

Once the demon was dead, the place was eerily quiet. Julie stood frozen, trying not to panic. Finally, she gave in and yelled, "Dean? Sam?"

"Jules!" Dean yelled in reply, and she visibly relaxed. "Where are you?"

"By the exit!" she yelled back, and a few second later, Dean, Sam, and Crowley jogged around the corner. There was blood on their hands, but they looked remarkably unharmed for having just fought off all of those demons.

"Nice job," Sam smirked, noticing the dead demon on the ground.

Julie checked to make sure they were all okay before getting the kids out of the room where they were still hiding. As they took the trembling children to their cars, Julie explained what information she had been able to get out of the demon before she killed him.

"So that was just a test?" Sam asked nervously. "And you still don't know where the Knight is?"

"And I say we get out of here before he shows up," Julie said. "I don't think we're ready for a fight yet."

The others agreed. So they drove the children back into town and, at just past midnight, the four "FBI agents" returned the kids to their families.

The police thanked them profusely. Crying parents shook their hands and embraced them, saying through their tears how grateful they were. While Crowley rolled his eyes and waited impatiently for the people to leave with their kids, Dean watched Julie interacting with the kids. The little girl had been clinging to her leg, still scared, until her parents arrived. The little girl gave a shriek of joy and rushed to her mother, who held the girl and sobbed. The father shook Julie's hand and thanked her about a hundred times. Before the little girl and her family left, the child returned to Julie and hugged her for a long moment.

Dean couldn't help it; he smiled warmly at them. There was just something about seeing Julie with kids that made him love her even more, if that was possible.

As people began to clear out of the station, Sam approached Julie. "That went better than I could have hoped," he sighed, watching James Stephens leave with his family. Gwen Stephens turned to give them one last grateful look before ushering her large family out of the police station.

"It's not over, though," Julie sighed. "This is for real, Sam. If there's one Knight out there, who's to say there aren't five?" He didn't reply. "How are we going to do this, Sam?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "We'll be working around the clock now. And just when things had been calming down a bit, too."

"Sam…" Julie glanced over at Dean, who was talking to Crowley a few feet away. She lowered her voice and asked, "Do you think we should let Dean use the Blade again? If it's the only way to kill them…"

"No," Sam insisted. "Look, Julie…you didn't see what that thing did to him. I care about Dean way too much to let him go dark like that again."

Julie nodded. "I know. I know, you're right, it's just…what if we can't always win like this? What if people do die because we won't let Dean kill these Knights? Won't that be our fault? Can we really just let that happen?"

He sighed. "I don't know, Julie. I don't know what we're supposed to do. I know we should try to kill them, but…it's _Dean_."

They hugged for a long moment, trying not to imagine losing Dean to darkness and failing miserably. Crowley watched them embracing and his brow furrowed. "So, Dean," he said after a moment, and the hunter turned to face him. "Things going well with you and this Julie girl, then?"

"Yeah, they are," Dean said. "Do you have a problem with that, Crowley? Because if you're going to try and mess up what she and Sam and I have going, give me fair warning so I can take you out of the picture. We're happy right now, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Oh, calm down, Dean," Crowley sighed. "You couldn't kill me and you know it. We're besties, remember?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I'm actually looking out for your best interests," Crowley continued. "Have you ever noticed anything…_concerning _about dear old Sammy and your lovely lady friend?"

Dean's expression darkened. "What? No. The hell are you going on about, Crowley?"

"I've just noticed…they seem pretty _close_ to me," the king of hell commented.

"Yeah. So?" Dean snapped defensively.

"I'm just saying…you might want to keep an eye on them," Crowley said lightly. "Wouldn't want your brother stealing your girl, would you?"

"There's nothing going on there, Crowley," Dean snapped. "So why don't you keep your nose out of other people's business and worry about your own problems? Like these Knights we've apparently got roaming around."

"Alright, no need to be so defensive about it," Crowley smirked. "And we'll worry about those Knights once we get back to your place and we can do some more in-depth research."

"Wait. He's coming back to the bunker with us?" Sam asked, and Crowley and Dean looked up to see Julie and Sam approaching. Everyone else was gone, and they were free to go now.

"Admit it, boys," Crowley said. "You're going to need my help on this and you know it."

The three hunters exchanged exasperated looks. "He's probably right," Julie muttered.

"Fine," Dean snapped. "But I am still driving, and you sure as hell are not riding shotgun!"

Within an hour, the four of them were back on the road, driving through the night in the hopes to get back to the bunker as soon as possible, in case the Knight was still around. Sam and Dean rode up front, struggling slightly to stay awake, while Julie and Crowley chatted in the back. It was a little unnerving for both brothers how well Crowley and Julie seemed to get along. Honestly, if he didn't constantly call her Juliet darling, to her extreme annoyance, Sam might be a little worried about getting replaced.

Dean began to doze off at one point, and the car began to drift towards a ditch in the side of the road. All three passengers cried out, and Dean snapped back to attention and quickly got them back on the straight path.

"Are you still sure you should be driving?" Crowley snapped. "I don't need sleep like you humans do. I could easily drive without putting every other passenger at risk."

"I might be working with you, but that doesn't mean I trust you," Dean replied coldly. "For all I know, I let you drive and you'll crash the car and try to kill us all, since you can just walk away no matter what happens."

"Really, Dean? Did you miss the part where I need you to kill these Knights of Hell?"

The two of them launched into yet another argument as Dean drove down the moonlit highway. Julie looked ahead of them and then screamed when a dark figure appeared in the middle of the road, right in front of the car.

Dean tried to swerve to miss the figure, but they vanished suddenly. It was too late to save the car, though, and before the four of them could do more than cry out, the Impala careened into the ditch with a sickening crunch.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Julie? Jules, honey, you've got to get up. Jules. Jules!"

Julie blearily opened her eyes. Everything in her ached, and there was something wet and sticky coating her arm. Somehow, through her throbbing head and fuzzy vision, she made out Dean standing over her, reaching out for her. The ride side of his face was scratched up and bloody, but he didn't look too bad for the fact that they had just crashed into a ditch.

Julie took his hand and, after cutting herself out of her mangled seatbelt, let him help her out of the car. The Impala was on its side in the ditch, and the engine was smoking, but it didn't look too bad. They could probably get it working again soon enough. The airbags had gone off and were now lying deflated in the front seats. Julie thanked God for those airbags, because otherwise Sam and Dean, who were both a little scratched up and bloody, but for the most part alright, could very well have died.

Crowley stood nearby, with nothing but a lump on his head to show for the crash. He was looking around nervously. "Where did it go?" he asked in a low, concerned voice.

"What _was _it?" Sam asked in the same tone.

Dean didn't seem to care. He held Julie up, although she could stand on her own, and fretted over the bump on her head and the cuts on her arm from broken glass. "Are you okay, Jules?" he asked, not seeming to care at all about the blood on the side of his face.

"Yeah," she said, still out of breath. "What about you?"

He seemed to notice his wounds for the first time and wiped at some of the blood before giving up. "Everybody okay?" he asked louder.

"For now," Crowley muttered. "I'd bet almost anything that person you almost hit was our missing Knight, though. We need to get out of here before-"

"Before what?" a man's thin, reedy voice called, and someone walked out of the trees bordering the ditch they were in.

"How long do you want to bet he was waiting for that moment?" Dean muttered sarcastically, brave and funny in the face of danger as always. Still, she saw the way he tensed up at that voice, and Julie noticed Dean's arm, the one bearing the Mark of Cain, twitching.

The Knight, for surely it was him, walked towards them slowly, chuckling. Sam and Dean both moved in front of Julie, and she would have rolled her eyes at them if she wasn't so concerned with this demon before them. He looked surprisingly ordinary. Not very intimidating, just a tall, thin man with stringy hair that was once blond but was greying. He looked more like a washed-up druggie than a dangerous Knight of Hell, but his presence was pure evil.

"I must admit, I'm impressed you're all still breathing," he said in that same surprising thin, high voice from before. Not very terrifying. "I thought my demons would be able to do at least a little damage."

"That little trap back there?" Dean smirked. "That was nothing, pal."

"I had hoped you would survive that," the Knight admitted, grinning at Dean with yellowed teeth. "Dean, isn't it? I can sense the Mark on you. So you must be the one who killed dear old Abbadon."

The three hunters and demon stared up at him, not replying. The Knight started to laugh, which sounded dangerously like him hacking up a lung. "Oh, don't worry. I hated Abbadon. Treacherous little bitch. Thought she was better than the rest of us, and so she split off from us when Cain started hunting us. And I'm sure she thought she had won when we were thrown in that pit, but…well, look who's laughing now!"

The four still just stared at him. "Forgive me, I'm being rude," he said once he was done gloating over Abbadon's fall. "I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Adramalech, and I-"

"You're the weakest Knight, right? The one who only goes after kids and women because you can't take on a real opponent," Dean smirked.

Julie smacked his arm. "I would consider myself a real opponent," she snapped, and he quickly corrected himself.

"Now tell me…who is this delightful girl?" Adramalech chuckled, cocking his head. "I've heard of Sam and Dean Winchester, of course, and then there's the old king, Crowley-"

"_Old _king?!" Crowley cried, offended, but they all ignored him.

"But who, my dear, are you?" Adramalech asked Julie, taking a step closer. Sam and Dean both moved protectively in-between them, but Julie rolled her eyes and pushed them aside to stand even with them.

"Julie Carters," she snapped. "And, yes, I might not be as famous as a Winchester or the king of hell, but I sure as hell am not just some weak woman that you can prey on."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Adramalech said in a sugar sweet voice. "A pretty little thing like you? No, I'm afraid I'll probably have to give you to Beelzebub. He usually ends up getting all the pretty female slaves…"

"Did I say anything about being a slave?" Julie asked him.

"Well, you see…Julie, is it? Well, anyway…my orders were to make a case for Sam and Dean Winchester, draw them out, and take them to the new king. You weren't technically supposed to be here, but I'm sure that Beelzebub will have some purpose for you."

"Well, he's not having her," Dean snapped. "Or us, for that matter. I have to admit, I wouldn't be too choked up about it if you took that guy over there"—he nodded towards Crowley, who flipped him off—"but taking _us_? Yeah, that's not gonna happen."

Adramalech chuckled. "Lord, I missed you humans. Your naivety, your stupidity, your stubbornness…it's so amusing."

Sam suddenly raised his arm and fired his gun. But Adramalech dodged it somehow and lunged forward so quickly that Dean and Julie couldn't move to stop him. Before they quite knew what was happening, the Knight of Hell had Sam's arm twisted behind his back, and he was pressing Sam's gun to the hunter's temple.

"Sammy!" Dean cried, taking a step forward, but Julie grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Clever girl," Adramalech smirked. "Careful, Dean Winchester, or I may have to kill your brother. Although I am to bring him in, technically, you're the only one who _must _be alive."

Sam winced as Adramalech twisted his arm again. With Sam's tall, muscular build, you would think he could take down this scrawny demon, but it was clear that this body Adramalech was possessing did not hinder his strength in any way.

"Now, Sam," Adramalech said in a reprimanding tone. "Didn't anyone ever teach you? It's rude to shoot at people you barely know."

"If I get to know you, then can I shoot you?" Sam replied with a grim smirk.

Adramalech shook his head disapprovingly. "I'm not appreciating your attitude much. Perhaps you need to be taught a lesson."

And before anyone could so much as cry out, the Knight of Hell jerked Sam's arm in an odd angle and Sam screamed in pain.

"_No_!" Dean roared, and he lunged forward towards Sam. This time, Adramalech dropped Sam on the ground and moved towards Crowley now, ignoring Dean and Julie as they rushed to Sam's side. His arm was broken, bent at a horrifyingly angle, and Sam's teeth were gritted in pain, his breaths fast and sharp.

"Oh, god, Sam…" Julie whispered. There wasn't much she could do for him now, not without a proper first aid kit, but give him her hand to squeeze in pain as they helped him sit up.

"Well, while they're busy with that," Adramalech sighed as he approached Crowley. "I've been wanting to speak with you, Crowley."

"Me too," the demon snapped. "First of all, I am not the _old _king. I am the _only _king, and I know you've been down a while, but-"

"Come now, Crowley," Adramalech sighed. "You're not a fool. You have little to no control over hell or demon-kind anymore, and you know it. They all know we're here, and they know where a demon's allegiance should truly lie. As should yours."

"So, you really just wanted to threaten me, is that it?" Crowley snapped.

"On the contrary," Adramalech replied. "I just wanted to assure you of something. We know in the past that your allegiance has occasionally lay with the Winchesters, and that you assisted them in the killing of Abbadon, but all this can be forgiven. We could use a demon like you, Crowley. Not only are you quite the salesman, but you are a _survivor_. While we were down in the pit, you made it through the apocalypse and countless other ordeals and came out on top."

"You're quite flattering," Crowley smirked.

Adramalech grinned his yellow grin. "We Knights have no particular quarrel with you. Your assistance in killing Abbadon can be forgiven, since you were only doing so to survive. As long as you join our cause and ally yourself to the right side, the _winning _side, I'll let you walk out of here unharmed. You can go about your life, and we'll call when we need you. Just promise me you follow the Knights now, and you are free to go."

Crowley looked over at the three humans a few feet away, conflicted. Sam was back on his feet, Julie helping him stay upright, and Dean was staring right at Crowley, green eyes begging him not to do this. Not to betray them. Dean, who had been the closest thing to a friend he had found in literally centuries. Dean who, despite all their fighting, really did trust Crowley, at least a little. Could he really betray that man, and Sam and Julie as well?

After a long moment of hesitation, Crowley turned to Adramalech and grinned. "We have a deal, my friend."

"Actually, I would be your lord now," Adramalech corrected, but he was grinning as well.

"Crowley!" Dean yelled angrily as they shook hands. The demon forced himself not to look at the man as he cried, "You're just leaving us? We trusted you, you double-crossing son of a bitch!"

"Take it easy on the girl, would you?" Crowley said quietly to Adramalech. "She hasn't done anything to make me hate her yet."

The three hunters stared at Crowley as he suddenly vanished in his typical demon fashion. Dean was almost blinded by rage. He couldn't believe, after all that he had gone through with that demon, that he would just abandon them to die like this!

"So I guess we _shouldn't_ have let him in yesterday," Julie muttered bitterly. "If he was just going to abandon us…"

"Oh, don't be too upset," Adramalech said condescendingly. "If your friends were all about to tortured to death, and you didn't have to be sentenced to the same fate, would you really be foolish enough to join them?"

"Yes," all three of them growled.

Adramalech shook his head. "Humans. I will never understand them."

"You were human once," Sam pointed out through gritted teeth.

"Huh. I had almost forgotten." Adramalech shrugged. "No matter. I know I should probably get you three to Beelzebub and Asmodeus, but once they get their hands on you, I'll never have any chance to have some fun. What do you say, brave little hunters? Shall we play a game?"

Dean glared at the demon as he held out a knife for Dean. "Come on, Dean Winchester. I'll make you a deal. You beat me right now, and I'll let the girl go. I technically don't even need her, and I must admit, I do like a good gamble every now and then."

After hearing this, Dean didn't hesitate for a second. "Deal. I beat you fair and square in a fight, she walks free and you don't go after her ever again. You got it?"

Adramalech chuckled. "I love it when they play tough. Sure, Dean Winchester. There's no way you will win, anyway."

"Try me," Dean growled, and without another word, Knight of Hell and human launched into a fight.

At first, Dean was holding his own. Dean was fast, strong, a wicked good fighter. But there was that inescapable fact: Adramalech was a Knight of Hell. Within the first minute of sparring, he got a good jab in and sliced Dean's arm. Julie cried out, but Dean kept fighting. He got a good kick in Adramalech's gut while the demon was still gloating, and then he lunged forward to stab the demon in the heart.

Unfortunately for Dean, he overestimated how much his kick had really affected Adramalech. The demon kicked Dean's blade out of his hand and punched Dean in the jaw so hard that Dean stumbled back. While Dean was still stunned, the Knight lunged forward, dropping his blade, and began to punch and kick Dean over and over until he lay on the ground, bloody and weak.

Adramalech raised his arm to punch Dean yet again, and the hunter was too weak to fight back. But Julie shrieked, "Stop it!" and dove in-between them, standing protectively over Dean.

Adramalech stepped back and chuckled. "So sorry, Dean. Looks like you didn't save the girl this time. In fact, I think she just saved you."

Julie knelt and gingerly helped Dean sit up. He had a hard time even seeing through the blood on his face and his swollen black eyes. "You're weaker than I expected," Adramalech said thoughtfully. "Normally the Mark would make you stronger, but…you must not be using the First Blade anymore. Rather foolish of you, I must say. Makes situations like this impossible to escape, really."

"Leave him alone, asshole," Julie snapped.

"I must admit, this girl is growing on me, Dean," the Knight of Hell chuckled. "It'd be a shame if only Beelzebub got to enjoy you…"

Before Julie could reply, Adramalech had suddenly grabbed her and slammed her against a nearby tree. Sam and Dean both cried out, outraged, but neither could help her. Julie glared at Adramalech, breathing heavily, as his greedy eyes roamed over her body.

"You are quite lovely," he sighed, tucking a strand of blond hair behind her ear. Julie bit back about a hundred foul words as he stroked her cheek. "I suppose you're probably one of these boys' girlfriend, aren't you?"

She didn't reply, and he chuckled. "I would guess Dean the way you went to protect him. I'm sure he doesn't like me doing this much, does he?"

Sure enough, Dean yelled, "Leave her alone, you son of a bitch! It's not her you want anyway."

"On the contrary, my dear Dean," Adramalech chuckled. "You and your brother are very handsome men, I'll give you that, but I'd have to say that I definitely want her…"

Adramalech's fingers slowly slid down her neck, lower and lower... "Get away from her!" Sam yelled angrily.

"I swear to god, if you touch her again, I'll-" Dean started to growl.

"You'll what?" the Knight chuckled. "There's nothing you can do to me, Dean Winchester! You're just a weak, pathetic little human without your Blade."

"Maybe it's not him you should be worried about," a low, furious voice growled, and Adramalech whirled around just in time for an angel blade to go straight into his heart.

Julie gaped at Castiel as he stood there, terrifying in all his angelic glory. The angel grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the stunned, wounded Knight as he slowly pulled the blade out of him. He lifted his head, furious, and opened his mouth, but before he could so much as speak, a gunshot went off and a bullet went straight into his forehead.

Sam and Dean turned their heads and stared at the last person they had expected to come to their rescue: Crowley. The demon stood there, still holding up one of the guns which had been stocked with devil's trap bullets. He smirked slightly and called to Adramalech, "Don't bother moving, _my lord_. You're trapped there until we decide to do something with you."

The Knight started to swear angrily at them, until Crowley fired another round into him for good measure, and the Knight just stood there, whimpering in pain.

"Cas," Julie breathed, her mind still reeling by this crazy turn of events. "How did you know to find us?"

Cas nodded towards Crowley. "He contacted me the moment he left here, told me the situation. I'm just glad we weren't too late."

"So…you didn't really abandon us?" Dean asked Crowley slowly as he heaved himself to his feet, trying to ignore how every part of him ached.

"No, in fact I saved your miserable asses, so I would be groveling if I were you," the king of hell snapped. Of course, none of them groveled, but Julie nodded gratefully at him, and Crowley knew that was the best he was going to get.

Castiel moved over to Dean and touched his face for a brief moment. When he moved his hand away, all blood and wounds were gone. "You saved us, man," Dean said gratefully, pulling the angel in for a brief hug.

Crowley cleared his throat, and Dean sighed and added, "And Crowley too." The demon smirked smugly as Cas healed Sam's arm as well, and then the five of them gathered around the Knight, who glowered at them and spat a few swear words until Dean took the machete Crowley was offering him and cut the demon's head clean off.

For a moment, there was silence. Then Sam muttered, "Well. Let's get to work."

* * *

It wasn't even twelve hours later that they finished burying bits of the Knight around the state and returned to the bunker. Sam, Dean, and Julie collapsed into chairs at the grand oak table, exhausted, while Crowley and Castiel stood by, trying to plan their next move.

"With the return of the Knights, the angels are going to have to get to work," Cas said grimly. "We may not be able to kill them, but we can slow them down, do some damage control."

"Almost all of my followers have left me for the _winning side_," Crowley muttered sullenly.

"Oh, boohoo, so you lost your throne," Dean snapped. "We've got bigger problems now, Crowley."

"We've got to let everyone know that the Knights are back," Julie pointed out. "You guys know quite a few hunters. We should let them all know, and they can help spread the word."

The others nodded. "I'll get the angels watching out for any unusual activities," Cas said. "If we notice anything, you'll be the first to know."

"And I'll have those who are truly loyal to me keep an eye out too," Crowley sighed. "I can probably get some spies on the inside, and hopefully get some inside information."

"And all the hunters should be looking out for them as well," Sam added. "It shouldn't be too hard to find them, once we get the system working."

"Finding them won't be the hard part," Cas pointed out. "Killing them will be. We did a good job of dealing with Adramalech, but if another demon finds him and puts him back together, we're back where we're started."

Dean put his head in his hands, feeling like he was filled with lead. All he wanted to do was sleep and put these crazy past forty-eight hours behind him. He wanted to go back to the way things were just a few days ago, where he and Sam and Julie had a good system going. They were happy, they had fun, they saved people and did their work and got to relax every once in a while. But now, those good times were gone, possibly for good. And he knew what he had to do.

"We all know what needs to happen," Dean sighed, sounding a thousand years old. Sam, Julie, and Cas looked at each other, concerned. "Somebody's got to kill them, guys. I'm the only one who can."

"We'll find another way," Julie said gently, touching his shoulder.

"We don't need to!" he said, frustrated. "We've got a surefire way to kill Knights, and we might as well use it."

"Dean, it's not worth it," Sam said firmly.

"Are you even hearing yourself? One person's life isn't worth stopping five of the most dangerous, evil things to walk the planet?"

"First of all, we don't even know if you'd be able to kill all five," Julie pointed out coldly. "I think that is our last resort, if we've tried everything else we can think of and there's just no other way."

"Or we could just let the man use the Blade and end this a lot quicker and a lot less bloody," Crowley said coolly.

Sam and Julie glared at him. "There's no guarantee of that!" Sam snapped protectively. "Sure, if we locate all the Knights and we know that Dean can just walk in and kill them all easily, then use the Blade. But the likelihood of things working out like that is ridiculous."

"I agree with them," Cas said gravely. "It's not worth sending Dean down that path again unless we're certain that he will be able to take care of them once and for all."

Crowley glowered at the three of them for a moment, while Dean sat in his seat, not bothering to voice his opinion. He wasn't even sure he had one. Sure, he wanted to stay himself, to stay happy and human with Julie and Sam. But he also knew that it was his duty to stop evil no matter what the cost to himself. All he really knew right now was that he wanted to sleep and make this all go away, at least for a few short hours.

"Fine," Crowley finally said. "Dean, when you're ready to use the Blade, let me know. Until then, I've got work to do."

The king of hell, or rather the former king turned and walked out of the bunker. The three hunters and angel watched him go. In the silence after his exit, Julie finally said, "We need to make some calls. Dean, Sam, you two go get some sleep. Cas and I can handle this."

"Julie, I can help," Sam protested.

"You two have suffered a lot today," Cas interrupted him. "I may have healed you, but your body needs to heal itself. Go, sleep. We'll be fine."

Sam sighed and gave in, barely making it to his own bed before he collapsed. As for Dean, he got into bed and his exhausted body quickly forced him to sleep. But he had barely even drifted off before the nightmares began.

He was in a dark room, and his vision was literally red with rage. Everything in him was burning with hatred and the urge to kill. He lunged forward and drove an ancient, bone blade, the First Blade into the person in front of him. The sensation was so wonderful, the burning urge in him to kill sated for a moment.

But as the red haze faded and he could see and think clearly, he had to fight the urge to scream. Because the body in front of him, the bloody, mutilated corpse he had murdered…that was his brother. That was _Sam_.

And when Julie came into the bedroom, expecting to see an unconscious Dean sprawled across the bed, she instead saw Dean, face pale and worn, sitting on the edge of the bed and staring at the Mark of Cain seared into the skin of his forearm.

She went to his side and sat down next to him, gently putting an arm around him. "Dean…" she started, but she didn't know what to say or how to help. She remembered when they were first together, she would occasionally notice the Mark bothering him, and she would distract him with kisses or a new case. But this…this was different. The Knights were back, and that Mark would be urging him to go out and kill them as long as they were.

And there was nothing she could do to help.

Neither of them could think of a single thing to say, and so they sat there in silence, holding each other, until finally Dean was so physically exhausted that he slipped into unconsciousness. Julie tucked him in like she would a child and pressed as close as she could to him, trying to ward off the darkness of the Mark, as if her closeness could remind him that he was Dean, a good man, and not whatever the Mark wanted to make him into.

But no matter what she did, Julie could not save Dean. She had been able to before, but now…now this was Dean's battle, and he had to fight it alone.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

"I come bearing gifts," Julie announced as she entered the room.

Dean set down the sandwich he was eating and Sam closed the huge, leather-bound book he had been reading. "Please tell me it's food," Dean said.

"Dude, that's your third sandwich in the past hour!" Sam cried.

"The Mark of Cain makes a guy hungry," Dean said wisely.

"That's your excuse for everything. Yesterday after you ate all those burritos you said the Mark of Cain made you gassy."

"You never know, it might have," Dean shrugged.

"Anyway…back to these gifts," Julie said, and they turned their attention to her. "Well, technically it's really more of news, but…"

"Good news?" Dean asked hopefully. "Please, I cannot take any more bad news."

"Any news is good really," Sam pointed out. "It's been two weeks since Adramalech, and nobody's got even a glimpse of a Knight. All we've been doing is sitting around waiting for something to happen and it's killing me."

"Then I have great news!" Julie said, handing them a few sheets she must have printed off the internet. "Boys…I have found us a case."

"Thank god!" they both sighed, reaching for the papers.

"Let's see…we've got three unexplainable deaths in the last year, that's always good," Dean muttered as he flipped through. Both Sam and Julie stared at him, and he quickly added, "Not for those people, though. Obviously."

"Wait. Why are there also articles about two sisters both winning the lottery in here?" Sam asked. "Do you think they're connected?"

"I wouldn't normally, but this is the third time these sisters have won something like this in the past two years," Julie said. "Last year, they won ten thousand dollars on a game show, as well as a _new car_!" Sam smirked at her game show host voice. "And they won thirty thousand dollars in the lottery last year as well, and then this year they won half a million dollars! I just can't believe anybody has this kind of luck, and in a town with unexplained deaths, too…"

"Does sound suspicious," Dean said. "What do you think it is? Sounds like witches to me. God, I hate witches."

"More than you hate being cooped up in here doing nothing?" Julie pointed out, and within the hour, the hunters were packed up and headed on another case.

It was such a relief to be back on a case. They could almost pretend that things were normal, joking around in the long car ride, moaning when Dean started the same album over for the fourth time in a row, stopping for cheap, crappy burgers at a diner and laughing when the cute waitress wouldn't quit making eyes at Sam. Things felt normal, back to the way things had been just a few weeks ago. Before the world was suddenly in danger yet again, and it was up to the Winchesters to step forward again.

Except that they couldn't step forward when they knew practically nothing about the Knights except that they were back. The demons sure knew how to hide themselves; even with all angels, hunters, and quite a few demons on the alert, no one had heard so much as a whisper. And so, Sam, Dean, and Julie had been forced to sit around and wait, which none of them were good at.

A couple days after their encounter with Adramalech, Dean had been able to get the Mark under control once more, and he returned to himself again. Still, Julie and Sam were uneasy. Dean would often walk into the room and they would stop talking abruptly, trying to pretend they hadn't just been discussing him in concerned whispers. Sam was always trying to cheer him up or keep him busy with useless tasks around the bunker, while Julie was treating him like he was made of glass or something. She hovered around him, encouraging him, comforting him, being sweet and loving and caring.

He could not take another minute of it. Dean was not the type of person who could handle being babied. What he wanted was for his brother and his girlfriend to go back to normal. He wanted them to tease him and make fun of him, and he wanted to be able to have an actual argument with someone. Although he had the Mark of Cain under control, he was still a little antsier and grumpier than usual. He wanted to be able to let out some frustration in an argument, but every time he tried to pick a fight, Sam and Julie instantly gave in, agreeing with him so as to avoid conflict, thinking he couldn't handle it. It was driving him insane.

But more than anything, he wanted to be busy. He wanted to work. A case like this was exactly what Dean needed.

_This'll be fun_, he thought as he sped down the highway towards the town that led to the quaint little town of Oakwood, Missouri.

He had no idea how wrong he was about to be.

* * *

"Well, if I had half a million bucks, I would live in a place like this," Dean admitted, staring up at the huge white mansion before them. They had parked the Impala on the street and walked up to the fancy iron gate keeping them off the perfectly manicured lawn.

"Do we knock?" Sam smirked.

Julie rolled her eyes and pressed a small button on one of the posts. After a pause, a voice came through a hidden speaker, "State your name and business."

"Uh, yeah," Dean said nervously. "Um, I'm Dean Powell and I'm here with a couple of my coworkers. We work for a local newspaper, and we were hoping to get an interview with Ms. Summers and Ms.…Summers? We heard they live here."

There was a beat, and then Dean distinctly heard a woman's voice say, "Oh, he's hot!" Before he could even find the small hidden camera she must be seeing him with, the woman said, "Come in, Mr. Powell, come in!"

The gate swung open smoothly, and the three hunters exchanged a look before walking up the stone walkway to the huge house.

Dean hadn't even put his hand out to knock before the door opened, and he found himself staring at a pretty blond woman who looked to be about thirty. Her hair was perfectly curled, spiraling around her face, which was so enhanced with makeup it looked like an airbrushed photo. She wore a slinky white dress, and she dazzled him with the most blindingly white smile he'd ever seen; it almost hurt to look at.

"Come in, come in!" she said brightly. "Welcome to our humble home."

Julie and Sam both snorted, and the woman whipped her head towards them. They gave her their most winning smiles, and she moved on. "I'm Lucille Summers, but you can call me Lucy," she said to all of them, although her eyes were resting on Dean. "Or whatever you like, really," she added, winking at Dean.

His mouth twitched as he tried not to smirk, and Julie smacked his arm when Lucille Summers wasn't looking.

"Who was at the door, Luce?" another woman called, and a woman nearly identical to her came down a fancy flight of stairs. Her eyes were green instead of her sister's blue, and her blond hair was straight instead of curled, but they had similar, picture-perfect faces, and she even wore the same dress, although it was dark red.

The woman stopped at the bottom of the stairs and stared at them, surprised for a moment, before giving another dazzling grin. "Now, what do we have here?"

"Lena, this is…" Lucille Summers stopped and turned to face them. "I'm sorry, I don't recall your names."

"Dean Powell," Dean said, shaking Lena Summers' hand.

"I'm his brother, Sam Powell," Sam said, shaking both of their hands since he hadn't been introduced to either of them yet.

"I'm Julie Andrus," Julie said, moving to shake Lena's hand. The woman just stared at her coolly, so she dropped her hand awkwardly. "We're, uh…we're reporters. We were hoping for an interview about the lucky sisters who won the lottery yet again!"

In an instant, they were happy and bubbly again. "Oh, yes," Lena giggled. "We're just so thrilled!"

"So thrilled," Lucy echoed, beaming at Dean. "Here, Mr. Powell—or should I call you Dean?"

"I…uh, well-"

"Dean it is!" she chirped, linking arms with him and dragging him after her into a fancy parlor. "Well, Dean, you and your friends come in here and we can get started."

Lena latched onto Sam and within a minute, Sam, Dean, and Julie were seated on a couch across from the wealthy, beautiful women. Sam set up a small recorder, and Julie started taking notes as Dean began questioning the women.

"So, you two have been on quite the lucky break lately. What's it like to be about the luckiest people on the planet?"

Both women laughed lightly. "Well, I hardly think it can all be luck," Lena said carefully.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, trying to sound innocently curious.

"I think good things happen to those who deserve them," Lena said smugly, and Lucy nodded in agreement.

"Huh." Dean bit back about a thousand instances he had of terrible things happening to good people and instead asked, "Well then, how do you plan to use all this money?"

"Well, we already bought this house, and that took a decent chunk out of it," Lucy admitted. "But hopefully we'll win another lottery sometime and then we can get a bigger house or some more new cars!"

The sisters laughed, and Sam and Dean joined in weakly. "So, you really think you'll win again?" Dean asked carefully.

"You never know," Lena shrugged, and Julie caught them exchanging a sly glance.

For a while, Sam and Dean went on questioning them, but Julie excused herself to use a bathroom. She went upstairs and dug around in a few closets and rooms with closed doors, looking for something suspicious. But she couldn't find a thing, and by the time she returned, Sam and Dean had run out of questions. Lucy hinted heavily that she wanted Dean's number, but he politely declined, and she soon escorted them out after that.

The three hunters waited until they were in the car to discuss what they had found. "Nothing," Julie muttered. "I couldn't find any evidence."

"They didn't seem like killers," Sam admitted. "Although they were a little suspicious."

"Alright," Dean sighed. "It's getting late. Sammy, why don't we drop Jules back at the motel and we can get some grub?"

"I can just come with you guys," Julie said.

"What you can do is relax," Dean said firmly. "You've barely slept for the past two weeks, and you're always busy doing something. Also, we could use a break from each other," he added in a lower voice.

"What?" she snapped.

"Jules, all you do is worry about me! Why don't you just have an evening to yourself? Just hang out for a while, we'll be back in an hour, tops."

Julie sighed and gave in, not bothering to point out that the reason she barely slept was because she would hold him all night, soothing him when a nightmare came, unable to sleep or do anything but worry over Dean. And of course all she did was worry about him; he needed her!

It was a little nice to get some alone time though. She had spent so much time fretting over Dean she barely got to be alone. Once she got back to the motel, she settled down on the bed to watch some mind-numbing television. Julie tried to remember what she had liked to do in her alone time before Dean and Sam, but Dean, and then later Sam had been her life for a little over a year now. They were a part of her, and although it was nice to be alone, she kind of missed Dean's constant presence near her and Sam, always there to talk to or laugh with when Dean did something stupid of goofy, which he inevitably would.

Damn, she was getting dangerously codependent. She had used to be independent, living her own life, never letting men define her. And now, isn't that what she was doing? Every demon, angel, or monster they came across thought of her as the Winchesters' little girlfriend, just there for sex and moral support. At least until she stabbed the monster.

Things were different with Sam and Dean, Julie decided. They needed someone like her, to hold them together after all they'd gone through. And she was happy like this. This was what she wanted.

Julie sighed and turned off the television. She was supposed to be relaxing, not questioning her life choices! And anyway, Sam and Dean would be here any second and she couldn't be in the middle of an existential crisis when that happened. She got up and found a beer in the mini fridge, probably Dean's but he wouldn't mind her taking it. She took a long swig of beer, relishing the strength of it. Dean sure did like the strong stuff.

As Julie swallowed, something odd happened—her throat seemed to close up. A wave of panic swept over her, and she began choking and coughing, trying to breathe. It felt as though an invisible hand was choking her. She dropped the beer bottle and it shattered at her feet. Julie clutched at the table as she grew increasingly lightheaded, choking and gasping for even a little bit of air.

Finally, she was able to cough hard enough that something cleared in her throat and she got a shallow gasp. Unfortunately, she had just coughed up her own blood. The taste in her mouth made her gag as it dripped warm and wet from her mouth. Julie's vision was growing darker, the room was spinning, she was on all fours now, coughing up more blood…

There was the sound of a key scratching in the doorknob. A moment later, the door opened. Julie barely lifted her head enough to see Dean walking into the room carrying a couple plastic bags, half-turned to talk to Sam.

"Dean…" she choked out, her voice weak and strained.

He whirled around, eyes wide at the pain in her voice. When Dean saw Julie collapsed on the floor, blood dripping from her mouth, barely conscious, he froze for a moment, horrified. The next second he yelled, "Jules!" and rushed to her side, pulling her upright and trying to figure out was wrong.

"Julie? Jules?! What's happening? Oh, god, Sammy…" Dean cried in a panic. Sam had dashed into the room and was now frozen in shock and horror.

All of the sudden, something clicked in Dean's brain. "The witches!" he cried. "Sam, look for a hex bag! Quick!"

Sam started dashing madly around the room, checking in cabinets and under beds and any other place where a hex bag might be hidden. As for Dean, he pushed the hair out of Julie's face and stared at her in panic. She was pale and weak, and he wasn't entirely sure she was still even breathing.

"Julie, stay with me," he begged her. "Come on, just a few more seconds. We'll save you, Jules, just…stay with me, please!" Her eyes fluttered slightly, but she was so weak, and she was fading so fast… "Sam! Hex bag!" Dean cried, so terrified he couldn't even form a full sentence anymore.

"I'm trying, Dean!" Sam cried, sounding just as anguished and terrified. "I just-" He suddenly stopped and stared at the purse sitting by the bed. The purse she had brought with her to the Summers' home.

Sam lunged forward, fumbling for his lighter with one hand as he tore through the purse with the other. He found a small purple cloth tied around some ingredients just as Dean yelled, "Sammy!"

Sam threw the hex bag to the ground and lit it on fire. The thing burned for a few seconds before slowly crumbling to ashes. Sam looked up and saw Dean clutching Julie to his chest. But she wasn't moving.

"Jules?" Dean asked in the smallest, most terrified voice Sam had ever heard him use.

A second later, Julie's eyes suddenly flew open and she took a huge gasp of air before choking on whatever blood still lodged in her throat. Dean wiped the blood away from her mouth as Sam collapsed against the bed, sighing in relief. "Dean…" Julie started, eyes wide and terrified.

"It's okay, honey, I've got you…" Dean said softly, pulling Julie into his chest. They rocked back and forth slowly, Dean stroking Julie's hair and reminding himself over and over that she wasn't dead.

Dean met Sam's eyes and nodded gratefully. Sam nodded back, and the brothers slowly caught their breath along with Julie, trying to ignore how close to losing Julie they had just come.

* * *

Dean slammed the door of the Impala behind him as he started towards the huge mansion before him. Normally he would be at least a little concerned about stealth, knowing almost for certain that the two women inside that house were witches, but they had tried to kill the woman he loved, and that was unforgivable. The moment they were certain Julie really was alright, Sam and Dean had gotten into the Impala and driven off to take care of the witches, after trying and failing to convince Julie to stay behind. And now that they were here…Dean really wanted to put a bullet through their picture-perfect heads.

Sam and Julie followed behind Dean, guns in hand as he found a dip in the fence around the house and launched himself over it. Sam gave Julie a boost over and climbed over himself. They waited for a moment for alarms to go off, but somehow the huge mansion must have a pretty shitty security system.

Dean walked up to the door, prepared to kick it down if necessary, but found it not only unlocked but slightly ajar. For the first time, he was a little concerned about barging in there on two deadly witches. Open, unlocked doors were never a good sign.

One look back at Julie's wide blue eyes and he was ready to go, though. No matter how many bad vibes this house was giving him, practically screaming trap, the fact that these people tried to kill Julie…that was enough for him to push the door wide open and barge in, gun raised.

The house was well-lit, but completely silent. All the servants must have gone home, and the witches were surely in hiding. Dean glanced back to make sure Sam and Julie had him covered before inching into the sitting room Sam and Dean had sat in just a few hours ago.

He immediately lowered his gun and fought back a wave of horror and nausea. Because there were the beautiful Summers sisters, stiff pale corpses sitting up in their plush chairs, eyes completely liquefied into blood, with dried blood coming from their noses, ears, and mouths as well.

Julie groaned and looked away. "Damn," Sam muttered. "Guess we got here too late."

"What do you think happened?" Dean asked, carefully approaching what had once been Lucy Summers. "I've never heard of witches killing themselves doing a spell…"

"I think something else must have done it," Sam said, following Julie's line of vision. She was staring at the spell ingredients on the coffee table before the two dead sisters. It was the kind of hex spells she had come across often, but she had never seen one aimed at her. A black-and-white photo of her that must have been taken by a security camera outside had a red X over her face drawn in blood. It was eerie, and for a moment, she almost felt like her throat was closing up again.

"What do we do?" Julie asked quietly. "This isn't over, I don't think."

"Let's look around," Dean suggested, and the others agreed. Dean looked upstairs, while Sam searched the ground floor, and Julie took the basement.

Julie walked through the lavish house, gun raised and ready to fire. She found only an elegant, glamorous basement nicer than any place she'd ever lived except maybe the grandiose bunker. Still, this place was ridiculous. The fact that people lived in this kind of excess while others starved…it made her furious, but there wasn't much she could do about it.

Julie was about to turn and go back upstairs when she saw a closet door slightly ajar. She edged closer and pushed the door open. It wasn't really a closet, but a smaller, dimly-lit room unlike the rest of the house. She quickly stepped inside and looked around.

This room proved those women had been witches. Weird, shriveled ingredients and even body parts were sitting on shelves, while bottles of blood and other potions sat on another shelf. A small altar was set up in the corner, and Julie moved closer to see what sort of spell was set up on it.

Just as she did, there was a thud, and she turned around to see the door slam shut behind her. Julie ran to the door and tried to move it, but it was sealed shut, and any amount of force she exerted couldn't budge it.

That would have been bad enough, but then the altar burst into flames. Julie whirled around, biting back a scream as blue flames swallowed the black altar and crawled slowly towards her, devouring everything in their wake.

Sam was walking carefully around the corner, past the door to the basement, when he heard someone screaming. He stiffened, and then he was able to make out the words and the voice: Julie screaming, "Help! Sam! Dean! _Help_!"

By the second help he was already dashing downstairs, all caution thrown to the wind. Julie was in trouble, and that was all that mattered. He had almost watched her die earlier, and that would not happen again.

When he reached the lavish basement, he immediately smelled smoke, and heard Julie banging on a closet door. He rushed to the door, but the doorknob was already wicked hot, and the door seemed magically sealed shut anyway. "Julie?" he cried, banging uselessly on the door.

"Sam?" she cried. "Sam, help! There's a fire in here and I can't put it out and I can't get out, Sam! I can't-"

"Calm down," Sam said, trying to get his head on straight. He couldn't save her when he was in a panic. "Julie, you'll be okay. I'll get you out of there, I promise."

"Sam…" she pleaded, and he could practically see her in his mind's eye, trapped against the door as flames advanced on her. He had to be able to save her. He just had to.

"There's no point," a woman's voice said, and Sam whirled around. A woman with long black hair and bright green eyes walked slowly towards him. She was dressed oddly, in a long, flowing black dress, with bangles on her arms and heavy, dark makeup. She was eerily pretty, in an almost unearthly sort of way. She smiled slightly, but it looked odd and forced on her face.

Sam raised his gun, but she only smiled wider. "The infamous Sam Winchester," she sighed. "Always charging into battles gun-blazing, that's you and your brother. Fire that gun, and that pretty little girl will not be able to escape that room until she's nothing but ashes."

Sam hesitated. Julie started coughing inside the closet, choking on smoke he was sure. He couldn't stand at a stalemate like this for too much longer, or she'd die anyway.

"Who are you?" he growled.

"My name is Raven," she said calmly. "I believe you met my apprentices earlier, Lena and Lucille?"

Sam clenched his jaw. "Did you kill them?" he asked in an icy voice.

"Indeed," she sighed. "Such a shame. They had promise, too. Selfish, semi-competent bitches like them make good witches. However, they failed. They were to take care of all three of you, and instead they couldn't even kill the girl. I just did your job for you, really, since you would have killed them anyway."

Sam glared at her. "And you killed those other people, too, then?"

"Those who cross me don't tend to last long, if that's what you're saying," she smirked. "One man cut me off in traffic. He was found dead the next day. Another insulted me on the street, and they found him impaled on a tree. You should learn from that, Sam Winchester, not to cross me."

"I'm not too scared," Sam smirked. "Here, I'll cut you a deal. Let her out of there, let her go, and I might not kill you."

"I think not," Raven said coldly. "I am over two hundred years old, boy. I have trained some of the deadliest witches alive; I _am o_ne of the deadliest witches alive. A foolish human like you cannot touch me-"

She stopped speaking abruptly when a gunshot went off and she fell, a bullet through her heart.

"God, I hate it when they monologue," Dean muttered, lowering his gun.

"Dean!" Sam cried, horrified.

"What?" Dean snapped. "That was the witch killing people!"

"She was the only one who could stop the spell about to kill Julie!" Sam cried, and Dean turned white as a ghost in a second.

The two brothers rushed to the door, Sam crying, "Julie?! Are you okay?"

"Help me, please!" her voice came, weak and panicked.

Dean tried to kick the door down, but he could barely budge it. "Jules, can you get away from the door?" he cried.

"There's fire everywhere, Dean!" she cried back.

"Julie, please, just trust me!" he yelled back, and a moment later she cried, "Okay, I'm clear! But hurry!"

Dean fired a couple rounds into the hinges of the door, weakening it. Sam fired another round for good measure, and on three the two brothers threw all of their weight against the door. It shook violently but didn't give. Without even needing to speak, they immediately did it again. And again. The third time, one of the hinges snapped, and the door opened a small crack. Dean and Sam reached their arms into the smoke-filled, fire-engulfed room, helping pull a weak Julie to safety. She was coughing and choking from the smoke, and her clothes were singed, but she was alive at least.

Sam moved to wrap Julie in his arms, but Dean brushed him aside, thankfully not realizing what his intentions had been. Sam immediately felt guilty. He was not the one who should be holding Julie as she recovered from nearly dying for the second time in two hours. That was Dean's job. Not his.

Dean brushed Julie's sooty curls out of her face and pressed his lips to the top of her head, steadying himself. She was alright, there was still air in her lungs and light in her eyes. God, this was awful, this mind-numbing, life-threatening panic he had felt twice today, the overwhelming fear of losing her. He had been able to successfully ignore the thought of Julie ever really dying until…well, until today, really. But now… with her coming so close twice in one day…

"I hate this damsel in distress thing," Julie muttered after a while, having recovered enough to have her sense of humor back.

Sam laughed lightly, and she sat up on her own and squeezed his hand. "Thank you, Sam," she said gently, looking him in the eyes. "I'd be dead if you and Dean hadn't found me."

Sam felt light and happy. He started to smile back, but then suddenly his face grew dark and he pulled his hand away from Julie. She blinked, confused, but Dean was suddenly pulling her upright. "Come on," he said. "That fire's still coming."

They tried futilely to put out the roaring blue flames, but in the end there was nothing they could do. They fled the house and called the fire department, but in the end, Sam, Dean, and Julie stood watching the Summers' gorgeous mansion slowly go up in flames. And, although they had managed to stop the evil witch, they had to admit, it didn't really feel like they had won. Because no matter how witches they killed or people they saved, there would always be another monster to fight. And the Knights were still out there. This had done nothing to help them stop the evil threat out there.

One thing it had done, however was introduce Sam and Dean to the feeling of what it would be like to lose Julie. Both brothers had lost the other time and time again, and they knew how to cope with, or at least survive the death of the other. But the thought of losing this woman who was still rather new to their lives…that dark thought kept both brothers up all night long…

* * *

Two figures watched from a distance as the last remaining structure of the Summers' mansion finally crumbled. The shorter figure, a portly, middle-aged man grinned at the glowing embers. "Well, my lord?" he asked the other figure. "Did you get what you wanted?"

The other figure thought for a moment. "I must admit, I'm a bit disappointed in Raven," he said in a low, smooth, attractive voice. He himself was an attractive young man, maybe thirty, with sleek dark hair, clever dark eyes, and a handsome face. He wore dark clothes, and it seemed he might just disappear into the inky darkness around him. "That witch has killed countless hunters, and she couldn't even kill that girl with them."

"They _are _the Winchesters, sir," the other man pointed out.

"Please, call me my lord," the younger man chuckled. "Or, rather, my king."

"My apologies, my king," the other man said, groveling now.

"They seem fairly competent," the young man said after a moment. "Certainly worth taking notice of. And the older one, you say he carries the Mark of Cain?"

"He carried the First Blade as well," the older man said, head bowed. "He killed our queen, Abbadon."

"Yes, yes, he killed my treacherous sister, I get it," the other man sighed dramatically. "Frankly, I don't really care what he did to her. What I care about is what he might do to _me_."

"He no longer carries the Blade, my king. You could go follow him right now and kill him yourself; he couldn't kill you."

"Are you certain of that?" the younger man smirked, and his follower hesitated. The leader chuckled. "You demons are quite afraid of him, aren't you? Both of them?"

"They have killed many of us," the demon said quietly. "They defeated Lucifer himself-"

"A fluke," the other man snarled. "No humans could really defeat him. He's just biding his time, until some loyal demon can bring him back."

The demon eyed him nervously. But before he could ask, the young man continued, "For now though, I suppose we should worry about those pesky Winchesters." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "They seem awfully fond of that pretty little thing with them. I thought they might lose it when Raven's apprentices nearly got her."

"What are you suggesting, my king?" the demon asked almost nervously.

"Nothing, yet," the king sighed. "For now, we'll continue on like we are. I'm in no rush. I'm rather enjoying being back in a real body, on the surface again."

Before his underling could reply, another demon appeared out of nowhere. This demon was possessing a thin, pale little thing, barely over eighteen, with big, wide eyes. She spoke in an icy cold voice, though. "My king, I have a message for you. Your brother, Asmodeus, wishes to see you in hell."

The young, handsome man sighed. "Go on ahead. Both of you. I'll be there in a moment."

Both demons vanished, and the young man stared thoughtfully down at the smoldering house. Suddenly, he smiled slightly. "Go on with your petty little lives, _Winchesters_," he said softly to himself. "I'll be meeting you myself soon enough."

The female demon appeared again and said, "Beelzebub, I'm afraid Asmodeus is quite insistent-" she started.

The young man closed his hand into a fist, and the demon dropped to the ground, choking and spluttering until her insides glowed with a fiery light and she lay dead.

The king of the Knights of Hell shook his head and sighed. "I _said _I would be there in a moment," Beelzebub told her corpse, and with one last look at the burnt house, the Knight vanished into thin air.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

Dean blearily opened his eyes as something near his head started buzzing. He turned his head and saw that his phone, which was sitting on the nightstand, was getting a call. He groaned as he pushed himself upright, and Julie, who was sleeping peacefully next to him opened her eyes to stare at him.

He stroked the top of her head with one hand while reaching with the other hand for his phone. "Go back to sleep," he whispered, but she pushed herself upright in the bed as well and shifted closer to him as he answered the phone.

"Hello?" Dean asked curtly in a voice lower and gruffer than normal from sleep.

"Dean Winchester, don't you use that tone with me," a familiar woman's voice smirked, and a smile spread across Dean's face.

"Jody?" he asked, suddenly wide-awake.

"Hey, Dean," his old friend said with a smile in her tone. "It's been too long, kid. How are you?"

"I'm…" Dean stopped to think for a second. "I'm…okay, I guess."

"Because that's not cryptic at all," Jody Mills muttered, and Dean smirked.

He glanced over and saw Julie, hair still mussed from sleep, head cocked as she watched him in confusion. "Who is that?" she mouthed.

"Jody Mills," he mouthed back, and she nodded.

"How are you really, Dean?" Jody asked gently. "I haven't seen you in…wow. A year? Sam told me that you had…well, that you'd gone off the deep edge, and that you two weren't together anymore. But then, I get a call a few months ago from Sam saying you're back, and then you never call even once?"

Dean winced. "Sorry, Jody," he sighed. "Things have been insane. Especially of late. Sam got ahold of you about the Knights, right?"

"Oh yeah," she sighed. "I have to tell you, kid, I'm in way over my head. I just hunt monsters, Dean. I haven't even killed a demon, and now you boys want me looking out for five all-powerful, undefeatable Knights of Hell?"

"Yeah, well…like I said, things have been insane."

"Dean…how are you doing?" she asked in an almost motherly tone. "You know…with the Mark?"

Dean visibly winced, and Julie touched his arm, concerned. He put an arm around her and pulled her closer so she could hear the conversation between Dean and Jody, and so that he could be reminded he wasn't alone. He had her. What was the Mark of Cain when he had Julie and Sammy watching out for him?

"I'm okay, Jody," he told her. "Really. When I gave up the Blade, it went dormant for a while."

"And…is it still dormant?" she asked carefully.

Dean thought about admitting to her that it still bothered him, that on hunts he had to fight the urge to go ballistic, and that when he was pissed, he was on the verge of going on a killing spree. He had to fight the urge to confess the dark, murderous nightmares it brought him now. But he didn't need to worry Jody with that, and he sure as hell thinking the Mark was bothering him more than she already did.

"For the most part," he said offhandedly. "Anyway, that's not important. What about you? How are things with you and Alex…?"

"She's a messed-up teenage girl," Jody sighed. "What do you think?" Dean smirked, feeling sympathetic. He remembered Sam's moody teenage years, which ultimately ended in him abandoning both brother and father for college and a chance at normalcy. "But that's not actually what I'm calling about," Jody added.

"So you don't really want to catch up then, I see how it is," Dean smirked. "What's up, Jody? Got a case? Need some help?

"Actually…" Jody laughed a little uncertainly. "How close are you to Blue Rapids, Kansas?"

"Not far at all, actually," Dean said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well…lately monsters have been getting a lot cockier, if you haven't noticed," Jody said.

"Oh, we've noticed," Dean sighed. "In the past two weeks we've had five separate cases. What I wouldn't give for just one day to stay home and relax!"

"Well, sorry, Dean, but no relaxing today," she said. "I've got a pretty weird case, even for you boys, I'd say."

"Oh really?" Dean smirked, not really believing her.

"Yeah," Jody Mills said. "As of two days ago, in Blue Rapids, Kansas, two people have risen from the dead."

* * *

Jody stood leaning against the black truck that she was driving nowadays as a familiar engine revved. And sure enough, a familiar black Impala sped into the parking lot, making a sharp corner to park almost perfectly next to her car. She shook her head at the man in the driver's seat who was grinning cockily.

"As a police officer, I could arrest you for that show of illegal driving right there," she said as Dean Winchester got out of the car.

"Come here, Jody," he grinned, pulling her into a hug. "You know you love me."

She rolled her eyes, but it was true. She was extremely fond of this deadly hunter, and that ridiculously tall, floppy-haired brother of his who was getting out of the passenger's seat.

She hugged Sam too, smiling fondly up at the Winchester's. But before she could say anything, a third person got out of the car, and Jody stared in disbelief. A pretty woman with shoulder-length blond curls and big blue eyes got out of Dean's car and came to stand next to him. She was one of those naturally beautiful women who could get up and brush their hair and go out into the world and still have guys chasing them. She wore a button-down, checkered red-and-black plaid shirt and tight-fitting, dark jeans. Jody had to admit, she looked good with the plaid-wearing, jean-clad Winchester's. Like she belonged there.

Dean glanced in-between the short-haired, middle aged, brunette cop to his girlfriend. "Oh, right. You wouldn't know…Jody, this is my girlfriend, Julie Carters. Jules…this is our good friend Sheriff Jody Mills."

"They've mentioned you a few times before. It's nice to finally meet you," Julie said with a nice smile, sticking out her hand. Jody shook it and gave Dean an approving look after Julie's firm handshake.

"Funny how these boys completely forgot to mention they finally had a woman around to look out for them," Jody said, shooting them a look. The brothers smiled sheepishly, and she softened.

"So…how did this happen, then?" Jody asked carefully, looking in-between Julie Carters and Dean Winchester, trying to imagine how a tough, flirty, one-night-stand type of guy like Dean could get a girl like her.

"Well, while I was…a little more screwed up than usual…I met Julie," Dean explained. "She helped me put myself back together, and I fell for her, and then…"

"Sam came back?" Jody guessed, smiling slightly. She knew those brothers couldn't stay apart for long.

Sam and Dean both looked down. "No, actually…Julie and I lived together for about four months or so before Sam came back."

"So…you were back to normal, and you two still didn't…?" Jody stopped, realizing how sensitive of a subject this must be. "You know what, it doesn't matter. What matters is you boys are back together, and I need your help."

"Right, the case," Sam said, eager to move on and not think about how he had abandoned his brother, no matter how good the reason. "So, Dean says that apparently people are rising from the dead?"

"It's not unheard of, obviously," Jody shrugged. "You two are great examples of how it is very, very possible to just keep coming back again and again…"

Dean smirked. "So, what do you think did it? Angels? Or maybe demons, in exchange for some souls?"

"Well, whatever it is, they're up to no good," Jody said. "I've got two eyewitnesses who say they saw two people who had been dead for weeks walk out of a graveyard. Normally, I would think they were crazy, especially since it was a couple drunk college guys jacking around, but they got it on video."

"What makes you so sure they're evil though?" Sam asked, confused.

"I'm not absolutely certain, but that exact same night, a couple guys from a local firm both vanished. It could be a coincidence…"

"But when is it ever?" Dean sighed. "Alright, Jody. You've got me convinced. Let's go talk to these guys who saw them come out of the cemetery."

"Any ideas where they'd be?" Julie asked.

"Jake's Bar," Jody said confidently. "It's a couple blocks south of here. They're always there. _Always."_

So the four hunters started walking to the bar. Jody began to question Julie about her past, how she had gotten into hunting, what her family was like, and what living with the Winchester's was like. By the time they reached Jake's Bar, the two women were already laughing and chatting like old friends.

Julie stepped inside the bar first, followed by Sam. Jody put an arm out to stop Dean as he tried to walk in, and she said quietly, "You picked a good girl, Dean."

He smiled slightly after her. "Yeah, I know."

"You love her." It wasn't a question. She had barely seen them interact, except for one moment as they were walking, when Julie turned to ask Dean a question, and Jody had seen the way his face softened and his eyes lit up a little just looking at her. She had seen the way they brushed casually against each other, as comfortable with each other as two people could be. And she knew. She knew Dean Winchester loved this woman.

"I do," Dean said quietly after a moment.

"Good for you, kid," Jody said, patting his arm. "I'm glad she makes you happy. You deserve to be happy."

"Thanks, Jody," Dean said, smiling fondly at her. She gave him a one-armed hug, and he hugged her back before they walked into the dimly lit bar.

Already, a couple sleazy college guys had spotted Julie as she looked around the bar for the two eyewitnesses they were meeting there. The braver one took another shot of whatever he was drinking and approached her.

"Hey there," he said, smirking in a way he probably thought was hot, but immediately made Julie dislike him. The kind of smirk a guy wore when he thought he was God's gift to women, and that she would be lucky to hook up with him. "You look a little lost. Can I buy you a drink?"

Before Julie could even reply, a muscular arm went around her shoulders. "Sorry, pal," Sam said in a falsely friendly tone, his eyes deadly. "She's taken."

Julie blinked, surprised, and then gave the guy an apologetic smile. "Sorry, you heard the man," she shrugged, and he gave six-four, buff, handsome Sam one look and quickly backed off.

Both of them laughed a little once he was gone, and Sam pulled his arm away. "Sorry 'bout that," he said, sounding a little sheepish.

"No, thank you!" Julie said. "God, guys like that kill me. You just saved me a lot of trouble."

"Well then, good," Sam smirked, and the two of them laughed again as they walked over to where Dean and Jody had been watching them.

Jody stared at Sam and Julie for a moment, and the ease and comfort with which they interacted. Julie's arm brushed against Sam's and she didn't even notice, she was so comfortable with him. Sam noticed though, and he stiffened slightly, his face automatically going blank as he tried to suppress an unwanted emotion.

Concern sparked in Jody for a moment, but she quickly pushed it away. She was reading too much into everything. Instead, she pointed out a skinny, floppy-haired guy of about twenty-one with nerdy glasses and a short, stocky, sandy-haired guy of the same age in a dark corner of the bar, talking in low tones. "That's them," Jody said. "Keith Stone and Andy Michaelson."

The four of them ordered beers and went over to join the young men in their large booth. "Hey, boys," Jody said in a cool voice as they reached the booth.

The guys looked up and blinked. "Uh, hey, officer," the sandy-haired one said nervously. "What's up?"

"I've got some friends of mine who are interested in hearing what you saw two days ago." She jerked her head towards Sam, Dean, and Julie.

The nerdy-looking guy gulped nervously. "Are they cops too?"

"We're off-duty right now," Sam said in his friendly voice that people automatically trusted. "We're honestly just curious. It sounds like quite the case."

"Mind if we ask you a few questions?" Julie added with a winning smile, and they two guys exchanged looks.

"Sure!" they both said after a moment, eyes on Julie.

The four hunters squeezed in with the two college guys, Jody being forced to sit next to the nerdier of the two guys, while Julie sat next to the blond. "Thanks for agreeing to talk with us," Julie said, smiling sweetly at them. "Since we're off-duty, I'm Julie."

The guys smiled. "I'm Andy," the floppy-haired guy said a little shyly.

"Keith," the other guy said more confidently.

"Dean, and this is my brother, Sam," Dean finished. "So, what can you guys tell us about what you saw that night?"

The two guys exchanged looks. "Well…we saw Jacob Hendrickson," Andy said after a moment. "And his wife, Sarah or something?"

"Clara," Keith corrected. "Remember, she died right after him."

"And you said…you said these people were dead?" Dean asked skeptically.

"_Were_, yeah," Keith said darkly. "Jacob Samuels died in a car crash last month, and then his wife committed suicide. Everybody knew they were dead, but they just walked out of the graveyard, I swear."

"We've got it on video!" Andy tried triumphantly. "We took it to the cops, but they thought it was fake, so they ignored us."

"Can we see this video?" Sam asked.

"Well…" The college guys exchanged looks. "They took it from us. But she was able to talk to one of the officers and watch it," Andy said, nodding towards Jody.

"It looked real to me, guys," Jody said.

"What did they do?" Julie asked. "These people, when they came out of the graveyard. Did they say anything?"

"No," Keith said. "We…we actually panicked and hid when we saw them. We thought they were…well, we thought they were cops."

"So they didn't know you were there?" Dean asked.

"I don't think so," Keith said.

The hunters asked a few more questions, but it was clear the guys actually knew very little. They soon left the bar, and they walked back to the privacy of their cars before talking about what they had heard. "You believe them?" Sam asked Jody.

"They've got no reason to lie," she shrugged. "And that video was real."

Julie and Dean nodded. "Well, guys," Dean said after a moment. "It looks like we've got some work to do."

* * *

Several hours later, the four hunters arrived at the very same graveyard where Keith and Andy had seen the three dead people walking. They had gone to the firm of the two missing men, but they had not been able to find a single clue or reason that anyone would want to harm the two victims. It was most likely that those guys had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, if this really was a monster problem. Now that night had fallen, Sam, Dean, Julie, and Jody had decided to go straight to the source, decked out with machetes, silver knives, guns, and any other weapons they could possibly need.

Although they had been unable to find any answers that afternoon, they had gotten a lot of catching up done. Dean and Jody had caught up on all the things they had missed in the past year of each other's lives, and Julie and Jody were really hitting it off. They were both strong-willed, independent, caring women who were deeply protective of Sam and Dean, and Dean could see them quickly becoming close friends as they continued to work the occasional case together.

However, Jody had noticed something else as the afternoon wore on. While Sam and Dean were back to their close brotherly relationship, something was different. It didn't take Jody long to realize that it was Julie. Whenever Sam said something funny, his eyes flicked to Julie, and he would look gratified at whatever smirk or laugh he got out of here. They were obviously extremely close, gravitating towards each other almost constantly, joking and talking and just standing near each other at all times. If Jody didn't know better, and if Dean and Julie didn't occasionally share some sort of intimate moment every once in a while, she would probably assume that Julie was with Sam and not Dean.

Jody was quick and sharp, and she knew the boys well. She could see how much Dean loved Julie, and it seemed like Julie really loved him. But she also caught every longing glance or carefully controlled expression from Sam, and she had a sinking feeling that there was something going on between the three of them that not even they realized.

But they had bigger problems than complicated relationships right now, like whatever monster might be lurking in the graveyard. The four hunters moved carefully through the rows of headstones, weapons at the ready, but they found nothing more than a few mice and bugs around the cemetery. However, after about ten minutes of searching, Sam discovered an old, forgotten crypt in a far corner of the cemetery. The sort of place monsters loved to hole down in.

Dean and Sam went first into the crypt, with Julie and Jody following behind them. The two brothers turned on flashlights and held them so they could also have their guns at the ready. They shined the shafts of light around the tomb until Dean's landed on a shivering figure.

"Over here!" Dean cried, and he and Sam rushed to the hunched figure. They helped the man to his feet, and Jody stared at his pale face.

"That's one of the men who went missing," she told them.

"Help me," the man half-sobbed. "Please…Mason and I…they were going to kill us!"

"Calm down!" Sam told the man. "Where's the other guy? Mason, you said?"

Another man rose out of the shadows and stumbled over to them. "Get us out of here," he said in a hoarse voice. "Quick, before they get back!"

"Okay, okay," Dean said, trying to calm the panicked men while searching the shadows for a monster. "What—I mean who did this to you? What happened? Did you see who took you?"

As Dean questioned the men, and Jody and Sam pointed their guns into the shadows, tensed and ready for a fight, Julie noticed a coffin in the corner that was cracked slightly open. She inched closer to it and peered inside. Immediately, her stomach lurched as she not only saw a fresh corpse inside, but recognized the face as well. It was one of the men standing right there, mere inches away from Dean.

"Dean!" she yelled suddenly, turning around and drawing her machete. "They're not human!"

It only took Dean a second to process what she said and go for his machete, but the larger man, or rather monster was faster still. He lunged for Dean, but Sam fired a bullet into his chest and the monster stumbled back, momentarily stunned.

In the next second, the other man had lunged forward and sank his teeth into Sam's shoulder. Sam cried out in pain as the monster, which Julie realized now must be a ghoul, bit down harder on him. Jody pulled out her own machete and moved to help Dean fight off the other ghoul, while Julie leaped forward and plunged her machete into the back of the ghoul attacking Sam.

It howled in agony and released Sam, who struggled to stay on his feet. Julie withdrew her machete from the monster and in one quick swipe, she beheaded the monster, effectively killing it. Meanwhile, Julie was able to distract the other ghoul long enough for Dean to swing his machete and take the monster's head clean off his shoulder.

For a moment, the crypt was silent other than the four of them catching their breath. Then Julie rushed to Sam and peeled off his jacket to get a better look at his shoulder. It was bloody, but not very mangled. The ghoul hadn't been able to do much damage before she killed it.

"Ghouls," Dean muttered sullenly, lifting the lid off of another coffin to reveal the corpse of the other man the ghouls had been pretending to be. "I can't believe we didn't figure that out."

Jody stared sadly at the face of the corpse in the coffin, white in death. "I wish could have helped them," she said quietly.

"You can't save everyone," Dean said in a low voice, and there was a lot of guilt and grief in those four words.

Julie looked up from Sam, who she had been fretting over, when she heard those words. It broke her heart, the pain Dean had suffered and the amount of people he had cared about and been unable to save. Sam glanced over at his brother as well, trying and failing not to think of Mom and Dad and Jess and Bobby and all those people they couldn't save…

And it wasn't just them, either. Jody had lost her husband and child, unable to save either of them. And Julie had lost her father and mother to the monsters in the dark, and she was constantly in danger of losing Sam or Dean or herself as well. It was an impossible fact to accept, but it was true: not everyone could be saved.

"Come on," Julie said after a moment. "Let's get out of here."

And the four of them left the crypt, continuing on in their foolish attempt to try and outrun all the grief and guilt of their dark pasts.

* * *

The four hunters cleaned up their mess, called the cops and alerted them to the dead bodies, and left the cemetery. Sam, Dean, and Julie offered to have Jody drive the hour or so with them to the bunker to spend the night, but she already had a room in a motel in Blue Rapids.

Julie patched up Sam's shoulder, worrying over him as Jody and Dean looked on. Jody thought long and hard on how to say what she was thinking, until she finally just blurted out in a low voice only Dean could hear, "Dean…can I just say something?"

"Shoot," he said.

"Do you…have you ever…?" She stopped for a moment to organize her thoughts. "Sam and Julie are pretty close, don't you think?"

Dean glanced over at them. Sam was wearing only a thin t-shirt, one sleeve pushed up so that she could finish wiping his shoulder clean and wrapping it in a white bandage. As she patched him up, Sam muttered something, smirking slightly, and Julie laughed. Sam smiled to himself at the sound of her laugh.

"Sure, I guess," Dean said, trying to ignore that stupid, ugly emotion that reared its head whenever Sam and Julie interacted like this. "Why?"

"Well, I just…I don't want to say anything I shouldn't, because I've known Julie for only a day, but…" Jody swallowed. "Dean, do you think there's something going on between them?"

"What? No!" Dean snapped, and Julie and Sam both looked up. He waved for them to go back to what they were doing and hissed at Jody, "Why the hell would you say that?!"

"Look, Dean, I…I just think they seem almost _too _close, you know?" Jody said carefully. "And, you know…Sam's a great guy, and good-looking, too, and Julie seem wonderful, and she's beautiful, and I just…I could see something happening between them, is all I'm saying."

"Well, nothing's going to," Dean snapped defensively. "Nothing is going on there, and nothing will be, because neither of them would ever do that to me. Come on, Jody, you know Sam! You know he'd never do that!"

"I know, I know, I just…" Jody looked up at Dean sadly. "I don't want you getting hurt."

Dean glowered at her. "Please, don't be upset with me, Dean," she pleaded. "You're right, that was stupid and over the line. I'm wrong, I'm just being silly. Overprotective, I guess. I don't want to see you get hurt is all."

Dean softened slightly. "I guess. I…I'm sorry," he added after a moment.

"Don't be," she sighed. "I'm the one who should be sorry. And I should probably get going. You three should, too."

Dean nodded and said goodbye to Jody. The four of them promised to meet up again, and soon, hopefully under better circumstances. Within an hour or so, Sam, Dean, and Julie were back at the bunker. Sam soon went to bed, but Dean's head was too full of conflicting emotions and wild thoughts to sleep.

He went into his and Julie's room and sat down on the edge of their bed. Julie followed him and shut the door behind her. She leaned against the door as she stared at Dean. Something was obviously bothering him; that much was clear from his furrowed brow and dark expression.

"What's wrong?" Julie asked Dean after a long moment, and he looked up. She stood there, the same beautiful girl he had once saved from a demon all those long months ago. Except then, there had been confusion and awe and even a little fear when she looked at him. Now there was concern, and tenderness, and love. She loved him. It was so clear, even in the way she looked at him, and that fact washed away all his doubts. She loved him. He knew that.

Dean shook his head slightly and sighed. "Nothing. I'm fine."

"No, you're not," Julie said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You haven't been since long before I met you. And you definitely haven't been since the Knights came back." Dean stared up at her. He had never said even once how much the Mark of Cain had been bothering him. In fact, he had tried to hide it, but Sam and Julie just knew. They could tell when he was hurting, and they would do anything to help him.

Two people who loved him like that would never betray him like everyone seemed to expect them to. They cared too much to do that to him.

"Look," Julie sighed, walking over to Dean. "You don't have to tell me what's wrong. But please, Dean, let me help you. I hate seeing you like this."

She touched the side of his face gently, and he smiled slightly. "Jules, really. I'm okay." She stared at him in disbelief, and he smiled wider. "I've got you."

Julie smiled slightly and leaned down until their lips met. Dean put his arms around her waist as he kissed Julie for a long moment. He pulled her down on the bed next to him and kissed her again. They sat on the bed, kissing, until Julie pulled Dean's shirt up over his head and started to kiss his jaw, his ear, his neck, his shoulder, all the while running her hands over his shoulder blades and the muscles in his back.

Finally, Dean couldn't take it anymore, and he pushed her gently onto her back and unbuttoned her shirt. Julie lay still, trying to catch her breath and ignore how Dean was getting her heart racing.

"You seem happier now," Julie smirked after a moment, still slightly out of breath.

"Like I said," Dean replied, smiling down at her. He kissed her again for a moment and whispered, "I've got you."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Julie sighed contently, living in the peaceful space between consciousness and sleep. She was warm and comfortable, the silk sheets soft on her bare skin. She sighed again as a strong, muscular arm went around her waist, and a pair of lips brushed against the back of her neck.

She rolled over and kissed him full on the mouth. He parted his lips, and she traced them with her tongue tantalizingly. One of her hands moved to cup his face, while the other ran through his hair.

When Julie pulled away for a moment to get some air, she opened her beautiful blue eyes and smiled at him. "I love you, Sam," she whispered.

Sam's heart leapt. He had been aching to hear those words for so long. He had tried to ignore it for weeks, but it was undeniable, his attraction for this woman. She was so sweet, so brave, so funny and tough and good and clever and beautiful. How could he not love her?

Sam trailed his fingers down her neck and along her spine. "I never want this to end," he said softly, almost wanting to laugh at how sappy he sounded right now.

"So…it doesn't have to," Julie replied, resting a hand on his bare chest. Wherever she touched him, he felt warmth spread through him. This was so perfect, the two of them like this. Happy and together and in love. This was how things were supposed to be, and nothing could ever ruin how perfect this moment was.

And then someone knocked on the door.

"Sam?" his voice called through the door. No other voice could bring him down from this high, make him feel so dirty and guilty with one word. "You in there?" his brother asked.

Julie stared at Sam, panicked and guilty. "Sammy, I can't find Jules!" Dean yelled, banging on Dean's door.

"Just a minute!" Sam called, and the knocking stopped.

"Oh no," Julie whispered, sitting up in bed and wrapping a sheet around her. "Oh no, no, no."

"Julie…" Sam started, unsure what he was going to say next. Stay with me? Forget about Dean? Both sounded terribly selfish.

"He can't know," Julie whispered.

"Shouldn't we tell him-?" Sam tried to ask.

"No!" she hissed. "It'll break his heart. We can't do that to him!"

"He'll have to find out eventually," he pointed out.

"I've got to go," Julie whispered, wide-eyed.

"No, wait!" Sam reached out and grabbed her arm. "Julie, wait. Don't go. Not yet."

"I have to!"

"But, Julie, I love-"

"But Dean!" She pulled her arm free and started to leave him.

"Julie, wait! Don't leave me!" Sam called after her, reaching out for her, but she was gone, just out of reach, and he couldn't touch her or kiss her or tell her he loved her, he couldn't have her—

Sam jolted up on the couch, his heart beating wildly. His stomach was churning, and he felt sick.

But more than anything, he felt guilty. How could he? How could he have dreams like that, how could he want Julie when she was Dean's? When she loved his brother, and he loved her, and she made him so happy? He loved Dean, and to want to take away that happiness…what kind of a person did that make Sam?

Sam put his head in his hands and groaned. It had just been getting worse. It used to be a stupid, passing thought he would occasionally have, when Julie would suddenly look so beautiful to him and he would ache to touch her. That he could ignore, but they kept getting closer and closer, becoming best friends, spending all day, every day together, and despite all of his willpower, it had happened.

He had fallen for his brother's girl. He was the biggest asshole there was. No one could despise Sam more than he did, but it didn't change the fact that every time Sam saw Julie without Dean, he wanted to hold her and kiss her and have her, and whenever he saw her with Dean, he wanted Dean to be gone.

_Asshole_, Sam thought angrily. _You're a sick bastard, Sam Winchester._

But as much as he hated himself for it, he couldn't change his feelings.

Sam heaved himself off of the couch, a monumental effort with him so upset, and went into the kitchen to make coffee. He did what the Winchester's did best: shut down his emotions and just focused on the task at hand. He poured himself a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter, sipping his coffee, and trying not to think.

And then, because the universe obviously despised him as much as he did himself, a half-asleep Julie walked into the kitchen, her blond curls adorably mussed from sleep, wearing only an oversized, red button-down shirt that was obviously Dean's. She looked up and blinked, startled. "Oh. Hey, Sam. I didn't realize you were up."

"Uh. Yeah, I, uh…I get up pretty early," Sam said lamely, trying to look anywhere but at her long, bare legs.

"I see," Julie smirked, pushing her hair out of her face. "Coffee me?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied, getting out a mug and pouring her a cup. Julie was so comfortable around him, even in nothing but his brother's shirt that he couldn't help but relax a little and slip back into their easy relationship. If the two of them didn't get along that well, or had little in common, Sam knew that he wouldn't have fallen for her, even though she was beautiful. But he and Julie had so much in common, and they had a great relationship. They could sit and read in the same room without speaking for hours and be perfectly content. They could talk and laugh for hours and it would never be awkward. They could tease the crap out of Dean, and Sam loved it. He loved spending with Julie, loved her sense of humor and her sweet, sensitive side, and he loved…

Sam shut down his brain as he reached that dangerous thought. He quickly handed Julie her mug. Her arm brushed his as she took the mug, and he gritted his teeth. It was ridiculous how an accidental touch like that could send his heart racing, and it was _wrong._

"Mm." Julie took another sip of the coffee. "This is good. How come I've never had your coffee?"

"You sleep late," he shrugged. She moved to stand next to him, leaning against the counter as well, and he was again distracted by her bare legs. He cleared his throat and asked, "So, um…you planning on getting dressed?"

Julie looked down and blushed. "Oh, right. Crap. I forgot."

Sam couldn't help it; he smiled slightly. She had forgotten she was wearing practically nothing, she was so comfortable with Sam. If she had been with Dean, she wouldn't have forgotten. She would have felt pressured to be sexy for him, but with Sam she could be herself…

_Stop it!_ Sam thought angrily at himself. _This isn't right. _He had to stop thinking like this!

"Have you seen Dean?" Julie asked, snapping Sam out of his thoughts. "He wasn't in bed when I woke up."

"Haven't seen him. But I haven't been up long. He's around here somewhere, I'm sure."

Sure enough, within a couple seconds, Dean came around the corner into the kitchen, hanging up his phone. He saw Julie first and smirked. "Nice outfit."

She rolled her eyes as she walked over to him. "Shut up," she muttered, and he chuckled and put an arm around her waist, pulling her close to him so he could stick his tongue in her mouth right in front of Sam. Sam worked his jaw furiously in an attempt not to snap at Dean to cut it out, and he looked away.

After a long, agonizing moment, Dean and Julie pulled apart, and Julie asked, "What was that call about?"

"It was Matthew Bones-you guys remember him?" Dean said. "He worked that haunting in Florida a couple months ago with us?"

"Yeah," Sam and Julie both said in unison. "What did he want?"

"Well, he's got word of a case, but he's too busy to take it, so he called up—who else? The Winchester's." Julie smiled a little when she realized he was including her in that blanket term.

"What's the case?" Sam asked.

"Within the past month, three separate people who were in a seemingly happy relationship suddenly killed their partner for someone else," Dean explained. "I would think nothing of it, except that they happened so close in time in a pretty small town where the likelihood of it happening is almost ridiculously low."

"Sounds worth checking out," Julie said.

"You should probably go get dressed then," Dean pointed out.

"We both know you don't really want me to," Julie smirked even as she walked away to the bedroom to get dressed.

Dean shook his head, grinning, as he watched her go. "She's something else, Sammy…" he sighed.

"Yeah, she is…" Sam said softly, and the two brothers watched Julie walk away with matching expressions of fondness and longing.

* * *

"So, officer, you say Mrs. Kim just up and killed her husband two days ago for her coworker?" Dean asked skeptically.

"Yes," the older, heavier, moustache-sporting police officer sighed grimly. "And the Kim's were the nicest couple you could know…good Christian folks and everything!"

Dean swallowed and shot a glance at his brother who stood nearby, looking around the small home of Mr. and Mrs. Kim. Sam was eying a crucifix over the door, but at the officer's words, he glanced over and Sam and Dean had one of their mental conversations.

This was the third couple they had investigated today and the second officer they'd spoken to. Every time it was the same; they were nice enough people who loved each other, or so it seemed, and it seemed completely out of character to murder their spouse or partner. The first couple they had investigated had been a couple of college kids who had been high school sweethearts, and all their friends had expected that they would get married. At least until the guy, a Joey Johnson had beat his girlfriend to death and promptly tried to hook up with her best friend.

The other couple had been in their mid-twenties, and though they'd only been together a few months, they seemed to love each other a lot. Rumor had it that the woman, Jessie's ex was back in town and trying to get back with her, and then her boyfriend had been found stabbed with a steak knife. Many people would have suspected the ex, but Jessie had admitted in tears that she had done it, and she had no reason why. She couldn't help it, she had told the police before they arrested her.

This definitely seemed like a case. But the cops didn't know anything, and Sam, Dean, and Julie hadn't found any leads as they pretended to be state officers looking into the murders.

"Thank you, officer," Dean sighed. "You've been a lot of help. We'll look around some more, if that's alright."

The officer nodded and wandered off to make a call or eat a donut, whatever small town cops did. Sam and Dean walked into the room where Mr. Kim had been found, killed by the shotgun they kept hidden in the closet.

Sam stiffened as they entered the room and saw Julie crouched down, studying the blood and the tape outline on the floor. Her back was to them, and her shirt had slid up enough to reveal a couple inches of bare skin. As much as Sam tried not to look, he couldn't help himself. He noticed the tattoo on her lower back, the same anti-possession tattoo he himself had on his chest. He had never known that was there. Dean did of course. He probably saw it every night as he ran his hands over her and screwed his gorgeous girlfriend every single night…

"Dammit," Sam muttered, hating himself for being unable to control his thoughts. However, Dean heard him and asked, "What?"

"Nothing, sorry," Sam said quickly. "Just…frustrated we haven't found any leads."

"Never say never," Julie said, straightening up and turning to face them. "I found these pictures on the nightstand." She held out a couple photos of a smiling, Asian couple in their mid-thirties, arm in arm outside a fancy restaurant. "I asked one of the officers, and he was actually pretty close friends with Mr. Kim before…well, you know. Anyway, three days ago was their anniversary. They went to this nice, romantic restaurant in town, and then that night, apparently Mrs. Kim killed her husband, even though everyone who saw them said they looked so happy."

"Huh," Dean said, taking one of the photos. "Hang on. D'Angelo's? Isn't that the last place that Jessie chick and her boyfriend were seen before she killed him?"

"You're right…" Sam said slowly.

"And how much you wanna bet those college kids went there, and then one brutally killed the other?" Dean said, looking oddly excited. There was something about these _aha! _moments in a case that got him excited, even as he talked about people murdering each other.

"You think it's all tied to this restaurant?" Sam asked.

"It's possible," Julie admitted. "What do you guys say? Should we go get some Italian food, kill some sons of bitches and be home by midnight?"

"No!" Dean said with surprising conviction. "You're not going."

"What?" she snapped.

"Jules, three couples have gone into that place and promptly murdered each other. I'm not having the two of us go in there so then you can try to kill me!"

"I would never-" Julie started, appalled.

"You wouldn't want to, but I doubt these other folks did either," Dean pointed out. "Whatever's doing this will probably be able to control us as easily as them."

Julie couldn't think of a valid argument, so she sighed and gave in. Sam pointed out there was no point in going until they knew what this was and how to kill it, so the hunters returned to the motel room for some good old research.

Within a few hours, Sam came across a hit, the first one they actually found believable. And even then it was pretty unbelievable.

"You think Aphrodite, the goddess of love is making happy couples murder each other?" Dean asked skeptically.

"I know it's a bit of a stretch, but I've been looking at that restaurant's website, and it's got so many things that are tied to pagan gods in it, and there are so many symbols pointing to Aphrodite it'd be stupid not to ignore it," Sam explained. "Look at the paintings on the wall. Doves, roses, horses, mirrors, sparrows, swans…these are all symbols sacred to her. The place even is constructed like an ancient Greek temple a bit."

"That might just be to attract tourists," Dean pointed out.

"Okay, look at this," Sam continued, going to another page of the website. There's a special room you can pay extra for, a private, romantic room. The walls are literally murals out of Greek mythology praising Aphrodite. And the woman who owns the place, Cythera D'Angelo? Well, Cytherea, which is pretty damn close, is another name for Aphrodite."

"Damn," Julie smirked. "This guy really does his homework."

"I bet he already knew all that before this," Dean muttered. "Well, it sounds like you may be right. Do we know how to kill her?"

"Typical stake through the heart bit," Sam said. "I've got the list of things we have to do to bless it right here."

"Somebody came prepared," Julie laughed, bumping Sam lightly with her shoulder. He smiled, proud. She was impressed with him. Nothing felt better than impressing her.

"But that doesn't explain why she's doing this," Dean pointed out.

"Think about it," Julie said thoughtfully. "These couples…they all killed their partners so they could be with someone else, right? So…they were acting out of love in a really twisted sort of way, right? Maybe she's just magnifying their love for someone they're not really with until they are willing to kill their partner to be with that other person."

"Could be," Dean admitted. "Another reason you are not going with me then. I am not going to have you killing me to be with somebody else."

And of course Sam didn't want Dean to die. That was the last thing he would ever want! But the thought of Julie going to kill Aphrodite and realizing in the meantime that she actually loved Sam, too…that sounded really good to him. Too good. God, he was awful.

"She shouldn't go," Sam said firmly. "Dean, you and I can handle this."

"I'm coming, too, even if I'm just there for backup," Julie snapped. "I'm not some housewife you boys can leave at home."

"I know, I know," Dean sighed. "That's part of why I love you." He kissed the top of her head quickly before going to work preparing stakes to kill the goddess of love.

Sam shook his head. He had just told Julie in such an off-hand sort of way that he loved her, and then he had barely even brushed the top of her head with his lips before moving on. Sam would not ever be that casual with his affection for Julie if he ever got to show it. Dean didn't even know how lucky he was!

And yet somehow, it didn't even cross Sam's mind how dangerous it was to be walking into a battle against a goddess who forced people in happy relationships to throw them away for another lover when he himself with so in love with his brother's girlfriend.

* * *

It was only a couple minutes before closing when Sam and Dean walked casually into D'Angelo's. A skinny kid in a formal waiter's uniform was sweeping in one corner of the Greek-style restaurant, while a woman who looked to be in her mid-forties stood by the counter.

"Here they are," she said with a bright smile at the boys. "Jeff, you can go."

"It's Jim, actually," the kid muttered.

"Get out of my temple before I kill you, Jeff," the woman said with a forced smile, and he muttered in consent and walked past Sam and Dean out the door. They saw that his eyes were glazed like someone possessed, which he surely was.

"Sam. Dean. Have a seat." The woman gestured to an elegant table, lit with romantic candles and a vase of flowers and everything.

Dean snorted. "Yeah. Right. Look, if you know who we are, that must mean you're Aphrodite then."

She smiled slightly. "Well, I prefer Cythera now, but a handsome fellow like you, Dean Winchester? You can call me whatever you like."

Dean rolled his eyes. The goddess looked like a washed-up beauty queen. Her face was stretched oddly to try and prevent wrinkles since she looked to be in her mid-forties. She wore a little too much makeup, and her dirty blond hair was obviously dyed. She wore a purple, V-neck dress that was clearly meant to make her look sexy, but instead showed how her body was beginning to show signs of age. She had once been very beautiful, Dean could tell, but she was trying too hard to stay young and gorgeous, and it was somehow making her look worse.

"Wow," Dean whistled when she smiled again, and it was clear that her lips were not real, but obviously the outcome of plastic surgery. Her teeth were too white to be natural, and everything about her reeked of someone trying far too hard. "Listen, sweetheart, for the goddess of beauty, you really let yourself go."

She snarled at him, and her face grew quite unattractive. "I was once the most beautiful, desired woman in all of earth," she growled, stalking closer to them in ridiculous heels. "People came to me to find someone who loved them, or to be beautiful and desirable. If you were beautiful and loved, what more could you want? I was worshipped, and beloved by all. But now you, you pathetic, arrogant little mortals, you don't _need _love do you? Who needs love when you have war and politics and your fancy new sex toys? Who needs love when you have wealth and fame? Who needs beauty when you have that cursed _Photoshop_?!"

Sam and Dean both smirked slightly. "So because we don't need you anymore, you started killing us?" Sam asked, slightly confused.

Aphrodite laughed suddenly, her mood change startling them. Yep. She was a woman alright. "Nothing of the sort. You see, Sam Winchester, I believe in true love."

Sam groaned quietly, and Dean glanced over, a little confused. "Everyone has a perfect match, my dear," Aphrodite continued. "Someone who shares their interests, someone who makes them smile and laugh, someone who cheers them up when they are sad, someone they could spend the rest of their lives with. The most beautiful person in all the world to them."

Dean looked back and forth between Sam, who was glaring at his feet, and Aphrodite, who was smiling knowingly at his brother. "Some people have many possible matches, but I decide who their true love will be," she continued. "You may have heard of it—I hear kids these day call it _shipping_?"

Both brothers groaned. "However, unlike others, I can actually force my ships to be together!" she continued, clapping her hands delightedly. "Unfortunately, people are often with the wrong match. When I see someone who is with the wrong person, I just reveal to them who they truly should be with. Who they _truly _love. And if they choose to take out their spouse or partner so they can be with their one true love…well, who am I to stop them?" She laughed, morbidly amused.

Both brothers glared at her and pulled out stakes, but she waved her hand and they flew out of their hands across the room. "You're sick, Aphro," Dean snarled, defenseless but still able to always have a snappy comeback. "Can I call you Aphro?"

"No!" she snarled.

"Well, Aphro, it's just wrong to take someone who is already happy and make them give that up and hurt someone they love for something else they don't even really want. Someone _you _picked for them."

"Of course _you _would feel that way," she smirked. "I bet you Sam might be of a different opinion though."

"What?" Dean asked, confused, turning to his brother. Sam shook his head ever-so-slightly at the goddess, begging her with those puppy dog eyes not to do this.

"I don't _make _people fall in love," Aphrodite said with an almost cruel smile. "These people are already in love with someone else, and they just need a little push to admit what they know is right. Like…you two, for an example. And what excellent examples! Like you, Dean. You loved Lisa, but unfortunately that was never meant to be."

Dean stiffened like she had just hit him, but she plowed ahead. "And so many women have loved you, Dean, but you could not return their affections. Take Jo, for example. And so many others, all in love with the mysterious Dean Winchester they could never have. They simply weren't the ones, and now you've got lovely Julie and you two are so, so happy…so in love…and nothing could ever change that, right?"

Dean glared at her. This bitch was throwing all sorts of painful memories in his face, and if she was going to try to mess with him and Julie now…

But she had moved on to Sam. "And Sam…oh, poor, tragic Sam. You found your love, Jessica, but she was killed—how awful." Sam's eyes darkened with rage, and Dean wanted to kill the bitch. "And there were many other women…Amelia, Madison, Ruby…now that was a fun one! Not your best pick, Sammy, but always an entertaining story. I've watched you boys, and you're quite fun for an old gal like me. Such big, strong, handsome heroes…you just make the girls go wild. And you're brothers too. But the best part is…with all the women who would throw themselves at you, I've found myself a case even within two people as close as you."

"The hell are you talking about?" Dean snapped, trying to ignore the horrifying way his stomach had just dropped out of him.

"Like I said, I've been watching," Aphrodite explained. "Watching you and Julie fall in love was sweet, Dean. It got me interested in your love lives again. The great Dean Winchester, his heart stolen by a pretty, young hunter who saved him from the darkness inside him…how beautiful. And then, to top it off, she stole another's heart, and I couldn't help but interfere."

"Look, bitch, I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but-" Dean started to growl.

"Don't," Sam pleaded, and Dean stopped. "Please."

"But Sam, you know, don't you? It's not often I give someone a second chance at true love, but you deserve it. And you know you belong with her more than he does, don't you?" She smiled wickedly.

"What is she talking about, Sammy?" Dean said in a cold voice.

"Tell him, Sam. Tell your brother how you really feel. You don't have to hide anymore. You know as well as I do…he's not the right match for her."

"Sam…" Dean said slowly, his expression careful and cold.

Sam didn't want to. He wanted to go on pretending so they could be happy, but Aphrodite wouldn't let him. The words were pouring out, and he couldn't stop them. "Dean, I'm so, so sorry. I never meant—if I could have stopped it…I never wanted to hurt you…you were so happy, and I didn't want to ruin it…"

"What are you talking about." It wasn't a question anymore. They both knew, although neither wanted to say it.

"She's just so…so _good_," Sam continued at a whisper. "I didn't know how to…to not fall in love with her."

"Sam," Dean growled, his green eyes dark and cold. "No."

"Dean…I'm in love with Julie," Sam admitted finally, and he felt so free after getting it out, he added, "I have been. For a while now."

And there it was. The bombshell dropped because of this bitch goddess, the one that would destroy their relationship, which they had just gotten back to normal. And now, now Dean would hate Sam and leave him and he had lost everything because he couldn't stop himself from loving her.

"No," Dean repeated.

"I'm sorry," Sam said brokenly. "I couldn't help it."

"No, Sam, you could help it," Dean snarled, and Sam was scared by the intensity in his brother's voce. "You could help it, but you were always the spoiled one. Dad and I, we took care of you, made sure you were as happy as we could make you, gave you whatever you wanted. And now you saw something you wanted, and now you want to take it. Well, you know what, Sam? You can't have her. She is _mine-_"

"I know, Dean! I was never going to take her from you," Sam said quickly.

"You're right, you're not," Dean snarled. "She's in love with me, Sam. Not you. And just because you want to be banging my girlfriend does not mean that she's leaving me."

"I know that!" Sam snapped. "God, Dean, I would never take her from you! And it's not that I want to bang her! I mean, I kind of…but it's about _her_, Dean! She's so good, and we haven't had anyone good around in so long, and she and I-"

"Are never going to happen," his older brother snarled, and they were dangerously close. "And yeah, I know she's good, Sam. She was the one who saved me and helped me get myself back to normal when you were—where? Oh, that's right, _abandoning me_ when I _needed _you, Sam!"

Sam blinked, stung. "I…I'm sorry, Dean. I didn't mean for this to happen."

But Dean, like always, wasn't listening to his baby brother. "You're kidding me," he ranted. "Out of all the women in the world, you had to pick the one, the _one _that was in love with me, the one that I loved more than I've ever loved any woman?! No, Sam. You're not doing this. Stay out of my way, and don't you dare go near her, or I swear to god I'll kill you."

It was then that Dean knew this wasn't all him talking. Aphrodite must be fueling his anger somehow, because never, no matter what, would he threaten to kill his brother. But the two of them were riled up to stop and realize what she was doing, and the goddess stood near the door, arms crossed, watching the action unfold and smiling.

"I'm sick and tired of you telling me what to do, Dean!" Sam growled. "I'm not a kid. And I can't help that I love her, but you might as well give her a chance to see if she loves me too. You should at least let her choose!"

"She'd pick me, every time," Dean growled back, and they were practically nose-to-nose.

"But you're too scared to find out, aren't you?" Sam smirked. "Because you _know _Aphrodite's right, and we should be together. Not the two of you."

Dean finally lost it. He threw a punch, and Sam stumbled back, shocked. But then Sam recovered, and he slugged his older brother hard in the jaw, and within seconds they were fighting like only Winchester's could. They punched and kicked each other, spinning in a whirlwind of powerful, fast strikes. Finally, Dean got the jump on Sam and threw his brother into a wall. Sam stumbled, dazed, and Dean took a moment to pause and wipe the blood from his nose away.

But Sam had only been pretending to be dazed, and he lunged towards Dean, knocking the older Winchester flat on his back. Sam pulled out his knife and pressed it against Dean's throat, and Dean stared up at his baby brother, the spell broken for him as he realized Sam was about to kill him.

Sam pinned Dean down, breathing heavily, eyes frenzied. Dean grabbed Sam's wrist and struggled violently to throw his brother off of him, but Sam was bigger and had a good hold on him. Dean gave up and said, "Sam…"

Sam's brows furrowed as he began to doubt what he was doing, but Aphrodite appeared at his shoulder and whispered eagerly, "Do it, Sam. You know what you have to do. Kill him and take what you want. What you _deserve_. You know she would love you if it weren't for him. So why don't you allow you and Julie to be together, like you belong?"

"Shut the hell up," Dean growled at Aphrodite. Sam frowned and dug the edge of the blood into the soft skin of Dean's throat, and he froze. "Sam…" Dean said carefully. "Don't do this. This isn't you. Come on, think."

"He doesn't deserve her," Aphrodite crooned into Sam's ear. "You do, Sam. You would give Julie what she deserves, you know you would. Dean tried his hardest, but he's not good enough for her. He'll only get in the way."

Sam nodded slowly, and Dean saw it in his brother's eyes. Sam wasn't going to kill him, under this bitch's control. "Wait!" Dean cried. "Sammy, please…"

For a moment, it seemed that Sam was back to himself. But then Aphrodite touched his shoulder, and her power surged through him. "Do it for her, Sam. If you truly love her, you'll do this for her."

Sam gritted his teeth and pulled the knife back to stab Dean. Dean's eyes were wide with fear and disbelief and guilt. He had driven his little brother to this. It was his fault that Sam was going to kill him…

And then the only voice that had enough power to break Aphrodite's spell in this moment cried, "Sam, _no_!"

Sam stopped and his head whipped to see Julie standing in the doorway, holding a blessed stake. She looked absolutely horrified, and the spell was broken at the look on her face.

"I'll do this myself!" the goddess snarled, pulling Sam's knife out of his hand and lunging to stab Dean. But Sam roared in anger and tackled her, kicking the knife away from her. Sam held the goddess's arms down, and Julie rushed forward and stabbed the stake into her heart. Aphrodite wailed, and then she was still.

The entire room was still and silent as the three of them recovered. Then Julie scrambled over to Dean and helped him sit up. "What happened?" she asked him softly, taking in his bruised face, as well as Sam's.

"She…she was forcing us to try to kill each other," Sam said after a moment, still shocked and horrified at what he had admitted to Dean and what he had almost done to his brother.

"Oh, god…" Julie said, horrified. "Dean…"

She hugged him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder, and Sam looked down, ashamed. He had let that goddess get in his head. Of course she loved Dean and only Dean. Why on earth would she even for a second consider Sam? They were so happy, and he was the worst person imaginable for trying to ruin that. And the fact that he had nearly killed his brother over this…

Sam finally lifted his eyes to meet Dean's and his heart sank when he saw his brother glaring at him, even as he held Julie in his arms. And it was then Sam knew. He had ruined everything, the wonderful past few months they'd spent together. Nothing could ever be the same now. His secret was out, and now…now his beloved brother would probably hate him forever.

* * *

The three hour car ride back to the bunker was completely silent. Dean was icy and cold to both Sam and Julie. There were a few moments when Julie tried to talk to Sam, but he sat in the back seat in some sort of stunned, guilty silence, hesitant to give her even one syllable answers. She gave up and played some great classic rock on the radio, but neither brother could get into the music, so she gave up and they drove through the darkness in silence.

As soon as they got home, Julie quickly left them alone to work through this awkwardness so things could go back to normal. The second she was out of earshot, Sam turned to talk to Dean, and he found himself being thrown into the wall.

"Dean!" Sam choked out, surprised to find his older brother pinning him against the wall, eyes fiery. "What are you-?"

"You were going to kill me so that you could steal my girlfriend," Dean snarled.

"Dean…I…that wasn't me! At least…not all me," Sam said desperately.

"That doesn't change what happened," Dean said icily. "You try to make a move on Julie…you try to hurt me again…and I'm leaving Sam. And I'll take Julie with me, because despite what you seem to think, she's with _me_, not you!"

"I didn't…Dean, I know that!" Sam pleaded. "I didn't mean for that to happen. Ever. I won't do anything, I promise." Dean released him and turned away, disgusted. "I'm sorry," Sam said softly. "Please, Dean, how can I fix this?"

"You can't," he replied tiredly, and he walked away.

Sam resisted the urge to punch the wall. Just like him to screw up whatever happiness they had had before this. Because now, he had ruined it all in his usual Sam Winchester fashion. He didn't just screw up—he blew any chance he had at happiness out of the water.

* * *

Julie looked up when Dean came into the bedroom. "Hey," she said gently, seeing the tired, worn, dark expression on his face. "You okay?"

"Great," he muttered, pulling off his button-down shirt and his jeans without looking at her.

"Dean…what happened with you two?"

"That bitch made my little brother try to kill me," he replied icily.

Julie blinked, watching him get ready for bed in sharp, swift movements, radiating an icy distrust towards her. "Did I do something?" she snapped after a moment.

"Not a thing," he said shortly, and she couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

"What is wrong?!" Julie cried finally, when he wouldn't say anything else.

"Nothing," he said in a clipped voice, still not meeting her eyes.

"Bullshit."

Dean raised his eyebrows but didn't reply. He crawled under the covers and lay with his back to her. After a while, Julie tentatively reached out and touched his arm. "Dean…" she tried gently.

He flinched away from her touch. She couldn't remember a time he had ever done that. And it stung.

After a while, when it was clear he didn't want her there, Julie got up and walked out of the room. She found a quilt, one Sam had bought her for her twenty-eighth birthday a little while ago, and she curled up on the couch. It was a little while before she finally let the tears fall.

Meanwhile, alone in their bed, Dean stared up at the ceiling, full of raging, conflicting emotions, until he couldn't bear it and he started cussing and punching the pillow, hoping if he could just get all this hurt and jealousy and rage out, things could go back to the way they were.

And Sam lay in bed, not sleeping for hours, stuck in an endless cycle of self-hatred. He had ruined everything because he couldn't stop himself from falling for Dean's girl.

And for the first night in over a year, Dean and Julie slept alone and apart. And it wouldn't be the last.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

Julie woke up pissed. And not because of the crick in her neck from sleeping at an odd angle on the couch. Dean was thirty-six years old! He was a big boy now, and he could talk about his problems instead of pouting, or else he and Julie were going to have some serious problems…

It was a little after eight in the morning when she got off the couch and marched over to their bedroom. If he wasn't already awake, Dean soon would be. She knocked harshly on the door and got no answer. "Dean Winchester, get up right now!" she snapped. "We're going to talk about what the hell happened with you and Sam last night, and don't you dare try to ignore me!"

However, he was apparently brave or stupid enough to not reply, so Julie tried the door and found it unlocked.

She barged in, ready to tear into him, but instead found the bed empty and neatly made. Immediately, she knew something was wrong, even before she noticed his gun he kept by his pillow and his hunting knapsack were both gone, as well as his boots. She could feel it in the air in the room, and she knew. She knew he was gone, and as much as she wanted to pretend he was just in the bathroom, cowering in fear of her, she felt her stomach turn as the realization sunk in.

Julie noticed a folded piece of paper on Dean's pillow and slowly walked over and unfolded it. There, in his blocky handwriting read:

_Jules._

_I'm so sorry about this, but I can't be with you and Sam right now. I need to take some time, clear my head, and think about things. Don't be mad, please. I'll come back, at least to say goodbye for good if I'm really going._

Julie stopped reading as a wave of shock and horror hit her. She reread that last line about a dozen times as rage slowly filled her. If that man thought he was walking out on her after everything they'd been through, no matter what his reasoning, he was beyond stupid.

She took a deep breath to calm herself and then continued on reading.

_I can't tell you why I'm doing this. But just know that I can't be with Sam right now. Or you. And it's nothing you did, it's honestly my fault._

Of course it was _his_ fault. Freaking Dean Winchester, blaming himself for everything from Adam and Eve first eating some forbidden fruit to a little kid stubbing their toe halfway across the country!

_I found a case nearby last night. I'm pretty sure it's a djinn. Don't worry about me, Julie. I will be completely fine, and I'll come back when I know I can. Until then… watch out for Sammy, okay? __And tell him_

_I'll see you soon, Jules. Don't worry about me. I love you._

Julie stared at the paper for a long time, and then suddenly crumpled it in her fist before storming out of the room.

Sam was in the kitchen, pouring himself coffee, trying not to think about how just this time yesterday things were still okay between the three of them. He hadn't nearly killed Dean, and he hadn't let his dark secret slip, and he hadn't possibly ruined the great relationship they had going forever…

Sam looked up, startled, as Julie stormed into the kitchen. "Tell me what the hell happened between you and Dean last night," she snapped.

He stared at her, surprised by the intensity of her voice and how pissed off she seemed. Were she and Dean fighting? That was the last thing he wanted! Although, if they broke up…

No. Dean and Julie's relationship being ruined because of his selfishness was the last thing he wanted. "I don't…" Sam started weakly.

"Last night I slept on the couch because Dean wouldn't freaking talk to me, and now he's gone!" Julie cried. "You are telling me what happened, Sam Winchester, and what was bad enough to make my boyfriend leave me without even a goodbye besides some stupid note!"

Sam went white. "He…he left?"

"He's off on some hunt, _clearing his head_ and _thinking about things_," she said, practically spitting the words. She took a deep breath and stared up at Sam, and he saw fear and hurt in her eyes now that she was done ranting. "He _left_, Sam. And he said he was coming back, but…what the hell?" Her voice was softer and a lot more scared now.

Sam's face softened, and Julie saw a whole lot of guilt and pain in them. "I just…Aphrodite made us say things…things that we didn't…things that hurt each other. She was controlling me, Julie. I would never hurt Dean…"

"I know," Julie said gently, and she moved to comfort Sam, but then suddenly stopped. He looked down at her, confused at how she had suddenly stopped and the look of slow realization on her face. "Sam…" She stopped for a moment. "What did you fight about?"

He gulped. She was smart, and it wasn't too hard to guess. And as bad as Dean finding out had been, to actually have this woman, his brother's woman find out that he was in love with her…

He met her eyes, and for a long time they stared at each other. "You know," he sighed finally, looking down and turning away slightly.

Julie blinked, still overwhelmed at the sudden realization she had made as she moved to comfort Sam. And he had just confirmed it, hadn't he? They understood each other so well…he could tell what she was thinking, and he had confirmed it.

Sam. She had never thought of Sam that way. Well…that wasn't exactly true. There had been a couple moments when he had looked so handsome, or been so brave, or so funny, or so sweet…but no. Those were just little slip-ups, stupid, girly moments. She loved Dean, with all her heart. And Sam…she couldn't…could she?

Sam and Julie stood in the kitchen, not looking at each other in a horribly long, awkward silence. "We need to find him," Julie said after a long moment, when she had recovered a little from that shocking realization. "He's on a hunt, and he's unstable… the last time he was on a hunt like that with me, he was borderline suicidal!"

And just like that, Sam and Julie compartmentalized. Although they had a lot to work through and a lot to discuss, right now, Dean could be in trouble. And if there was one thing that could get them to move past all that, whether or not they loved each other, it was that they would both always love Dean.

* * *

Dean sat up and looked around. He was in a small, messy apartment, beer cans strewn about the head of his bed. A couple pornos lay discarded on the floor, and a greasy burger wrapper and empty chip bag were sitting on the crowded table nearby. The place was messy and a little gross, if he was being honest. And he had no idea how he had gotten there.

Dean got up and looked in the closet. He found a green button-down shirt, one of his own, and an old, worn pair of jeans that he knew well. So this was his place, then. Huh.

As he was finishing getting dressed, his phone started ringing. He rushed to pick it up and then froze, staring at the name flashing on the screen.

Bobby Singer.

Hand trembling slightly, Dean answered the call and asked in an almost scared voice, "Hello?"

"You're late, boy," growled a voice so familiar and gruff it made Dean's heart leap into his throat. "You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago."

"I…Bobby?" Dean choked out, not even processing the words, just soaking in the voice. God, he had missed this man who had been like a father to him. At least until a few years ago, when he had been shot through the head by Dick Roman, a Leviathan, and died, leaving Sam and Dean completely alone with no one but each other.

Now, Dean may be about to lose Sam, but if he somehow miraculously had Bobby back…

"No, it's that kinky Asian chick from a couple nights ago," Bobby growled. "Of course it's me. Where the hell are you, Dean? We've got a full schedule."

"I'm…sorry, Bobby. I'm…still at my place," Dean said slowly, looking around and trying to figure out what was going on.

"Dean Winchester, you may be the closest thing I've got to a son, but I am not afraid to whoop your ass if you don't get over here, _now_!"

"Over where?" Dean asked stupidly.

"Over-?" Bobby spluttered, sounding like he couldn't believe Dean right now. "Jesus Christ, Dean! What did you _do_ last night?!"

"I, uh…" Last night he left Sam and Julie to…to what again?

"Forget it," Bobby sighed. "Over to _work_, you idiot."

"…Work?" Dean asked weakly, knowing how dumb he sounded.

Bobby took a moment to get his temper under control before spitting through his teeth, "Yes, work. That thing you and I do together? Even the great Dean Winchester has to deign to work sometimes." Dean didn't say anything, and Bobby sighed. "My mechanic shop? Next to Gary's restaurant?"

"Gary Hoover?" Dean guessed, finally understanding something.

"At least he remembered something," Bobby muttered. "Yes, you absolute moron! Get over here, pronto."

Dean couldn't help it; he grinned a little at that moment of sheer Bobby. But then his brow furrowed. "Wait. Gary Hoover used to live in…Lawrence?"

There was a beat. "I'm not even sure I want you coming into work," Bobby said after a moment. "Yes, he lives in Lawrence! So do you, Dean! And me, and your mother and Sam and-"

"Mom?" Dean cried, and then stopped himself as he finally realized what must be happening.

"Just get here as soon as you can," Bobby sighed, exasperated, and Dean distinctly heard him mutter, "Idjit," before he hung up.

Dean wasn't sure whether to laugh, cry, or stab himself. He remembered now everything that had happened that morning after he left the bunker. He had found the warehouse where the djinn was staying. He had stabbed the monster with a knife covered in lamb's blood and let his guard down, thinking it was over.

But the djinn had a mate. And when he had killed her mate, she had thrown herself at him, shrieking about how she would make him pay, and then everything had gone dark.

But if this was her punishment…she must not be very good at her job. To give him back the man he loved like a father _and _his mother was one of the greatest gifts anyone could ever give him!

Dean knew he should kill himself to escape whatever world the djinn had concocted for him and try to kill her, but who knew if he woke back up if he could even get free? And she would surely just kill him if she knew she couldn't keep him down. And…why not at least take a chance to see Bobby and his mother for a little bit before he went?

Dean drove to work quickly and Bobby greeted him by cussing at him for a good thirty seconds before he stopped to take a breath. Dean just grinned and wrapped the bearded, baseball cap-sporting older man in a bear hug.

"The hell-?" Bobby started.

Dean quickly released him and grinned. "Sorry I'm late," Dean said quickly, grinning so eagerly that Bobby's face softened slightly.

"Just get to work on that car," Bobby sighed, shaking his head as Dean practically ran over to an old Ford truck and began tinkering with the engine.

And so, Dean spent one of the most enjoyable days he could remember, working on cars with Bobby, talking to the man he had once loved so dearly, and still did. He got all caught up on the world he was stuck in, one where all the people he loved dearly seemed to living in the same town and got along well. Bobby and Dean kept their banter going for a while, teasing each other and cussing and laughing together like they had since he was about ten. God, had he missed this!

At one point, Bobby stopped and asked Dean if he was going over to Mary's tonight. "What for?" Dean asked, confused.

Bobby's expression darkened. "Come on, Dean. I know that you two have never been…that close, but can't you just go? For your mom's sake? It would make her so happy."

Dean wanted to ask what he was talking about, but it seemed like acting like he didn't know what was going on was an asshole move, so Dean just assured Bobby he was going, and at the end of the work day, he hugged his surrogate father goodbye and drove over to his childhood home, the place where his mother had once died, but now apparently lived.

When Dean knocked on the door, Mary Winchester opened it and stared at him in shock. She looked lovely, even though she looked significantly older than the last time he'd seen her. Her hair was greying and up in a bun, and she wore a pretty purple dress. Her pretty, slightly wrinkled face broke into a smile and she cried, "Dean! You came!"

"Yeah," he laughed a little uncertainly. His mother pulled him in for a hug, and he held her longer than necessary, burying his face in her shoulder until he could compose himself.

When he pulled away, he grinned at her. "Mom, you look beautiful," he sighed, taking her in again.

She smiled fondly and patted his shoulder. "Thank you, Dean. You look handsome as always. Still no girl?"

"I…" Dean swallowed. "No. Nope."

"Too bad," Mary sighed. "Come on in, sweetheart. Sam will be here any minute, and then we can go out." She took in Dean's outfit and bit her lip. "I do wish you had dressed up a little more…" she sighed.

"I just came from work. With Bobby." It had started out as an excuse, but now he was proud. So what if in this world he lived alone, with no girlfriend? He worked with Bobby, his mother and brother were alive and well and they all lived in the same town. How could this be any better?

Dean and Mary talked for a while, and he was basking in her glow, still kind of awed to see his mother alive and well and having actually aged and lived her life. She had gotten to watch her sons grow up, and they had not become hunters. It was all she had wanted, and he was so happy for her.

Not long after Dean arrived, there was a knock on the door. Mary rushed to answer it and pulled the tall, long-haired man before her into a long hug. "Oh, Sammy!" she sighed, stroking her hair. "Happy anniversary, sweetheart!"

Dean smiled slightly. So _that's _why they were meeting. Sammy had finally gotten the life he had wanted, the life he deserved, and Dean could not be happier for his little brother.

Sam spotted Dean and looked surprised. "Wow. Hey, Dean. You came."

Why was it such a surprise that Dean had come to his brother's anniversary? They were _brothers _for god's sake!

Before Dean could reply, Sam suddenly turned and said, "Oh, sorry, honey. Come in."

He stepped out of the doorway so his wife could come into the house, and Dean started to grin, expecting to see Jessica, beautiful as always and living the life she was supposed to with Sam.

But instead he found himself staring at a different blond, blue-eyed beautiful woman in a black dress he would recognize in any universe. And then he understood how this djinn was getting her revenge for Dean killing her mate.

Because Sam's wife was Julie.

* * *

_You are formally invited to the wedding of Juliet Grace Carters and Samuel Winchester._

Dean reread the framed wedding invitation on the wall and then turned and looked at the photo next to it. The photo was straight out of a photo-shoot, two impossibly attractive people with their arms around each other, about to cut a beautiful wedding cake. The groom was tall and muscular, with a handsome face and shaggy brown hair, and he was staring down at the beautiful bride with love in his eyes. She was laughing, her eyes closed, blond curls falling around her pretty face, looking absolutely gorgeous in her white wedding dress. Two happier people you had never seen. Dean knew he should be overjoyed seeing Sam at his own wedding, looking that happy and in-love.

But that was _his _Julie standing next to Sam in that picture. And that was _his _Julie sitting next to Sam just a few feet away, smiling and chatting with his mother, holding hands with her husband. Her husband who wasn't him.

This was all wrong. Dean couldn't bear it. All night, at the fancy restaurant they had gone to, he had barely been able to say more than a few words to Julie as she and Sam talked about how successful and happy they were, a lawyer and a nurse. He wasn't sure what was worse: the loving looks they kept giving each other, or that moment when Mary had asked about kids, and they had admitted that even though it had only been two years, they were thinking about it.

Kids. Sam could be a father, and Dean would be an uncle, and the thought of the joy that would bring his baby brother made Dean so happy he thought he would burst. But that baby would be Julie's kid too, and the thought of Julie bearing anybody's kid but his own…

This whole night had been salt in his wounds. He had gotten away from Sam and Julie to clear his head, and instead he was having to watch them be a happily married couple thinking about kids. He knew he should go into the bathroom and slit his wrists with a steak knife or something and get out of here, but there was something else.

Sam was so happy. Sammy was so friggin' happy, and Julie was too. Although they were both a little cool and distant towards him, not seeming very comfortable around him, Dean could tell how truly happy they were. And a world where the two people he loved the most were so happy, and where his mother and Bobby were all alive…that was a world he never wanted to leave.

Dean sat on the sidelines the whole night, just watching. He watched his beautiful mother, beaming with pride at her successful son and his beautiful, wonderful wife. He watched Sam and Julie sipping champagne, watched Sam whisper something probably dirty in her ear, watched them making out when they thought no one was looking. And it was so painful that he ended up leaving early so that he could crash the Impala into a tree or something so that he could get out of here and not have to be reminded how perfect Sam and Julie would be together.

But as Dean sat in his car, trying to figure out the least painful way to kill himself, Sam and Julie walked out of his mother's house. He watched them walk to their car in the moonlight, watched the sweet, tender way they kissed and the smile Julie gave Sam before they got into their car and drove home.

They were happy. They were happy and in love. His mother was alive, and she too was happy. Bobby was alive as well, and as happy as Bobby could be. And Dean knew then that he couldn't leave a world like this where four people he loved were so happy just because he was miserable.

And so Dean drove back to his small, dirty apartment, and he found himself actually starting to look forward to the next day…

* * *

Okay, so maybe splitting up had not been the best idea.

It hadn't taken Julie and Sam long to find the djinn case Dean had gone to take care of, since half of their tricks for finding cases they had learned from each other. Within twelve hours of discovering Dean's disappearance, the two of them were outside the very warehouse he had entered not long ago. The two of them had spoken strictly about the case and finding Dean since that moment in the kitchen, but now, possibly about to walk straight to their deaths, or to find Dean dead…Julie's emotions were heightened. And muddled. And being near Sam was not helping.

So she suggested they split up. Julie wandered alone through the dark warehouse, a knife coated in lamb's blood gripped tightly in her hand. She searched for nearly ten minutes before she finally found a room where a teenage girl and adult man hung side-by-side from the ceiling, their chained wrists holding them upright.

Julie's stomach lurched when she recognized Dean and saw a little blood on his neck. The djinn must already have drunk from him and put him under their spell in the few short hours he'd been gone. Time passed differently in that dream world though, and Dean could feel like he had been under for days.

"Dean," she gasped before rushing to him. And, like an idiot, she dropped her blade and cupped his face in her hands. He was limp and unconscious, though, and she got no response no matter how much she pleaded for him to wake.

Julie was so worried about Dean she didn't even hear the djinn coming up behind her until suddenly…

Julie shot up in bed, breathing heavily. Something was wrong. Something with Dean. She couldn't remember what exactly though. It had probably just been one of those nightmares she had about him in danger or him dying or him killing with the Blade that she often had.

The man in beside her stirred slightly, and he rubbed her leg soothingly. Julie sighed and turned to look at Dean's sleepy green eyes and mussed light brown hair and instead found herself staring at a completely different hot, shirtless Winchester.

"Sam?" she blanched, taking in the puppy dog eyes and shaggy hair of the younger Winchester. The hell was she doing in bed with _Sam_?

His brow creased. "Hey, Julie. You okay?"

"I…I…" Julie's head was spinning. Something was very wrong. This wasn't right. The last thing she remembered was Dean, Dean chained up somewhere, a dark place, a warehouse…

Everything clicked into place, and she wasn't sure if she should be relieved or terrified. Julie pushed her loose blond curls out of her face and took a deep, steadying breath, trying to think. But Sam sat up next to her and his large hand brushed across her bare shoulder, and then she couldn't think at all.

"Hey," he said gently. "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

Julie stared at him with wide, blue eyes. "Sam, I…I have to talk to Dean."

She got out of bed without another word and dug through the dresser until she found her clothes and started to get dressed. Sam stared at her, not sure he'd heard that right. "Dean as in…my brother?" he asked suspiciously.

"What other Dean's do we know?" she pointed out, pulling on a pair of jeans. Julie knew she should feel more awkward in front of Sam in little more than her underwear, but modesty was the least of her worries right now.

"But…have you two ever actually talked just the two of you? Like…ever?"

Julie turned to stare at him and saw he was serious. Wow. In whatever universe this was, Dean and Julie didn't even talk. She couldn't even imagine…

"Look, Sam, I just…I need to talk to him." She found a phone on the nightstand, her phone, and found Dean's number on the cell. Sam got out of bed and quickly got dressed, watching her in confusion as she began to talk to his brother on the phone.

Dean picked up on the third ring and asked almost suspiciously, "…Julie?"

Julie sighed, so relieved to hear his voice. "Dean? It's me."

Dean laughed nervously. "I know it is. Is there something you and Sam need?"

"No, Dean, listen. It's _me_."

There was a brief moment, and then Dean said in a much more intimate voice, "Oh, god. Jules?"

Julie laughed in relief. "Yeah. Yeah, it's me. Really me. Listen, Dean, what's going on? How come I woke up in bed with _Sam_?"

The youngest Winchester stiffened at that last question and gave her an odd, hurt look. She wasn't even paying him a bit of attention, though. "Julie, he's, uh…in this universe…he's your husband," Dean said carefully.

Julie gasped as she noticed the beautiful silver ring on her hand. She stared at it, still processing. "I…what…Dean, I don't understand. Did the djinn send you into this universe?"

"Yeah. Did she get you too then?"

"Yeah, but Sam's there too," Julie said. "He'll help us. But listen, I need to talk to you. And actually see your face. Where are you?"

"My apartment," he said, and there was a smirk in his voice. "I have an apartment now."

"Wow. What is this place?"

"It's great, Jules," Dean said, sounding like a happy little kid. "My mom and Bobby…they're both alive. I've been here three days and I guess it's just…it's good to be with them, even if they're not actually real."

"That's great, Dean," Julie said. "But listen, we've got to get out of here. Who knows what could be happening back in the real world right now? How close are you to…wherever I am?"

"I live about ten minutes from your place," Dean said. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Great. Okay." Julie took a breath. "And then we can talk about you leaving Sam and I."

She could imagine him wincing. "Jules, I'm sorry-"

"Don't worry about it right now," she sighed. "Just get here. Fast."

"I will."

"Okay. I love you." Julie added that last bit without a second thought, purely out of habit, and then she hung up.

She had forgotten about her husband standing three feet away though.

Julie turned around and saw a mix of shock, jealousy, hurt, and anger on his face. She opened her mouth, but she could not think of a single thing to say to even begin to explain this.

She just hoped Dean got here fast.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Dean knocked on the door of the nice house where Sam and Julie lived. He had visited once since being put in this alternate universe, but it was clear Sam and Dean weren't close, so he hadn't stayed long. Also, it was hard for him to look around and know that Sam and his girlfriend had probably done it on that couch, that seat, the floor over there, that rug…

This time, though, he barely even had time to knock before the door flew open, and someone grabbed his collar. Sam dragged him inside and slammed the door behind Dean, who was struggling to keep his balance. "What the hell, Sam?" Dean snapped, righting himself.

He saw Julie standing a few feet away, covering her mouth with her hand. He knew in an instant that it was his Julie. The other Julie had curled her curls even more every day and wore sheer blouses or fancy skirts. This Julie had done little more than brush her curls, and she wore faded jeans and a t-shirt.

"What the hell is going on between you and my wife, and for how long?" Sam growled.

"Sam, what are you-?" Dean started.

"Don't play dumb," Sam snarled, and for being the younger brother, he was pretty freaking intimidating. "Three days ago, you actually come to our anniversary, and then you're suddenly talking to us and being friendly. At first I thought you were finally being less of an asshole, but then my wife, _my wife_, calls my brother and says she _loves_ him? The hell did you do?!"

Sam shoved Dean angrily, and Dean laughed bitterly. "Oh, you don't want to pick a fight with me, Sammy. Not in this universe. You're not even a hunter here."

"A _what_?!"

Dean looked past Sam towards Julie. "Should we even bother trying to explain, or just blow our brains out now?" he asked her.

"What?" In an instant, Sam went from confused and pissed to confused and terrified. "Or do _what_?!"

"We should definitely explain," Julie said. "He deserves an explanation."

"What is going on?" Sam asked, sounding more defeated than angry now. The fight was going out of him as he grew more and more lost.

"Well, first off, Julie is not your wife," Dean said. "She is my girlfriend. So she was in no way cheating on you with me because she is in fact with me."

"She's not my wife?" Sam asked in disbelief. "_That's _the excuse you're going with?"

"It's not an excuse, Sam," Julie said gently. "He's telling the truth. Whatever Julie was your wife is gone now, and I'm sorry."

"We're hunters," Dean explained. "We were fighting a djinn and it sent us into an alternate universe where people we loved were dead, but the woman I love was with my brother as revenge for me killing their mate."

Sam stared at them. "You're crazy. I can't believe this."

"You don't have to," Dean snapped. "It's the truth, though. This happened to me once before. To escape I had to kill myself, and I'm pretty sure that's what we have to do to get out of this one."

"_Pretty _sure?" Julie repeated nervously.

"Maybe ninety percent…"

"I don't like that ten percent."

"Stop," Sam said, and he sounded so desperate that both Julie and Dean turned and looked at him. Julie's heart broke for the confusion and panic on Sam's face. She couldn't even imagine having her spouse wake up a different person, a person apparently in love with her sibling, who was talking about killing himself…

"Wait. Please." His eyes were shining. "Julie…you can't kill yourself. Please, you're my wife. I can't lose you."

She bit her lip. "Sam, I'm sorry, but…I'm not your wife. You don't even know me."

"No?" Sam snapped. "Is your name Juliet Grace Carters?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Were your parents Katrina and Thomas Carters?"

"They were, but, Sam-"

"Do you love to read poetry and science-fiction and fantasy? Do you still believe Harry Potter is the greatest book series you've ever read?" Julie smiled slightly at that, but Sam wasn't done. "Have you always wanted a dog, but you're allergic? Do you love the smell of apples and rain? Have you always wanted to be a singer since you were a kid?"

"Sam…" Julie said weakly.

"Am I your best friend in the whole world?" he continued, his eyes determined.

Julie's mouth twitched. "Yes," she admitted softly.

"Do you love me?"

Julie looked down. "Look, Sam…I'm not her. I'm not your wife."

"You're the same person, though!" Sam cried. "You could be, if you wanted. You could love me again, I know you could!"

Julie glanced over at Dean, who was looking down. "I'm gonna call my mom and Bobby, say goodbye," he said quietly before walking out of the room.

"Sam, listen-" Julie started again.

"No, you listen!" he snapped. "I met you four years ago in New York on a case. You were singing in a bar, and you were the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. I thought I'd never see you again after that night, but then you moved to Kansas a few months later to just be a nurse, and I knew." Sam moved closer to her and put his hands on her shoulders, talking earnestly. "Julie, I love you so much. And you love me too, I know you do. Or you did. You could. Please, Julie, just…don't do this."

Julie looked down, the spell he had been casting with those words and those eyes breaking. "This isn't real," she told herself. "You're not real."

"I'm not real?" he snapped. "This isn't _real_?! You're wrong, Julie. This _is _real. That year in France was real, our wedding was real, me falling for you, _you _falling for _me_…that was real, and you're never going to convince me it wasn't."

"I don't have to convince you," she sighed. "It won't matter in a couple minutes anyway."

"How can you do this?" Sam asked after a moment, hurt. "And why would you want to? We were so happy! Are you really telling me you're happy back in that other world where you hunt monsters and kill things?"

"I…" Julie took a deep breath and stepped away from Sam. They were too close, and his voice was too warm and his eyes were too gentle and hurting…

"I'm sorry, Sam," she whispered. "I have to."

Sam shook his head. After a long moment, he asked, "So in this other world, you're in love with Dean?" She nodded. "But not me?" Julie looked down. "How could I not love you?" he asked, frustrated. "I just can't believe that in any universe I wouldn't love you."

"Actually…" Julie said weakly.

"Oh." Sam swallowed. "So, I'm in love with you in your other world, but you _still _don't love me?"

"I never said…" Julie sighed, so overwhelmed by all of these emotions and everything that was going on. "I can't, Sam! I love Dean, and he loves me! I can't love you, too!"

"Can't or won't?"

"It doesn't matter," Julie snapped. "None of this does. I'll be gone in a minute, and it won't matter."

That's how it should have ended, but Sam's expression changed into a heartbreakingly scared one. "Julie, no, please," he begged her. "Don't do this to me. I can't lose you, I just can't. Please. I love you."

Maybe it was the fact that none of this would matter in a minute anyway, or that he was hurting so much, or the way he said those three words. But Julie just couldn't anymore. She couldn't fight that part of her anymore, and without consciously deciding to do so, she suddenly stepped forward, stretched up on her tiptoes, and kissed Sam Winchester.

It was a good kiss. A great kiss. It was as natural as breathing for them, which was odd because Julie had never kissed Sam before. His hands fit on her waist and the back of their head like they were made to, and her hands curled behind his head, tangling in his long hair. Their lips parted and moved in the same rhythm, and for a long moment, Julie was on a kind of high she had almost never experience before.

It was the kind of kiss that made every part of you come alive. The kind of kiss that left you wanting more. And when Julie pulled away after a long moment, she did want more. A lot more.

But out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dean standing in the doorway, watching them, his face an unreadable mask.

Julie quickly pulled away from Sam, and Dean walked over to them. "I made the calls," he said flatly. "Ready?"

He held out a gun to Julie, and she took it, hands shaking. "Dean…" she started, but he looked away and she stopped.

"Wait," Sam begged. "Please. I can't lose my brother and my wife in the same day."

"I'm sorry, Sammy," Dean said softly. "Give Bobby and Mom my love, if you don't cease to exist after this."

And he pulled the trigger.

Sam cried out, and Julie squeezed her eyes shut. Although she knew it wasn't really real, she could not look over there and see Dean's bloody corpse. Not after everything else she'd gone through today.

Sam's eyes were shining with tears. "Dean…" he said weakly. Then he turned to look at Julie. "Honey, please…_no_…"

Julie took a deep, shuddering breath. There were so many emotions going through her, but there was one that she had been suppressing for weeks, and she knew this was her one chance to admit it. So Julie raised her eyes to meet Sam's familiar ones and admitted for the first and probably last time, "I love you, Sam."

And then she pulled the trigger.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

Julie woke up crying Sam's name. She thrashed wildly for a moment before she realized that she was in a dark warehouse, dangling from chained wrists, not in her and Sam's home. The next thing she realized was that she was crying. She was crying over having lost that world where Sam was her husband and they were happily in love.

"Julie!" She realized that Dean was hanging only a couple feet away, and he was trying to calm her down. "Julie, it's okay! You're okay. We both are."

Julie glanced up at the chains holding them up, and Dean smirked very slightly. "Well, maybe not okay, but not dead…"

His face…Julie's insides contracted with guilt. His eyes were dull and lifeless, and there was grief and hurt etched in every line of his face. Not only had he just lost his beloved mother and surrogate father all over again, but he had walked in on Julie and Sam making out and then had to watch his girlfriend crying over losing Sam. And if he knew how Sam felt about her, which he surely did, she was only making things worse for him.

Julie took a slow, deep breath and got her emotions under control. "We have to get out of here," she said after a moment.

"Good luck with that," a woman's high, cold voice said, and Dean and Julie both looked up to see a heavily tattooed woman with white skin and inhuman blue eyes approaching them. She shook her head slightly. "I should have known putting you in the same dream was too risky. But you two really should have stayed asleep."

She advanced on Julie, and Dean panicked. "Hey, leave her alone! _Hey_!"

At the last possible second, even as the djinn raised her hand to touch Julie's head and it glowed with blue flames, Julie suddenly jumped and, using the chains holding her as a support, got up high enough that she could give the monster a hard, two-leg kick in the chest.

The djinn went flying backwards as Julie landed, and they were safe for a second at least as the monster recovered. Dean yanked hard on his chains, but he was trapped and useless.

The djinn got to her feet and growled at Julie. She dove at Dean's girlfriend, and he started to cry out, but a tall, broad-shouldered figure leapt out of the shadows and drove a bloody knife up into the djinn's ribcage.

Dean stared at Sam as he threw the dying djinn to the ground. "Sam!" Julie sighed in relief as he quickly found a key and unlocked her wrists. She fell into his arms and they held each other for a long moment.

Dean was finding it hard to swallow. All he could see was Julie and Sam kissing, arms wrapped around each other, tongues down each other's throats…it hadn't been this Sam, obviously, but that didn't change the fact that Julie had kissed his brother. As much as Dean had wanted to hope against it, it was clear that Julie had feelings for Sam, too.

Julie seemed to remember Dean was there, and she quickly pulled away from Sam. They got Dean free, and they freed the teenage girl who was the other victim. She woke up groggily and they rushed her to the hospital before piling back into the Impala and driving home in silence once again.

Julie knew what was going to happen. Sam and Dean would push their emotions down and ignore the problem in the hopes of preserving their relationship, and then over time things would get worse until everything exploded and this system they had going would be gone for good.

She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't lose either of them, and she couldn't let the two brothers split apart because of her. So when they got back to the bunker a little before midnight and walked silently into their home, ready to go to their separate beds without speaking, she snapped, "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Dean, who had been headed for their bedroom, looked up, confused. "To bed?" he muttered.

"No, you're not," she snapped. "You either, Sam. We're going to settle this right now and then you both can get over this stupid fight and be brothers again."

Dean and Sam refused to look at each other. "It's not going to be that easy, Julie," Sam said quietly. "I said some pretty awful things because of Aphrodite-"

"We don't have to do this, Sam," Dean interrupted him flatly. "This isn't going to be an issue."

"I'm pretty sure it already is," Julie pointed out.

"I'll go," Dean said, sounding so very tired.

Sam and Julie stared at him, shocked. "What do you mean 'go'?" Julie snapped.

"I mean I'll get out of your way. Your grandmother saw it, Crowley saw it, Jody saw it, the friggin' goddess of love saw it, and now the entire universe seems to be saying it, so I'll get out of your way."

He turned around and started to walk away, but Julie rushed over and grabbed his arm, spinning him back to the face him. "Oh, hell, no, Dean Winchester," she said fiercely. "You are not running out on me. Not over something like this."

"Something like-?!" Dean spluttered. "Julie, my brother is in love with my girlfriend, and she's in love with him. If there was ever a time to walk out, it would be now."

"Not happening," Julie said firmly. "I am not losing you, I don't care what your reasoning is. Sam, do you want Dean to leave?"

"Of course not!" Sam said honestly, without hesitation. Although there was a part of him that wanted Julie all to himself, nothing on this earth was worth losing Dean.

"Great, so you're staying." Dean sighed, and Julie snapped, "Dean, we can fix this! We can work through this. We don't have to lose each other! But you have to work with us…"

"Not tonight," Dean said in a voice so tired and pained Julie instantly felt bad. "Just…please, not tonight."

This time, Julie let him go and watched Dean disappear into the many halls of the bunker, trying to hide how hurt and scared she was right now. She could _not _lose him. Not now, not ever.

"Julie, I'm…I'm sorry," Sam said after a long moment.

"Don't be," Julie said softly, still staring after Dean.

"I screwed everything up," he said in an anguished voice, putting his head in his hands for a moment. "God. If I had just been able to control myself, but…Dean's right, I'm selfish…I never meant-"

"Stop," Julie said suddenly, turning to face him. "Do not hate yourself for this, or blame yourself-"

"But it's my fault!"

"Don't you think Dean is sitting in his room thinking the exact same thing?" Julie pointed out. "Don't you think I blame myself? Look, we can't be angry with ourselves for what we feel. We just need to…control it. Control ourselves. I think, over time, we could get over it and things could just be normal again."

"I could just go," Sam said softly. "Then you two could be happy again."

"We wouldn't, though," Julie insisted. "Sam, you are everything to Dean! He can't lose you, not again. And besides…I would miss you, too. You…mean a lot to me. I just…I want to find a way to save this…us."

Sam nodded, but there was a creeping suspicion slowly filling him. The way Julie was talking, the way she wouldn't meet his eyes, and what Dean had said about his girlfriend being in love with his brother as well…

"Julie…" he tried carefully. "I…do you…?"

She looked up and her blue eyes actually met his. She bit her lip and then sighed. "I don't know, Sam. I'm all mixed up right now, and I love Dean…"

"I know, I know," Sam said quickly. "I'm sorry. I ruined that, I did. And I just…I'm sorry."

Julie took a step towards Sam to comfort him, but then both of them stiffened. Damn, this was going to be hard. But if this was ever going to work, if they were going to get over their feelings for each other…they were going to have to back off. No more long embraces or inside jokes, no long, midnight conversations or hours of reading together. They both knew that to prove to Dean that nothing was going on between them, they were going to have to back their relationship off. A lot. There was no other way Dean would believe that Julie loved him and only him, and that Sam was not in love with her anymore.

But damn, was this going to be hard!

Sam and Julie both smiled and laughed a little nervously. "Okay," Julie said after a moment. "So…"

"I should go to bed," Sam said quickly.

"Me too."

They started to walk in opposite directions, but Sam had to know. "Julie…?" he called, and she stopped and turned to face him.

"What happened to you and Dean?" he asked carefully. "What did you see?"

She took a deep breath and looked him right in the eye. "We were in a world where Bobby Singer and your mother were still alive, and you are I were there too. And we…we were married."

Sam blinked. "And…he _stayed_?"

"Well, he was surrounded by people he loved," Julie said. "And we were happy. All of us…we were very happy."

Sam nodded. He wanted to ask what his other world self, Julie's husband had been like and what happened between them. He wanted to ask her if she loved him, or if she could learn to. He wanted to kiss her so badly.

"Goodnight, Julie," Sam said stiffly, and he walked away, shutting down those thoughts. From now on, those thoughts were completely off-limits. Because as much as may want Julie, as much as he thought he loved her…she was not worth losing Dean over.

Julie watched Sam go, and she thought of all those nights spent talking, the way he made her laugh like no one else could, how he had saved her on various hunts, the way his arms felt around her, the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, how his bangs fell into his handsome face, the way his lips had felt on hers…

She loved him. Even if it was just a little bit, she knew she did. But as great as Sam was, as much as she may want that…she couldn't lose Dean. Nothing was worth that to her. Nothing.

Dean looked up as Julie walked into their bedroom. He had half-wanted her to come in so they could talk, half-hoped that she and Sam would hook up so he could just leave for good and not be stuck in this uncertain new territory.

They stared at each other for a long time, and then Julie said softly, "We need to talk."

"Are you breaking up with me?" Dean smirked, only half-joking.

Julie sat down on the bed, a respectful distance away from him. "Please, Dean. I can't handle this…this…I don't even _know_ what this is! But we've never had a fight like this, and I don't know what to do to prove to you that…"

"That what?" Dean asked. "That you don't love Sam? Because, Julie…do you? Do you love Sam?"

"No!" she snapped, appalled. And then, "…Maybe. A little. I don't know."

Dean put his head in his hands. It was happening. He couldn't stop it, and he couldn't change it. But hadn't he always known this was coming? Aphrodite was right; they were perfect for each other. Why get in the way?

"Dean, look," Julie said firmly. "Maybe, in another world, if it weren't for you, Sam and I could love each other. But there is a you, and I'm always going to choose you, okay? Always. And I know Sam would never do anything to hurt you, and you know it too. The two of us are going to work together to fix this, but you have to work with us, please." He was silent, head still buried, and she asked in a tiny voice, "Dean?"

"Can I just sleep?" he asked flatly.

Julie blinked, a little hurt. Although surely not as hurt as he must be. "I…okay. Just…promise me you won't leave again?"

"I won't leave," Dean sighed, and Julie knew that was the best she was going to get. So she left, and Julie and Dean spent their second night separate and alone.

* * *

Julie had always hated love triangles in books and TV shows and movies. One, it was always two amazingly gorgeous, funny, caring guys fighting over one completely ordinary girl, which was a little ridiculous. But she had always believed that any woman who kept two good men dangling because she liked being the center of attention was pretty damn awful.

So for the next week, she did her best to make it very clear where she stood. This was not a love triangle. This was a couple on the brink of falling apart, and then Sam on the outside.

To be fair to Sam, he was being absolutely wonderful. Although neither of them had gone out and said it, they both knew that, while there may be feelings between them, they had to stop. Sure, Sam and Julie could still be friends. But there couldn't be anything romantic between them. Neither of them wanted a relationship enough to risk losing Dean, and so for the next week, they were able to slowly get their emotions under control. They were careful to keep their interactions casual and nothing more than friendly, and a lot less frequent than normal.

And…it sort of worked. When they weren't together, both of them were able to think clearly and realize that this just wasn't worth it. And over time, Sam got his dark, forbidden thoughts under control, and Julie sorted through her emotions until she knew where she stood: she would always love Sam as a close friend. But she could never love him like she loved Dean, and that was that.

On the fifth day after returning to the bunker, Sam and Julie ran into each other in the library and had their first real interaction since then. For the first time in days, their conversation didn't feel slightly forced, and there were no awkward pauses. They laughed for real, and suddenly things felt like normal again. But in a different, less intimate way. Julie was able to look at him and think how great he was without feeling like she was cheating on Dean. And for the first time in ages, Sam was able to appreciate Julie without a sort of longing to have her as his.

They had really done it, or were in the process of doing it. They had overcome the feelings that had threatened to destroy what they had built over the past few months. And it was all because they were willing to work together and let go of the past, and because they wanted to save their relationships with Dean.

Even Sam and Dean were able to speak again. At first, they only spoke when necessary, but five days after returning to the bunker, Dean stumbled into Sam's room, half-drunk, and started apologizing so profusely Sam had to tell him four times to shut up before he stopped. Eventually, Dean passed out on Sam's bed, but for the next two days, things felt more normal between them. They were careful not to fight, but there was no longer any anger between them. Even from the limited amount of time Dean spent with Sam and Julie, he could tell that they were moving on, for his sake.

So, things should have been okay. They should have been able to move on. Sam and Dean had, and so had Sam and Julie. But the thing was…those relationships had been saved because both sides wanted to save them.

Dean was really starting to act like he didn't want to save his and Julie's relationship.

Dean holed himself up in his room for hours on end. He spoke to Julie only when required to and rarely actually met her gaze. He was almost always in some state of drunkenness, and twice as surly as usual. At first, Julie had believed it was because of what had been going on with Sam and Julie and what he had seen in that other dream world. But then, when he forgave Sam, it became clear that this wasn't really about Sam.

It was about her. And she was tired of waiting for him to tell her what she did wrong. So a week after the djinn incident, Julie found them a pretty simple, easy haunting in Louisiana, and the three hunters drove to Louisiana, Dean blasting Metallica's "Enter Sandman" for four straight hours so he didn't have to talk to Julie. They solved the case within twenty-four hours of driving into the small town, but it hadn't helped their relationship like she had hoped. So after they returned to the morel, Julie barged into Dean's adjoining motel room and glared at him.

Dean was sitting on his motel bed, calmly flipping through a book of demon lore they had brought with them. He barely glanced up when she shut the door behind her.

"Look at me, Dean," Julie snapped, and he sighed and got off the bed, crossing his arms and turning to face her.

For a second, she was a little intimidated. He was wearing a black Led Zeppelin t-shirt, and with his arms crossed, his muscles were bulging almost threateningly. He was significantly taller than her, and the fact that he could look down on her pissed her off for no apparent reason.

"What's going on with you?" Julie snapped. "You've barely done more than grunt at me for a week, you just sit in your room on a never-ending hangover. What's wrong?"

"What's-?" Dean started in disbelief. Then he smirked and shook his head. "Did you miss the part where my brother and my girlfriend fell in love with each other? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I consider that a pretty valid excuse for not wanting to be with you two twenty-four-seven."

"Oh, get over yourself, Dean," Julie snapped. "We've been doing everything we can this past week to move on and prove to you that nothing's going on. And I know that you're not still mad about that, because you forgave Sam two days ago. So I guess the better question is what the hell did I do to make you so mad?"

"You kissed my brother," he pointed out.

"That wasn't the same Sam out there," she replied. "That Sam was my husband, and he was in pain, and I was…confused. But believe me, I have it under control now. That won't be happening again, so if that's all you're worried about…"

"That's not just it," Dean sighed, some of the fight going out of him.

Julie realized they might actually be about to get somewhere. "Okay. Then what? What did I do? Tell me, so I can fix it!"

"You didn't…you didn't do anything," Dean sighed, rubbing his eyes in the way he did when he was so weary he was just done. "I…"

He stopped suddenly, and Julie was frustrated. He had been about to say something, something important, she could tell. "What? _What_, Dean?!" she snapped. "God, what is _wrong_? I can't live like this anymore, you hiding away from me and not so much as looking at me."

"So go," he muttered, and that answer came far too quickly. Almost like he'd been thinking it for a while.

"…What?" Julie said slowly.

Dean looked at the floor, his expression unreadable. "Dean, what the hell?" she cried. "Do you really want me to go? Do you not even want me here anymore?!"

"I just…" Dean swallowed and then steeled himself. "I don't know, Julie," he said, meeting her eyes. His expression was so hard she was a little scared. "I mean, do you really belong here with us? We're the Winchester's, after all. We don't really need your help. And if you're just going to cause us more trouble…"

Julie stared at him, mouth hanging open. "Oh my god," she said coldly after a long moment.

She turned away, unable to look at him anymore. She was so angry, and so hurt, and there were tears welling up in her eyes, and that asshole, that asshole that she was so desperately in love with did not get to see her cry. "I'm going to go take a walk," she said flatly before storming out of the motel.

Dean sighed sadly as she fled. He sat back down on the bed and put his head in his hands, digging his palms into his eyes like that could force the tears away. Hurting Julie was literally the last thing he wanted to do, but being with Dean wasn't safe. The more time she spent with him, the more likely she was to get hurt. And his worst fear was that she would get hurt so bad he couldn't save her. If he had to choose between hurting her to send her away and watching Julie die…the choice was obvious.

But it sure as hell wasn't easy. Dean got his emotions back in check enough to lift his head and reach for another bottle.

* * *

Julie pulled her jacket tighter around her. She had been walking for nearly half an hour, and the tears had dried half a mile back. Now she was just pissed. At first, she had been hurt that Dean wanted her to go, but that had soon passed once she cried a little. Now she was mentally raging on the stuck-up bastard who was stupid enough to think he could make it without her after she had put him back together.

Even that, she knew, wasn't true though. Although she was mentally waging war on Dean, she wasn't really truly mad at him. Because she knew Dean well enough to know he'd never do anything as drastic as send Julie away out of selfish reasons. And he surely didn't really want her gone. Somehow, in his twisted way of thinking, he probably thought he was protecting her or something by wanting her to leave.

Well then, he could get off his high horse and realize that she didn't need him to protect her. She may not be a Winchester, but she could still kick ass and take names. And she was not going anywhere anytime soon.

Julie slowed as she realized another figure was walking the opposite direction down the path towards her. It was getting a little late for people to be walking around in the woods, and this place was in the middle of nowhere. That was suspicious enough, and then she got closer to the figure approaching and got a good look at her.

She was one of those unfairly sexy women you couldn't really compete with. She had long, thick, sleek black hair which seemed to somehow always look like it came straight out of a magazine despite the wind blowing Julie's curls around. She had smooth tan skin, big, heavily made-up, dark eyes, a pretty face, and a very curvy body made obvious by the low-cut tank top and tight jeans she wore. No one looked this great just to walk alone on the edge of an empty highway, and there was something about this woman's very presence that exuded darkness.

The woman smiled as she reached Julie. "What brings you out here, sweetie?" she asked innocently.

"I live in the neighborhood," Julie said airily, casually reaching behind her for the angel blade tucked into her waist band. "Just taking a walk."

"I think you're lying to me," the beautiful woman said, and Julie stiffened. "Believe me, I would know; I practically invented lying. I think you're Dean Winchester's little bitch."

Julie suddenly lunged forward and drove the angel blade hilt deep into the woman's stomach. She frowned and looked down, mildly annoyed. "Now that was uncalled for," she said reprovingly. "We were just talking!"

Julie was in so far over her head. She gulped and scrambled away from this powerful…whatever she was. And Julie had a pretty good idea who she was, even before the woman pulled the knife out of her and grinned nastily at Julie, eyes flashing pure black.

"Apollyon?" Julie guessed, trying not to panic. So she was alone with a Knight of Hell and unable to fight her. So what? Sam and Dean knew where she was.

Except…they didn't. And Sam had tried to stop her from going out, but she had told him not to follow. And Dean sure as hell wouldn't be following her.

"You did your homework…Juliet Carters?" Apollyon smirked.

"It's Julie, actually," she said as cockily as she could.

The Knight laughed. "I like you, darling. And you're quite a looker yourself. I mean, you're no Miranda—this meat suit, that is—but you'll do. Especially with the influence you've got on those _sexy _Winchesters…"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I sure as hell am not going to be your meat suit," Julie snarled, slowly backing away.

"See, that's the nice thing about being a demon versus an angel," Apollyon sighed, stretching and cracking her knuckles. "We don't have to ask nicely—we can _take _what we want."

Julie turned to run, but the demoness was right in front of her, grinning. The Knight hit her so hard and fast that Julie fell to the ground, stunned. In the next second, the demon was pinning her down, laughing as she pulled a long silver knife out of her boot.

Julie gritted her teeth and struggled wildly against the Knight. But she couldn't get her arms or legs free, so she finally just head-butted the demoness as hard as she could.

Apollyon laughed again. "Oh, I _really _like you! This is going to be fun!"

The demon's eyes roamed over Julie's body. "Now where's this tattoo of yours? Please tell me it's not on your ass, because that's going to be a little unpleasant for both of us."

Julie glared defiantly at the Knight. "Fine," Apollyon shrugged. "Don't get the wrong idea when I start making you strip."

The demoness lifted Julie's shirt up to her ribcage as the hunter struggled as wildly as she could. Apollyon forced Julie onto her back and smirked, spotting the tattoo on her back. "Bingo."

Julie forced herself not to gasp as the cold metal tip of the knife traced along the skin of her lower back. Then Apollyon slowly made a cut in her skin, breaking the anti-possession sigil. Julie gritted her teeth, refusing to show weakness.

"Say aah," Apollyon smirked, and then smoke poured out of her mouth and into Julie.

The sexy woman who had been possessed by Apollyon fell to the side, and for a moment the two women lay still and facedown on the grass. Then suddenly Julie sat straight up and got to her feet. She stretched and moved her hands and feet experimentally.

Then she turned towards the direction of the town where Sam and Dean were sitting, unaware of the danger coming for them, and grinned. "Oh, _boys_…" she smirked as her eyes flashed black as night.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

Sam pulled on his jacket and stuck his head inside Dean's room for a moment to let his brother know he was going out. Ever since Julie had stormed out after her fight with Dean, Sam had been bouncing around the motel room, full of nervous energy and the need to do _something _so he could make two of the people he cared about most happy again. He needed to walk around, clear his head, calm down, and tell himself that things were going to be okay.

Sam left the motel and walked through the nearly deserted parking lot. There was practically no one staying in this crap hole of a motel, but it was dirt cheap, so the three of them didn't mind too much. Considering they'd slept on the ground or even in cells, this place was pretty nice for them.

Sam stopped walking when Julie came around the corner of the motel. She looked surprisingly calm for having stormed off nearly an hour ago, near tears. Sam noticed how her shirt was unbuttoned enough to show off her cleavage, and then quickly glanced away. Although lately it had been a lot easier to shut down his dark thoughts, staring at her breasts sure wasn't going to help.

"Hey, Julie," he said carefully. "Are you…?"

"I'm okay, Sam," she said, stopping a few inches away from him. He gave her a skeptical look, but she insisted, "No, really! If Dean wants to be a jackass, fine. Who needs him?"

Sam swallowed. This was not what he wanted to hear. He wanted Julie to say that she loved Dean, and for him to say it back, and they could go back to those happy days when the three of them first started living together, before everything got so messed up.

"Julie…" Sam started.

"Please, don't," she said, and Sam looked down, surprised, as she put her hand on his arm. "Don't tell me that I should just give him another chance and try to make up. Why should I? He doesn't treat me like he should." Sam realized that she was moving closer to him, her hand sliding from his arm to his shoulder to rest on his chest, right above his pounding heart. "Like I know you would," she whispered.

"Julie…I…" Sam couldn't think. What was happening? Julie would never do anything like this! But who cared? Hadn't this been his most secret fantasy for weeks? To have Julie stretching up towards him, eyes closing, about to kiss him…

Sam suddenly pushed Julie away from him, and she blinked, surprised and a little hurt. "Julie, what the hell are you doing?" he snapped, pushing his hair out of his face, shaken.

"I was just…" She took a deep breath. "He's not the right one for me, Sam. I know it, and you know it, too. _You _are-"

"Stop it!" Sam snapped, breathing heavily. "This isn't you talking, Julie."

"Who else would it be?"

"I don't know—you're drunk, you're upset…you're not you!" Sam cried. "Look, we can't do this. I'm not the one you love. That's Dean."

"He doesn't even want me anymore-" Julie protested.

"Bullshit," he snapped. "My brother is so crazy about you, it's probably not even healthy for him. And I'm sure as hell not going to screw it up. Not again. Just…go in there and talk to him. Please. Fix this."

"But, Sam-" she tried again.

"I need to clear my head," Sam said shortly before striding quickly away.

He got a couple blocks away before he realized he had done it. He had resisted Julie, sent her back to Dean, done the right thing. And it had been so long since Sam had done what he knew was the right thing that, even with all this drama going on, Sam found himself smiling.

Apollyon watched Sam walk away, pissed. Men didn't just turn her down. That never happened. The fact that Sam had resisted her, especially in the body of a woman he had once had feelings for, or maybe still did…he must really love his brother a lot.

"Fine," Apollyon muttered through Julie's lips. "Dean, it's your turn."

* * *

Dean was hunched over the table in his room, trying to read the slightly blurry words of some book of demon lore when his phone rang. He glanced over and saw a picture of him and Julie, grinning, arms around each other. Happy and in love.

He wasn't sure if he should be relieved or not. Julie had been gone an hour, and the fact that she was calling instead of just coming inside was probably not a good sign…

He picked up and asked, "Julie?"

"Hey, Dean." She was silent for a moment. "Look…could you come outside?" she asked a little nervously after a heavy silence.

Dean frowned. "Why?"

"I want to…to try that again," she said carefully. "Look, Dean…can we please just go somewhere and talk? And I mean really talk. I need to know what you're thinking. I need to…talk to you."

"And we can't do that here?" he asked reluctantly.

"I'd kind of like to get away from Sam for a bit," she admitted. "I mean, he's been really great about this whole thing, but…I'd rather it just be you and me. You know, like it used to be? When we were…"

Happy. When they were happy, and Dean would come home and pick her up and kiss her so long and hard they were both light-headed. When they would lay on a picnic blanket in their backyard, grilling out with friends. When they would have sex in their big, warm bed and then eat food in bed and laugh and kiss. Before Sam came along and everything changed.

But this wasn't all Sam's fault. He could forgive her for that whole mess and move on, he knew he could. But if Julie got hurt because of him…that was something that he could never move on from.

"Sure," Dean sighed after a moment before hanging up. He had to end this, he knew he did. But he could not bear to send her away or see any amount of pain on her face. He couldn't do that to her, his Jules.

Dean pulled on a green jacket and considered downing another beer so he could get through this, but he knew if he saw her face when his mind was addled he would give in and kiss her and refuse to let her go.

Dean left the motel and saw Julie standing in the parking lot a few feet away from the door, waiting slightly impatiently. Her expression changed to something unreadable when she saw him, and Dean walked cautiously over to her. "Hey," he said after a long moment.

"Hey," she said softly, staring up at him. There was so much longing and lust in her eyes, and it was so clear she wanted him. She wanted him to grab her and kiss her and haul her into the motel room for some pretty friggin' fantastic makeup sex. But he couldn't. Not if he wanted this to end in something other than her death.

"Look, Jules…" he started weakly, but she stepped closer to him and shook her head.

"Shut up and kiss me," she whispered, and then she grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him in.

It was nothing like one of their normal kisses. She practically forced her tongue inside his mouth and then bit his lip a little too hard. Her hands grabbed at him, dragging him closer to her, holding him there. And although it wasn't like their other sweet, tender kisses, he was still getting pretty turned on. Despite all his resolve, Dean's hands started to slide up under Julie's shirt and up her back.

But as he did so, Dean felt something warm and wet on her skin. He pulled away from her and stared at the blood on his hands. "Julie, you're bleeding!" he said, turning her gently around to inspect the cut.

Then his blood ran cold. Because the tattoo protecting her from demon possession was broken.

Dean reached for a weapon, but Julie, or whatever else this was inside her, held up the gun he kept in his waistband teasingly. "Surprise!" she smirked, her eyes suddenly flashing entirely black.

"Get out of her, you son of a bitch," Dean growled.

"Make me," the demon taunted, and it was positively horrifying feeling all this hatred directed at a thing that looked and talked like the woman he loved. "No, really. Try and make me, Dean Winchester. That was some pretty good kissing, but you can do better I bet."

Dean wanted to lunge at the demon inside Julie, but for some reason his vision was going a little blurry and he felt woozy. "What…did you do?" he moaned, trying to stay on his feet.

"A little knockout drug on the lips is all," she smirked as he fell to his knees. Beautiful Julie Carters stepped forward and ran a hand through his hair, stroking his jaw teasingly as Dean slowly lost consciousness. Normally, her touch would feel so good, but this…wasn't her…

"So nice to finally meet you, Dean," Julie said softly. "I've been dying for us to meet. I'm Apollyon, and I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other very soon."

If she said more, Dean would never know. He finally slipped into unconsciousness and slumped facedown on the ground, out cold.

* * *

Dean woke up with a pretty bad headache and dry mouth. He tried to move his arm to massage his forehead, and found himself held in a standing position, arms spread wide by two chains that held him up. He tried for a few seconds to pull the chains down, but it was useless. He was trapped in whatever dark barn he had found himself in.

Next he noticed Julie—no, not Julie, that Knight of Hell, Apollyon—standing a few feet away, watching him. She smirked slightly when their eyes met and shook her head.

"Nice to see you finally awake, princess," she smirked. "I swear, if you were out much longer I would have gotten bored and started without you."

Dean didn't like any of what she was implying, and he sure as hell did not like seeing a Knight of Hell inside the woman he loved. "Alright, bitch," he groaned. "Cut it out. We can settle this however you want, just get out of that woman."

"Now, why would I do that?" Apollyon laughed. "I'm quite enjoying this body." Dean noticed she had Julie's shirt un-buttoned farther than Julie ever wore it, so her ample cleavage was practically popping out. The demoness circled ever closer to Dean as she talked. "She's quite sexy, Dean. But you know that. Bet you were banging this girl every night." The Knight stopped in front of him and smiled seductively. "What do you say you and me do it right now? I won't tell Julie."

She laughed, and Dean glared at her. "What?" Julie—no, Apollyon pouted. "It's the same body! And believe me, over the centuries I picked up some tricks I bet she's never shown you. I'd give you the time of your life."

"Go to hell," Dean snarled.

"I'm on a slight vacation away right now," she smirked. "So I take it that's a no? Your loss, gorgeous."

"I'm assuming you didn't bring me here just to do me," Dean snapped, rolling his eyes.

"No, I actually brought you here to ask you some questions about this lovely little Mark on you arm." His girlfriend moved closer to him and traced the inside of his arm, where the Mark was burned into his flesh. Dean closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as she pressed down on the inflamed flesh and it glowed slightly, angered by her presence. For a second, all he could think of was snapping these chains and driving the First Blade into this bitch's heart again and again…

But she was inside Julie. To kill Apollyon he would have to kill Julie, and that absolutely was not happening.

"So, it still bothers you, huh?" she asked, watching his expression. Dean opened his eyes again to glare at the demon. "Bet you want to kill me right now, don't you, Dean? Want to snap my pretty little neck?"

"Well, obviously I can't," he snarled. "I think you would know if I had the First Blade on me."

"That's right," she sighed. "You're not using it. Now, why is that? Frankly, it's stupid of you. There's five of us, and only one of you, and you're the only being alive capable of killing us, yet you refuse to? I'd almost say you're on our side!"

"I'd die first," Dean snarled.

"And you just might," Apollyon admitted. "I'm technically supposed to bring you straight to my lord and king and pompous big brother, Beelzebub, but you see, I've got a little score to settle with you, Dean." She whipped out a small, delicate knife meant for carving and forced Dean to lift his chin to look at her with it. All Dean saw was the beautiful woman he loved, and he was torn between aching to save her and wanting to kill her. "You killed my sister," Apollyon said darkly.

"Right," Dean muttered. "I had almost forgotten. She went like a bitch, you know. Kind of pathetic. All that talk about Knights of Hell, and then a puny human took her down."

Julie snarled at him and hit him so hard his ears rang. Then Julie—no, Apollyon grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her.

"I don't care about anyone," the Knight of Hell snarled. "I haven't in thousands of years. But the person I hated the least was my sister, Abbadon, and you slaughtered her. So now, before I hand you over to the true masters of torture, I'm going to have a little fun myself."

Apollyon made a small cut along Dean's cheekbone, and he flinched but didn't cry out. Smirking with cruel enjoyment, the demon tore his t-shirt open and traced the tip of the knife over his skin, teasingly tracing the anti-possession tattoo on his chest.

"You know, if it weren't for Beelzebub's little obsession with you, I might possess you myself," Apollyon said thoughtfully. "With a face and a body like yours… god, the women must just fall at your feet. Once I'm done with you though, I doubt you'll even be recognizable."

She slashed his arm, and Dean cried out through gritted teeth as his blood dripped onto the floor. His hard green eyes met hers and he spat on her cheek.

Apollyon took her time wiping Julie's face clean. Then her blue eyes hardened as she said, "Damn, Winchester. You really are as dumb as you look."

Filled with a new fury, the demoness tore into him, punching and kicking and cutting until Dean's face was bloody and his whole upper body either red with blood or black and blue.

The worst part wasn't even the pain, though. The worst part was that it was Julie's face twisted in hatred and glee, her hands hitting him in the gut again and again until he tasted blood, her carving him up with that knife.

After a while, Apollyon threw down her bloody knife and forced Dean to lift his head by his hair. "You're pathetic," she snarled. "And that's not me talking, you know. This is all Ms. Julie Carters. This is all her. You have no idea how long she's wanted to take this all out on you, Dean. How she's dreamed of this."

Dean shook his head. "You're lying," he groaned.

"Why would I?" Apollyon smirked. "We both know she hasn't loved you in weeks, if she ever did. It's Sam now, and it has been for a while. But you know that, don't you? That's why you two were fighting. That's why I was able to get inside your pretty little girlfriend, because you just had to fight with her and hurt her, didn't you, Dean?"

"Shut up, bitch," he growled. "You've got no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm the one inside her head, Dean," Apollyon reminded him. "It took her a while, but she finally realized how stupid she was for being with you when she could just have Sam. I mean, _come on_, Dean! Just look at Sam. He's smart and charming and handsome and kind…better than you in every way. You've always known that. So why would you believe any woman could love you when there was Sam to choose instead?"

"Stop it," he said, because hearing these words out of Julie's mouth was really getting under his skin.

"And you know what she thinks of _you_, Dean?" Apollyon snarled, bending slightly to be level with him. "Do you know what _I_ think?" And now she was speaking as Julie, or at least pretending to. "I think you're pathetic. I think you're a pathetic, stupid, self-hating grunt. You're the soldier, Dean. You take the fall so the real heroes like Sam can get the glory and the girl. So get out of the way, why don't you?"

Dean closed his eyes, trying to block her out, but her words were working their way inside him. And those awful words, his deepest, darkest thoughts and fears coupled with the torture he was enduring was all too much. And then there was the issue of Julie being possessed by a Knight of Hell, Julie in danger just to mess with him.

"Talk to my brother like that again, bitch," a man's low voice snarled, and Dean's eyes flew open just in time to see Sam douse Julie in holy water.

She screamed in agony and fell to the ground, wailing. Immediately, Sam launched into a rapid-fire exorcism as Julie twitched and moaned. Dean was confused, though. Exorcisms didn't work, not on Knights of Hell. All they would do was weaken the Knight, not expel her.

However, when the person she was possessing was as tough and pissed as Julie, there was no way a weakened Knight could keep in control.

After a few agonizing seconds, Apollyon suddenly smoked out of her meat suit, leaving a gasping, shuddering, weak Julie. Sam helped her to her feet, asking her half a dozen times if she was alright.

"I'm…I'm okay, Sam," Julie gasped, pushing her wet curls out of her face. Then her eyes landed on Dean, dangling weak and beaten and bloody from those chains, and her stomach turned. "Dean…" she breathed, and Sam immediately rushed to help Dean get free.

Julie however, was frozen in horror as she relived the past hour or so. She felt her hands and her knife tearing into Dean, heard herself saying those awful things to him, watched him break all over again. She was so overwhelmed and horrified she thought she might burst into tears or puke.

Sam got Dean free and forced his own jacket onto his battered older brother. Dean lifted his eyes and met Julie's for a moment, and her heart sank at the blank, distant stare he gave her.

"We need to get out of here," Sam said. "This place is only a couple miles outside of town, and I've got the Impala still running, but that bitch could be back any second."

Sam helped Dean walk towards the door to the barn while Julie followed them in a daze. But, as they threw the door open to leave, the same sexy woman Apollyon had been possessing appeared out of nowhere and lunged straight at Dean, wielding a knife.

Sam and Dean were too shocked to move, but thankfully, Julie wasn't. She threw her arm protectively in front of Dean, and Apollyon's knife cut a gash in her arm. Julie cried out in pain, but she had given Sam enough time to get out the makeshift flamethrower he had brought, and he set Apollyon on fire like he had her sister a couple years ago.

The demon shrieked in agony before smoking out of her dead meat suit. Sam put an arm around Julie and Dean and rushed them to the Impala. Dean got shakily into the passenger seat, while Sam pulled off his button-down shirt and wrapped it around Julie's heavily bleeding arm, leaving himself in a t-shirt. She assured him that she would be okay and got into the back of the car, and Sam sped back to the motel as quickly as he could, trying to ignore how his wounded passengers gritted their teeth to keep from crying out whenever he hit a bump in the road.

It wasn't until they were all safely inside the motel that Sam really stopped to think about what had just happened. He had been suspicious about what had been going on with Julie, and when he returned to the motel after a couple of hours to find Dean missing, he went looking for them. Soon, he had found an abandoned barn and broke in to find what appeared to be Julie torturing Dean. Pretty quickly, it became apparent to him what was really happening, and he was able to swoop in and save them both.

But now, as the three of them stood just inside the crappy motel room, still catching their breath, Sam slowly began to realize with horror what all had happened and what damage had been caused.

Julie almost dying had been rough on their relationship. Sam having feelings for Julie had almost blown the whole thing to pieces. But now…this incident, if anything, was going to be the thing that destroyed Dean and Julie's happy relationship once and for all.

They may be safe from Knights of Hell, but the trouble was nowhere near over.

* * *

Sam finished tying off the bandage on Julie's arm and stepped back. "There," he sighed, exhausted. "You should be all good."

Julie moved her arm around experimentally. Her arm still hurt, but it could have been a hell of a lot worse. She could have bled out, or been cut somewhere other than her arm. She could have not moved in time and Dean would be dead.

Julie could not think of a single thing to say. Her skin was still crawling with revulsion. She had been possessed by a Knight of Hell, and she had been forced to torture and lie to the man she loved. She had hurt Dean, and not just physically. Yes, it was her hands that had cut into him and hit him again and again. But that she could almost bear. It was the pained, hopeless, broken look she had seen on his face as he heard those lies and believed her. He really had believed that demon when she said Julie had never loved him, and that he wasn't good enough for her.

How could he believe that, after all they'd been through, after all she'd done for him? After all those nights together, after literally hundreds of I love you's…how dare he believe she would leave him for Sam?!

Julie wanted to go into the adjoining room and chew him out. She wanted to bitch at him, knock some sense into that man. She wanted to rage at him for all the crap he'd been giving her, all the fights and sulky silences and cold nights alone in separate beds, for that little scoff he made every time she said something about loving him lately. He just didn't believe her anymore. Couldn't believe her. Just because she and his little brother had chemistry? After all they'd been through? No! No, that was not how this was going to work. She and Dean would fix this, and they would go back to those sunny days of happiness when they first fell in love. Where had those perfect days gone?

It didn't really matter when or where they'd gone. They were gone, and they weren't going to come back. Dean had watched her almost die one too many times, she and Sam had hugged or talked without Dean one too many times, and that happy, easy relationship was gone, for good. She should accept that and walk in there and break up with Dean before he dumped her like every other girl once he was done with her.

But the thought of ending this was literally hell to her. Julie loved him still, and probably always would. She didn't want this to end. She wanted to go in there and apologize for what Apollyon had made her say and stitch up his wounds and kiss him like she had once, a year or so ago, in a barn that smelled of sweat and sawdust, and they could begin again.

"Sam…" Julie said after a moment. "About that thing outside the motel, when I was possessed…"

Sam looked down. "Look, Julie, it wasn't you. I get that."

She touched his arm again, but there was something different this time. This was a comforting, grateful touch, nothing like the way she had touched him before, like she wanted him. Now, she was thanking him. And _this _was his Julie, not that other woman outside the motel.

"Thank you," she said gently. "For…not giving in to her…to me. Just…thanks."

Sam couldn't quite meet her eyes. So instead, he said, "Go talk to him. I'll find some way to kill time. Just…if you're going to screw each other, at least keep it in his bed."

Despite herself, Julie snorted. "Sam, look…"

"Don't worry about me," Sam said in a firm, serious tone. "I'll admit, there were times when I kind of wanted you two to fight, but…this is hell. Go fix this so things can be the way they were before."

Julie nodded gratefully at him as he left the motel. Then she took a deep, calming breath and knocked on Dean's door.

There was a grunt of pain. "Come in," his low voice growled. Not very welcoming, but she walked in anyway.

First aid supplies were strewn all over the coffee table. There was blood in the sink, and his blood-stained, tattered t-shirt was in the trash can. Dean wore a clean black tee, and white bandages poked out from under the sleeves, like hers did. His face looked a lot better, but still bruised and pained.

His screams of pain hit her ears all over again, and she felt like she might puke. For a second, she was digging a knife into his ribs again, his blood on her hands, and she was enjoying it…

Julie looked down at the floor until the tears went away. She had done this to him. And that was far worse than any demon bitch torturing Dean. Because she had felt him flinch and bleed and break under her hands, and that was never going to leave her.

At least he looked better now. Judging by the empty beer bottles and burger wrapper nearby, he was fed and watered. He met her eyes, his weary and dark and not at all welcoming.

"We could have helped, you know," she said after a moment, glancing at the first aid supplies strewn around him.

"I'm a big boy now, Julie," he muttered sarcastically. "I can take care of myself."

There was a beat. Julie wanted to snap at him, "Right, because you were doing such a good job of that when I met you!" But she couldn't, because she had to save this relationship, not make it worse.

"What do you want, Julie?" Dean asked. Not rudely, necessarily, like he wanted to know but was afraid of the answer.

"Dean, I wanted to…I just want to say, I am so, so sorry," Julie said guiltily.

"It's not your fault," he sighed, looking down.

"It doesn't matter. I hurt you, and I never wanted to hurt you. I don't care if I'm possessed or pissed at you or…confused. I never meant to hurt you."

He smirked bitterly. "Thanks for that."

Julie's temper flared, but she held her tongue. "I mean it. You know I never meant that to happen, but you have to know…what Apollyon said…none of that was true."

"Demons can read the minds of the people they're riding," Dean pointed out darkly.

"And they also _lie,_ Dean!"

"Unless they know the truth will hurt." They locked eyes and glared at each other for a moment.

"Dean Winchester," Julie said slowly. "In all the time I've known you, I've never done anything but care about you. I have never done anything but love you, and you know that."

"Except for love my brother," he muttered, turning away slightly.

"You know what? You're right," Julie snapped, and he looked up, surprised. "I do love Sam. And Cas, and anyone else in your life—hell, I even tolerate Crowley because he's part of your life. You care about them—Sam and Cas at least—a lot, and so I do too. Because I love you."

"Right," he muttered, looking away again.

And that finally made her snap. His little contemptuous, disbelieving "right." If this was going to end, it would not be because he didn't believe she loved him.

"That's it," Julie snapped. "Look at me, Dean, and you listen to what I'm going to say. You can snort and roll your eyes at me. You can fight with me and sleep on the couch for the rest of your life and keep on living in your delusional world where I love your brother more than you. You can keep on carrying on like the pig-headed jackass you're being, and it doesn't matter, because I will still love you."

Dean's face hardened. "Right, because I'm feeling so loved right now."

"You're a big boy, Dean" she retorted. "I'm not gonna sugarcoat to spare your precious feelings. I am so tired of you not believing me when I say I love you. I don't know what makes you believe you don't deserve to be loved, if it's because Dad and everybody else always loved Sam better or what-"

"Drop it," Dean growled.

"But you need to hear this!" Julie snapped. "Dean, Sam is a good man. You know it, and I know it. And you know who raised him to be that way? You. You're every bit the man Sam is, and you need to stop hating yourself so much and realize that _you_ _deserve to be loved_. Sure, you made some mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes, but they're just mistakes."

"Yeah, but does everybody break down in hell and start torturing people? Does everyone let down all the people who have ever loved them? Does everyone start the friggin' apocalypse?" Dean's eyes were so filled with pain Julie wanted to hold him, but they had to finish this.

"You stopped it, too," she said quietly.

"No, Sam did."

"He couldn't have without you, and you know it."

Dean shook his head. "You know, Julie, I'm not a good guy like you think I am," he said darkly. "I try to be, but everything I touch is _ruined_. I fail everybody, and they end up dying because of it. So maybe the problem isn't really that I don't believe you love me, or that I don't think I can be loved; maybe it's just that I know what happens to the people who do love me, and I can't let that happen to you."

Julie stared at him, stunned. This was it. This hadn't been about Sam for a while now, and they both knew it. This was the real reason Dean hadn't been trying to save their relationship, wasn't it? Because he was trying, in his own twisted way, to save her…

"Dean…" Julie said softly, hating how her eyes were beginning to sting with tears.

"You know what happens to people who care about me, Jules?" Dean's voice wasn't hard, it was hurting. "Do you know where they are? They're rotting in the ground."

"Sam and Cas-"

"Have both died, _repeatedly_, because of me," Dean snapped. "I can't even tell you how many times I've failed to save Sammy, how many times I've had to watch my brother die. And Cas? He fell from grace to help me, Julie, and he _died _because of me. My dad? He sold his soul and went to hell because I was dying. Bobby? Died helping me. Kevin? My mess. Ellen, Jo, Ash, Rufus, Pamela…" His voice was cracking and he was breaking down. "I've watched too many people die for me. I've buried too many loved ones. I'm not burying you."

"It doesn't have to be like that, Dean," Julie whispered.

"You're right," he said, breathing heavily. "Because you're going to get out."

"What?" she asked, stunned and hurt.

"Look at today, Jules!" Dean yelled. "A Knight of Hell possessed you just to get to me, and then you almost died trying to protect me. You got hurt. And I swear to god, that will _not _happen again." He took a step towards her, almost threateningly. "Which is why you're going to leave. You're going to go home and you're going to escape me."

There was so much pain in his eyes, but Julie as certain there was more in hers. She said slowly and firmly, "No."

Dean blinked. "What?"

"Dean, no! I don't want to leave you! I _love _you, for god's sake! How many times do I have to say that to get it through your thick head? I'm not leaving you-"

"What if I don't want you here?"

There was silence. Julie's heart was pounding so hard she thought it might burst. "Dean…do you really…?" she asked, hurt. They stared at each other for a small eternity. "Fine. If you can look me in the eye and say that you don't want me here with you, that you want me to leave, I'm gone."

Dean steeled himself. Those green eyes burned into hers, and for a second they were so heartbreakingly sad. And then he said slowly and calmly, "I want you to go home, Julie. I want you to leave me."

And her heart stopped.

Julie couldn't move, at least not until she turned away because she didn't want him to see her cry. "Alright then. I'll get my stuff," she said, proud of how level her voice was.

And she walked out of the room to gather all of her clothes and personal belongings into a large duffel bag. She walked back into Dean's room to say goodbye, and for a second before he realized she was there, he was a man burning on the stake, tortured and broken, looking on the verge of losing control. But then he realized she was there and went cold again. "I just want you to know, Dean," Julie said as calmly as she could. "No matter what happened, ever since I've known you, I've loved you. I never quit loving you, not even for a second, so don't you dare think that I don't."

They stared at each other, but neither could say goodbye. So Julie walked out of the motel to the extra car they had rented.

Sam had chosen that second to risk returning to the motel room. He stopped when he saw Julie walking towards the spare car, head down, and when he realized she was crying, he ran over to her. "Julie? Julie, what happened? What's wrong? Julie, where are you going?!" he cried, finally grabbing her arm and stopping her.

She turned to look at him, and whispered brokenly, "I'm leaving, Sam. I'm going home."

"What?" Sam cried, panicked. "Does…does Dean-?"

"He's the one who wants me to go," she said flatly.

"I…but…Julie, please tell me you're not serious!"

"He is," Julie muttered, throwing her bag into the car and wiping her eyes. "I have to go, Sam."

"No," he breathed. "Julie, wait! Please. I don't understand. Why would he send you away? He loves you! He needs you. We both do."

And Sam looked like he was burning on the stake, too, although not nearly as badly as Dean had been. She felt like she was being cut again by Apollyon's knife, but it was much worse. "Sam…I'm sorry," Julie said softly. "I wish it didn't have to be like this. God, I wish that."

"Please…" he begged, but they both knew it was pointless. He sighed. "You were at least going to say goodbye, right?"

Julie smiled through a film of tears. "Bye, Sam."

He crushed her in a hug so tight she could barely breathe. Julie buried her face in Sam's shoulder, trying her best not to sob. Why did it have to end like this?! It couldn't! After all she and these two brothers had gone through, two of the people she loved most…it could not end like this.

"Don't go," Sam whispered in her ear.

Julie finally sobbed.

They pulled apart after a long moment. Julie gave Sam a watery smile. "If you and Dean ever need anything, anything at all, you call me. Make sure he knows that, too."

Sam nodded. "Take care of yourself," he told her.

"You too," she replied. "And take care of him, too."

Finally, there was nothing left to say. Julie surprised herself by stretching up on her tiptoes and kissing Sam on the cheek. "I'll see you, Sam," she whispered.

"You will," he said firmly, refusing to accept that this was goodbye.

And Julie got into the car and drove away. Sam stood alone in the dark, watching her go, his insides boiling. He wasn't sure if he was pissed at or sad for Dean. All he knew was he wanted Julie back. But he knew where Dean was coming from, too. She was safer away from them, and he could not bear to see her dead because of them.

Julie got a couple miles away before she finally lost it. She pulled over on the side of the road, turned the car off, and put her head in her hands and sobbed. Out of all the ways that this could have gone, this was the last one she had expected.

There were still so many things left to say to Dean. So many more kisses and embraces and nights together. So many happy moments, so many fights and birthdays and hunts left to have together. This could not be the end. She could not bear the thought of never being with Dean again.

And as for Dean…he stood alone in his motel room, watching Julie and Sam say goodbye. He watched them comfort each other, watched Sam hug his girlfriend… no, his ex. He watched Julie kiss Sam on the cheek and then drive away. He hadn't gotten a last kiss from her. But then again, he had sent her away.

There was so much left he had to say to her. He had to run after her and make her stop the car and tell her he knew that she loved him. He knew that she would never try to hurt him, and Dean would tell Julie he loved her, more than he had ever loved anyone. He would tell her he couldn't do this without her, beg her to stay, and they would kiss and then they would finally sleep in the same bed again, and they could be happy again. She would make him whole. They would be able to get through all of this Knight stuff because they had each other.

But instead, Dean let her go. He would face this Knight drama alone, just him and Sam, and she would go back to her family, and she would be safe. She would leave. And over time, she would get over him. She would move on and find another man, a better man, and they could be happy and actually have a life together.

Because Julie was not his to keep. She deserved a life, and Dean could not give her one. He had done the right thing, he knew it. But then why was it so hard?

Dean reached for a hunter's oldest friend: a bottle. He leaned against the wall and drank and drank, wanting to cry, but far too sad and empty to muster a tear.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

Jasper glanced to his daughter for help as he risked knocking on Julie's door. Since they had returned from a vampire hunt last night, she hadn't left that room. Julie rarely came out except for meals or to go on another hunt. Jasper knew his niece as well as he did his own daughter, and normally being on a case, having something to do always distracted her and cheered her up.

Not this time, though. For these past two weeks, Julie Carters had been a different woman than the one he had raised. She was quieter, moodier, and angrier at everything and everyone. She sat in that room, blasting classic rock angrily through her speakers, reading or watching television or drinking. Julie had never been a very big drinker, and she rarely actually got drunk, but he'd seen her hung over five times in the past two weeks.

Jasper was concerned about Julie. She was like a daughter to him, and to see her this destroyed over a breakup…he wanted to hunt down Dean Winchester and break his handsome face in. But Julie had told Jasper once the pain wasn't so fresh what had happened and why, and he had to admit, he agreed with Dean. Nothing was worth losing Julie.

Jasper knocked on Julie's door and after a few seconds, she opened the door. She was wearing faded jeans and an oversized sweatshirt, her curls loose and wild around her face, expression carefully neutral. "Hey, Uncle Jasper," she said with the slightest of smiles. "Come on in."

He ventured inside after her. Julie's room was small, and normally very clean. She had a bottle of wine and a glass on her bedside table, and a few books were in a haphazard pile on the floor, though. Julie sat down on her bed, and Jasper settled down on her dresser across from her and took a deep breath.

"How are you, sweetie?" he asked, clearing his throat a little nervously. But his eyes were soft and concerned, and Julie let her guard down a bit. Her uncle was just worried about her.

"I'm…" She wanted to say "good", but she didn't want to lie to Jasper.

He shook his head slightly. "I know it's rough, kid. When Taylor's mother left me…I got pretty bad. I drank way too much, I was angry and bitter and I started to shut out my brother and even my little girl."

"What happened?" Julie asked gently. Jasper, like her, preferred not to bring up painful incidents in the past. She'd never heard much about this part of her family's lives.

"Well, you had your second birthday," Jasper admitted. "And I didn't come to see you. So your daddy came storming into my house saying that I had to move on. He was sorry she had left me, but if I wasn't going to move on for my own sake, then I was going to do it for my daughter and my niece."

"And that worked?"

"It did," Jasper said, shaking his head and smiling fondly. "Thomas…he was the greatest man I ever knew. Eventually, I got tired of letting down him and Katrina, and letting down my baby girls." Jasper reached out and tousled Julie's curls, and she let him, smiling shyly. "Then I came over and you hugged my leg and you knew my name even though I hadn't visited you in weeks, and you were so precious…and they were so happy…"

Jasper stared up at the ceiling until the wetness in his eyes passed. He swallowed and said, "The point is, if I hadn't moved on, I would have missed that valuable time. With you and your parents, my own kid, the people I loved…and I can't let you make that mistake, either."

"Jasper…" Julie said, looking away.

"Look, Juliet-"

"Julie."

"Just this once, let me call you Juliet, like I used to when you actually listened to me," Jasper snapped, and Julie was surprised by the frustration in his voice. "I know it's really hard, but sweetheart, you've got to at least try to move on."

"Jasper, can we please not talk about this right now?" Julie muttered, looking down.

"I haven't talked about it for two weeks. I let you grieve, and then I asked a couple questions just so I knew I didn't have to go beat those boys with a baseball bat. But Julie, I can't let you waste your life moping over Dean Winchester!"

"I spent over a year with him, Jasper!" Julie snapped. "I've never loved anyone like him. Never. I can't just get over him like that!" She snapped her fingers.

"I know, but you could at least try," he said gently. "You could come out and talk to us every once in a while. You could distract yourself. You and I both know you could find another man, if that's what you want."

"It's not, Uncle Jasper," she said coldly. "You know what I want. That's not going to change."

Jasper took a deep breath and stood up. "He did the right thing, you know."

"What?"

"I wish you and Dean could have stayed together. That man was like a son to me, and I've never seen anyone make you so happy. But he and Sam are in a huge mess right now. They have four, maybe five Knights of Hell after them, and people around them are going to get caught in the crossfire. Juliet, I can't let that be you, and neither could he, and I agree with him there."

"It wasn't his choice to make," Julie snapped. "It was mine. _I_ get to choose what matters most to me-"

"And you'd choose Dean, and then you would die," Jasper snapped.

For a second, they glared at each other. "Please go," Julie said after a long moment, and Jasper left, frustrated. Behind him, Julie suddenly started blasting a song on her stereo, Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'." Jasper shook his head and sighed before walking over to where Taylor waited, shaking his head.

They both sighed and walked away, unable to help Julie as long as she wouldn't let them.

Julie poured herself another glass of wine and downed it all before putting her head in her hands. She focused on the words to the song to distract herself from thoughts of Dean, but the lyrics sure as hell were not helping:

"And I'm a bad boy 'cause I don't even miss her,

Yeah I'm a bad boy for breaking her heart…"

* * *

"And I'm free, free fallin',

Yeah I'm free, free fallin'."

Sam turned down the song Dean was blasting through the car and turned his head slightly to glance at his brother, concerned. He wasn't letting Dean drive because he was constantly half-drunk, so Dean had been sulking in the passenger seat in silence for thirty minutes.

These past two weeks had been awful. Dean rarely spoke to Sam, although Sam was pretty sure he wasn't mad at him anymore. Dean just didn't talk. He drank even more than normal, watched an obnoxious amount of television, and just tried to keep moving, finding a new case every couple of days. Most were easy and simple, but they kept him moving, kept him out of the bunker, where he would come across Julie's things constantly and want to cry or hit something.

Sam felt terrible for Dean, but he was starting to get fed up with his older brother. Sam knew how much breaking up with a woman you loved hurt, but he hadn't been _this_ bad. And yesterday, he had found that Dean had been using his computer and opened it to find a porn site. Ever since Julie, Dean had quit with the porn. He had even slowed down the drinking, to the point where he was rarely ever actually drunk. Dean had smiled more, and laughed more. He had joked with Sam more, and just been happier and healthier in every way.

Finding that porn site yesterday had been the final straw. For some reason, it really pissed him off that Dean was trying to forget Julie by distracting himself with other women, total strangers who were nothing to him. That had been the way things were with the old Dean, but even after Julie had left, Sam still felt she deserved better than that.

And so last night, Sam had called in some help.

Sam pulled into the parking lot of a dirty bar about a half hour away from where he and Dean were staying, in yet another crappy motel. Dean looked out the window and asked, "We drove all the way here for this place?"

Sam got out of the car and walked inside, Dean following him sullenly. The two brother sat down at the bar, and Dean immediately ordered their strongest whiskey before Sam corrected him and said, "Just water for both of us."

Dean shot him a dirty look and then stared at the bar, focusing on the tiny grains of wood so he wouldn't think of her.

They hadn't even been there ten minutes before a pretty, red-headed woman of about thirty came over and sat next to Dean. She was really quite hot, with shoulder-length, straight, bright red hair and a very pretty face and a sexy body. She gave him a nice smile and said, "I'm Kat."

Dean blinked. "Um, hi, Kat. Dean."

"Dean." She smirked. "Nice name. Sexy."

Dean blinked again, and glanced sideways at Sam to see if this woman was for real. Sam's eyes were wide. Kat leaned forward so Dean had little choice but to look at her nice rack. "Listen, Dean…I'm here with some people who are total bores. What do you say you and me get a drink and talk? I'm sure you're much more interesting than them."

Sam swallowed. He wasn't ready to watch Dean pick up his old streak of one night stands. They hadn't really bothered him before, but he didn't want Dean banging random women so soon after Julie…

But to his surprise, Dean said coolly, "I'm flattered, Kat, but I'm here with my brother, so…sorry, but I'll have to decline."

She blinked, surprised and annoyed. She didn't look like the type of woman who got turned down often. "Your loss," she muttered sullenly before walking away.

Dean shook his head and then looked down at the bar again. Sam didn't have to read his mind to know why Dean had turned down a woman that hot without a second thought.

"She doesn't look very happy with you, Dean," an all-too familiar voice smirked as Crowley took Kat's seat.

Dean stiffened. "Crowley? What are you-?"

"Moose called," the former king of hell replied drily. "Apparently, you're not taking your breakup very well."

Dean wasn't sure if he should be more annoyed with Sam or Crowley at the moment. "Shame, too," the demon continued. "She was a blast, that one. Funny, tough, and quite sexy, I must say…oh, I'm sorry. This probably isn't helping you."

Dean glowered at the demon, even as another voice said flatly, "You know it is not helping him to be reminded how wonderful Julie is, Crowley. Yet you continue to antagonize him anyway."

Crowley blinked and stared up at the trench coat-sporting angel that had just appeared behind Sam. "What is he doing here?" the demon snapped.

"Same thing you are," Sam said. "Dean, I know breaking up with Julie has been hard. But you did it to keep her safe from this whole issue with the Knights, and also, I'm sure, because of me…but anyway, my reasoning is that if we can the Knights out of the way, then I can get out of the way and you two might be able to be happy again."

"Sammy…" Dean started weakly. "It wasn't about you, not really. It…it was about-"

"Keeping her safe, right," Sam said. "So, these two are here to help us plan. We're going to figure out how to deal with these guys and then, if we survive… hopefully, you can be with her again."

That moment right there was when something shifted in Dean, and he finally realized that Sam really had moved on. No one who was still in love with Julie would be this desperate to get her and Dean back together. He opened his mouth to say something probably sappy to Sam, but Crowley rolled his eyes. "We get it, you boys are finally forgiving each other, very touching. I'm tearing up. Can we just get to work? I have a very busy schedule, you know."

"Oh, really?" Castiel asked. "You are no longer king of hell. What are you doing that's so much more important than this?"

"Okay, Mr. Ruler-of-Heaven, explain to me how you have time to meet the Winchester's in some random bar if _you're_ so busy!" Crowley snapped, and the angel and demon started bickering. Eventually Sam got them to stop for the moment, but, needless to say, it took the four men a long time to get much of anything done.

There had been sightings of both Asmodeus and Behemoth since they had first met and defeated Adramalech. Asmodeus had gone on a killing spree in Vegas a month or so ago, somehow finding time in all of his gambling to sleep with eight different prostitutes and leave them dead in hotel beds. And Behemoth had demolished a small, starving village in Africa, killing a couple hundred people just because he was bored.

"These demons have got to go," Dean muttered darkly. "I would think they'd have done more by now, but maybe we'll be able to stop them before they go even more wide scale with their killing."

"You'll need the Blade for that," Crowley pointed out.

Sam bit his lip. They all three knew that the demon was right, but neither Cas nor Sam wanted to let Dean go down that path again. And Dean…he knew what he must do, but then he saw Julie in his head and imagined her face if he did ever kill the Knights and come back to her and she looked into his eyes and didn't recognize him… he couldn't bear that.

"We should have it on hand," Dean decided after a long pause. "In case we need it."

After a moment, Sam and Cas sighed and gave in. Crowley smiled slightly. "I'll be back in a jiffy, boys," he said, and then he was gone.

Castiel frowned. "Dean…I'm not sure how much we should really trust Crowley. He seems a little too eager to see you use the First Blade."

"He's working with us because he wants the Knights gone," Dean replied. "And me with the Blade is our only way of killing them. So of course he wants that. But I'd say as long as we stand a chance of beating them, we can trust him. Because he needs us."

Cas and Sam both had to agree. Only now did they realize that the bar was all but empty except for an employee sweeping the floor and a bartender washing out a glass. "You guys about ready to go?" he asked pointedly, eying them. "We closed five minutes ago."

Sam, Dean, and Cas stood up and started to walk out the front door. They all stopped when they heard the bartender give a horrible gurgle and a glass shatter. Sam and Dean whirled around, pulling out knives, and they saw the bartender fall dead, a black-eyed man standing over him with a bloody knife. Dean stepped towards the demon threateningly, but another three or four demons stepped into the bar after him.

Suddenly Cas was pushing Sam and Dean into the center of the bar, and they realized that even more demons were coming through the front door. The two hunters and angel stood back-to-back, glaring at the ten demons who made a loose semicircle around them.

"What do we have here?" chuckled a demon who had just killed the other employee unfortunate enough to still be here. "The Winchester's _and _their pet angel?"

"Quite a haul," another chuckled darkly, turning his knife over in his hand.

"Cas, can you get us out of here?" Dean muttered quietly.

"There's another power here," the angel said darkly. "He's stronger than me, and he won't let me leave."

"That would be me, sorry," a rather pleasant voice said lightly, and the demons parted to let another man through. He was about Sam's age, a tall, dark-haired, attractive man in a nice dark button-down shirt and dress pants. He smiled pleasantly at his three captives. "I do apologize, Castiel. I wasn't really planning on capturing you, too, but I can't just let you run off with my boys!"

"Who are you, and what the hell do you want?" Dean snarled.

"Really, Dean?" the man said disapprovingly. "Don't you think we can have a pleasant talk without spewing profanities at each other like cavemen?"

"Considering you're a demon, I'd say no," he replied coldly.

The attractive young demon shook his head and went behind the bar. He began mixing himself a drink, talking in that same pleasant tone as he did so. "What do you say, boys? Anyone up for a drink?"

He glanced up to three dark glares, and shrugged. "Alright then. Just me." He took a swig of his glass before settling down on a bar stool, facing them. "I don't believe we've been formally introduced. I can tell from the trench coat you must be the infamous Castiel," he said, nodding at the angel. "And you must be Sam, then," he continued, taking in the youngest Winchester. "They really don't exaggerate—you are gigantic!"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Look, you son of a bitch, we obviously don't want to chat," Dean snapped. "So either try to kill us or whatever or let us go home, because I'd really like to get some sleep. So, if we're done here…"

"And they really don't exaggerate about your attitude, Dean Winchester," the man smirked. "I'm curious to see—do they exaggerate about this Mark of yours? May I see it?"

"Who's asking?" Dean snapped, although the way his arm was throbbing, he already knew.

The demon grinned. "Well, technically I'm inside a wannabe actor from Hollywood named Trevor Smith, but you boys would probably know me better by my actual name—Beelzebub."

Behind Dean, Sam stiffened, and then reached into his pocket for his phone. Dean sighed. "I was wondering how long it would be before you quit sending your siblings in and just get the job done yourself."

"Yes, I'm a bit disappointed in Apollyon and Adramalech," the king of the Knights of Hell smirked. "So Polly's currently rotting back in the pit where we were kept for another couple weeks before she gets ungrounded. And I'm letting Adramalech stay the way you boys put him for a little longer, before I decide he's been properly punished."

Dean was surprised. If this is what Beelzebub did to his siblings and closest allies, what was he going to do to them…?

"But let's not talk about them, Dean," the Knight said in almost friendly voice. "Let's talk about you and your friends here. You three are quite the heroes, and I've had several people tell me I should be watching my back for you boys. So tell me, Dean. Sam. You won't be trying to cause trouble for me, will you?"

"Well, my mother taught me not to lie right before one of your kind killed her so, sorry, pal. I'm definitely out to get you," Dean snarled.

Beelzebub sighed. "You know, Dean, I'd like you a whole lot more if you didn't have to act like the generic hero from every badly-written action movie ever."

"I don't really give a damn if you like me, considering I'm just going to kill you," Dean replied.

"With what Blade?" Beelzebub smirked. "I know you don't have it with you. Why else do you think I would come talk to you in person? I'm not stupid enough to come near you when the First Blade is around."

"So, if we had the Blade, you'd go running scared, huh?" Sam smirked. But he wasn't just asking to anger the Knight of Hell before him. This was more for the demon on the other end of the phone call he was making as this conversation went on.

"The point is, you don't," Beelzebub snapped, breaking his cool for the first time. "So I suggest you boys don't try to cause me any trouble, because, while you can't touch me, I can do virtually anything to you."

"If you try to harm them, I assure you, I will kill you and all of your demons here," Castiel said protectively, stepping in front of the brothers.

"And how will you do that?" Beelzebub smirked. "Without that Blade, you can't so much as touch me."

"Well, I'll need to fix that," Sam heard Crowley mutter into the phone, and the demon hung up.

At least he had gotten the message across to Crowley. Cas, Sam, and Dean were trapped with the king of the Knights of Hell, and if they didn't get that Blade quick, they could all soon be dead. But everything was hinging on Crowley actually being on their side and coming to save them. For now, all Sam could do was wait and hope…

* * *

Julie looked up from the book she was reading when the doorbell rang. "Doorbell!" she yelled when it rang again.

"Get it yourself!" Taylor yelled back, and Julie rolled her eyes before getting off her bed and going to the front door. Today she had actually gotten up and put on jeans and a button-down, dark blue shirt like her old self, so even if she didn't feel normal, she looked like it.

Julie answered the door opened the door just as Jasper walked into the hall, curious to see who would show up so late to their house. Julie found herself staring at literally the last person she would expect to see ringing her doorbell.

"Crowley?"

"Yes, yes, I know, it's great to see me," the demon muttered, agitated. "Look, Julie, we don't have time for pleasantries. We've got a problem. A very big one."

"Who's at the door?" Jasper asked before Julie could ask Crowley what he was talking about.

"One of Sam and Dean's…friends," Julie said carefully. If she said he was the former king of hell, her uncle would try to kill him, and she did not have time to explain. "What's wrong?" she snapped at Crowley.

"Beelzebub has got Sam, Dean, and Cas trapped," he said darkly, and her stomach dropped out of her.

"No," Julie gasped. "Where?"

"Some bar in Minnesota," Crowley said. "Doesn't matter. I'll get you there, and you get in there and you take this to Dean."

He held out an odd shape wrapped in brown cloth. Julie realized what it was and shook her head.

"No," she snapped. "You know what that will do to him if he uses it."

"Juliet, that man, as well as Sam and Castiel, is going to _die _if you don't get this to him!" Crowley yelled, and Jasper appeared next to Julie.

"What?!" her uncle cried, alarmed, but they didn't have time to explain.

"Take me to them," Julie said firmly, stepping out of the house. If Crowley were a normal demon, she would no longer be protected, and he could kill her. It was crazy, but she trusted him.

And Dean needed her. Dean and Sam and Cas needed her, and she would do anything to save them.

"Why do you need me to do it?" Julie asked, realizing that he could just do it himself. "Why don't you give it to Dean?"

"I'm helping you hunters, but I'm not suicidal," Crowley muttered. "If I go in there right now, I die."

"Oh, but you're okay risking me?"

"Does this really matter? Boyfriend—no, I'm sorry, _ex_-boyfriend could be dying!"

Julie moved towards Crowley, but Jasper grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Juliet, what are you doing?!" he cried.

"Sam and Dean and Cas need my help," Julie said, pleading with him with her eyes to let her go right now. "I have to go, I'm sorry. I'll be right back, hopefully with them in one piece."

Jasper opened his mouth to protest, but Crowley grabbed Julie's arm, and suddenly they were both gone. Jasper blinked, stunned and still extremely confused. And he couldn't shake the feeling that he had just seen Julie for the last time. And he hadn't even gotten a goodbye.

* * *

Dean's head collided with the hard wood of the table, and he lay on the ground, bleeding from a gash on his arm, stunned for a moment. All around him, the demons were laughing cruelly, and their mocking voices fueled him to get back on his feet. He stood, ignoring how his bruised ribs cried out in pain as he did so, and wiped some blood off the side of his face.

Beelzebub had been enjoying toying with him for at least five minutes. At first, the Knight had let Dean try to attack him, even letting him use his demon-killing knife, but soon the Knight had gotten bored with that and just started beating Dean senseless. Sam and Cas were both being pinned by demons, forced to watch the king of the Knights beat Dean's ass.

"Is that really all you got?" Beelzebub smirked. "This is kind of pathetic. _You're_ supposed to be the one who can kill _me_?"

Dean spat blood onto the floor and then went in for a right hook. Beelzebub blocked it easily, but that had just been a feint, and Dean kneed the demon right in the gut. The air whooshed out of his opponent, and Dean began hitting Beelzebub in the head again and again-

So fast Dean could barely see it, the demon caught his arm and twisted it. Dean heard a sharp pop, and then pain shot through him. He groaned through gritted teeth as the demon twisted his dislocated shoulder even further out of place before throwing him to the ground.

The demons laughed and roared insults. "Dean!" Sam yelled, struggling to help his brother. He was completely helpless though, as he watched Beelzebub kick Dean in the stomach over and over.

Eventually, the Knight finally seemed to get bored with beating Dean. He grabbed the poor man's shirt and forced him up against the wall, taking in the blood dripping out of Dean's mouth and the pain in his dull eyes.

"Pathetic," the demon spat, before pulling a curved, vicious-looking blade off of his belt.

"No!" Sam begged. "Please, don't!"

Beelzebub chuckled. "That's smart, Sam," the Knight smirked. "Appealing to my sense of pity. Too bad I have none."

Beelzebub suddenly stabbed the knife towards Dean, stopping an inch from his heaving chest. He scared Sam and Cas, though, and they both cried out before realizing he had just tricked them. The demons roared with laughter as Beelzebub muttered, "This time's for real," looking at Dean with cold, black eyes.

But he stopped as he realized one of the most raucous laughs had been cut off. Another demon suddenly made a gurgling, dying noise, and Beelzebub whipped around just in time to see a demon falling, dead, next to another already dead demon.

He dropped Dean and lunged forward as a third demon fell to reveal a pretty blond woman, eyes blazing with anger. Unfortunately for Beelzebub, she had just killed both demons pinning Castiel, and the angel raised his hand, his powers clashing with the demon's. Beelzebub had to struggle to force back the angel's powerful, smiting white light with his own darkness.

While Beelzebub and Cas tried to force each other's power back, Julie lunged forward and stabbed one of the demons pinning Sam. With one arm free, Sam grabbed his knife and stabbed the other demon pinning him, and Sam and Julie lunged into battle, making quick work of the other panicked demons in the room. It had been a couple weeks since they had fought together, but they were still quite a formidable duo.

Finally, Beelzebub overpowered Castiel, and the angel stumbled back into the wall, unable to compete with his overwhelming force. Beelzebub whirled around to stab Dean, but instead found that same blond woman standing next to Dean, who Sam had helped to his feet.

"And you're the lovely Juliet, I assume?" Beelzebub, back to his smooth self in an instant.

"And you're that stupid son of a bitch who tried to kill my boys?" Julie snapped. Although every part of Dean was still aching and sore, he suddenly felt about a thousand times better. Julie was here, Julie was here and she was still calling them her boys.

Beelzebub chuckled and shook his head. "You shouldn't have come. I'll have to kill you too, now."

"Not if we kill you first," she smirked, unfolding a brown bundle in her arms to reveal…

The First Blade. Beelzebub's eyes went wide, and then his eyes flicked from the only weapon capable of killing him to the only man capable of killing him with it within a few feet of each other. He hesitated for a second, and just like that, the king of the Knights vanished.

All four of them sighed in relief. Castiel quickly moved to Dean's side and healed his wounds. Dean sighed in relief as the pain vanished, and he moved his shoulder around, glad he was back to being able to move, at least.

"That could have been really bad," Sam sighed, pushing his hair out of his face. "Thank god for you, Julie."

"Thank Crowley, actually," she corrected as Sam wrapped her in a bear hug. Dean watched them hug, feeling empty inside. It was clear their easy friendship was still intact. But, although Julie had just saved him, she was probably too pissed to so much as look at him.

After a long moment, Sam and Julie pulled apart. "I missed you," they said simultaneously, and then laughed lightly. Dean looked down, not feeling jealous so much as just sad. They could still be happy together, but he had ruined everything yet again. He had no hope of ever getting Julie to even forgive him.

Suddenly, as if ordered to, Sam and Cas both stepped away from Dean and Julie, giving them some space. Julie's blue eyes met Dean's for a moment, before she looked down at the floor. Dean did the same.

"So, Crowley got you?" he asked awkwardly after a moment.

"Yeah," she said carefully. "Good thing, too. You'd be dead without me. So you're welcome."

Dean half-smirked, but something was bothering him. He looked up and actually met her gaze. "You came," he said slowly.

Julie frowned. "Of course."

"Why?"

"What…what do you mean, 'why'?" Julie snapped. "Why wouldn't I come?"

"I mean, I was a dick to you," Dean said. "We broke up. Why…why would you come?"

Julie stared at him, unable to believe that after all this, he was still surprised she had dropped everything to save him. But then suddenly she smiled and said gently, "Because you needed me."

"You needed me." He needed her. That was all that mattered. They needed each other, they loved each other. Forget the rest of the world, forget what had happened between Sam and Julie, all that mattered was that he fix their relationship, that Dean get Julie back for good.

He found himself grinning at her, and she was grinning back. Dean took a step forward, and so did Julie, and slowly, he leaned in towards her. They would share an amazing kiss, and then things would be okay between them, everything would be okay…

It all happened so fast. Julie was staring into Dean's eyes, thinking how nothing else mattered but that she loved him. And then she saw him reappear behind the man she loved. She saw Beelzebub pull back that knife to drive into Dean' back, and without even thinking, Julie screamed, "_Dean_!" and dove forward, shoving Dean to the side, out of the way.

Sam yelled, "No!" but he and Cas were too far back to help. And as for Dean, he scrambled to regain his balance and turned just in time to see the blade go straight through her heart.

It took a few seconds for everything catch up to Dean. He heard the sickening sound of the blade going through her, the little gasp of pain and surprise she made in the deafening silence that followed. He heard Beelzebub roaring in laughter, and then he saw the Knight vanish, taking his blade with him.

For a second, Julie stood suspended in space, eyes wide with pain and shock, face pale. And then she fell.

And that's when Dean snapped.

"_Julie_!" he roared, lunging forward and catching her head before it hit the ground. Dean knelt on the ground, putting her head in his lap as Sam and Cas rushed to his side.

"Cas, heal her," Dean ordered, trying to keep everything under control.

Cas touched Julie's face tenderly, but then he frowned. "Dean, I—I can't," he said brokenly. "Whatever enchantment Beelzebub had on that blade…I can't save her."

"No," Dean said flatly. "No. She'll be okay. We'll find a way to save her." He looked down at the trembling, pale, beautiful woman and said, "Okay, Jules? You hear me? You're going to be okay. We'll get you some help, just stay with me. Okay, sweetheart?"

She was gasping for air. Dean's heart sank as a trickle of blood came out of the corner of her mouth. Blood was seeping through her shirt as well, staining her red.

This wasn't happening. No, no, no. Dean would save her, he'd get help. She'd be okay. Because he could _not _lose her after all of this, after her saving him from himself, after that wonderful year of being in love, after sending her away to keep her safe. She could not die the moment she came back!

Julie was trying to say something. Dean brushed the curls off of her sweaty forehead and whispered, "Shh, it's okay, Jules. It's okay, honey, I got you. Don't worry." His voice cracked, and he realized she was getting a little blurry through a film of tears.

Julie gasped and struggled and managed to get out one word: "Dean." She wasn't pleading for help, or scared, or angry. She just wanted to say his name.

And then her beautiful blue eyes went lifeless. She quit trembling. She quit breathing. The earth was still.

"No," Dean said in a low voice that slowly built. "No, no, please, _no_! Not this! Not after everything…Julie, stay with me. Not her, dammit! _Not her_!" He was yelling now, and he took a deep, shuddering breath and whispered, "Please don't…please, I love you. I can't…"

But it was pointless. She was gone. The woman he loved was dead, because of him.

For a moment there was silence, and then Dean yelled, "Jules!" his voice so full of pain it brought tears to Cas's eyes.

Silent tears were already streaming down Sam's face. In his mind, he saw Julie a dozen different times. The first time he'd seen her, standing in her pajamas in the moonlight. The first time he made her laugh, the way her eyes lit up. He saw her stand against a Knight of Hell, saw her punch a vampire about to kill her in the face. She snapped at her bitchy grandmother. She fought demons like, well, a demon. She teased Cas. She rolled her eyes at Crowley. She hugged Sam, sobbing. She laughed, high and sweet and clear. She kissed Dean, long and sweet. She drove away.

She lay bloody and pale in his brother's arms. Another loved one dead and gone for helping them.

And Dean saw her in his mind's eye, too. He saw her face the first time they met, after he had just saved her life. The first time he made her grin. Their first kiss, his throat raw from talking for hours, his arm throbbing from a cut, yet it was still the most perfect kiss. That day at the ballgame, that night at the restaurant, that first night together. Perfect. He remembered their lives together, coming home every day to her beautiful face, working and living and relaxing and loving each other like normal people. He remembered those early hunts with Sam, what an unbeatable team they had made.

And now…he had promised himself he would keep her safe. He had promised Jasper, who was practically her father, that he would keep her safe. He had sent her away, he had hurt her, so that he would not have to bury her, too.

And that night, Dean Winchester buried Julie Carters.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**First off, thank you all for all your support! This is my first fic so any feedback you can give me is great! Secondly, I apologize for all the sadness and drama. I'd love to write happy stories and fun adventures for the boys and Julie, but I honestly don't think that's really staying true to Supernatural. I originally created Julie as the woman who would be able to help Dean realize he deserved to be loved and just kind of tell him everything he needed to hear and love him. However, she's kind of evolved and I really hated killing her. However, I think it had to happen eventually. She was just too close to them. However, this story is far from over! I don't believe there's any way Sam or Dean especially would ever rest as long as they knew Julie was dead, so there's still a lot to come. Please keep reading and reviewing! Thanks!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

Jasper hadn't slept a wink that night, since Julie had disappeared with that strange man. He sat at the kitchen table, sharpening a knife to keep himself busy as the hours ticked away. It had been a little after midnight when Julie vanished, and it was almost four when someone finally knocked on the door.

Jasper leapt up, but Taylor, who had been watching TV to distract herself from the thought of what could be happening to her cousin, reached the door first. She opened the door, ready to snap at whoever it was, but then immediately softened when her eyes landed on the two very attractive Winchester brothers. She smiled at them and said smoothly, "Sam. Dean. Come on in, boys."

The walked in without a word, faces blank and pale and tired. Taylor shut the door behind them and turned to start hitting on them in her usual fashion, but stopped when she saw the dark circles under their eyes and the way Sam's eyes were still slightly puffy from crying.

Before she could ask any questions, Jasper reached them. "Sam, Dean," he sighed, relieved, before patting Sam's shoulder and pulling Dean into a hug. Dean didn't return the hug, though, so Jasper released him. "I'm so glad you boys are okay," he said. "When Julie ran off like that…we were worried."

Neither brother said anything, and Jasper frowned. He finally took in the barely masked pain in their expressions and the way they stood, like an unbearable weight was dragging them down. Jasper knew then what had happened, but his brain immediately shut down that horrific thought and he asked as if nothing was wrong, "Well? Where is she?"

Sam looked down, but Dean kept staring straight ahead at nothing. His expression was so blank, his eyes empty…Jasper knew, but he refused to accept it.

"Where's Julie?" Taylor asked suddenly in a voice much sharper than any Sam or Dean had ever heard. "Sam, Dean…tell me. Where's my cousin?"

Sam swallowed and glanced over at Dean, but it was clear he wouldn't be saying much. Reluctantly, the youngest Winchester raised his gaze to Jasper's and said in a soft, broken voice, "She…we just buried her."

There was a beat of silence. Then Taylor snapped, "No. Why would you say that? That's not funny, that's not…" She had to stop because there was a growing lump in her throat, and her vision was getting blurry with tears. Taylor covered her mouth and looked away from them. Sam watched sadly as she lost control and began to cry. A few seconds later, she stormed away to the basement where she lived, slamming the door behind her.

Sam flinched at the bang the door made. Still, he had expected worse. Julie was…no, had been like a sister to Taylor. Sam knew if he lost his brother again, he would react a lot worse than that.

But the storm was far from over. Jasper was staring blankly at them. "Tell me you're joking," he said surprisingly calmly after a long moment.

Sam glanced at his brother again, but Dean was staring at the floor. "I'm so sorry, Jasper," Sam said weakly. "She…she saved us from the Knight of Hell, but then he came back and…he was going to kill Dean, and she saved him, but…I'm sorry."

There was a never-ending silence as all three men stood there, paralyzed by grief. Then, finally, Dean raised his eyes and said in a pained, guilty voice, "Jasper-"

And Jasper finally snapped.

Dean didn't even get out an apology before Jasper had lashed out and hit him across the face. Sam cried out, surprised, but he was too stunned to be much of any help to Dean. Jasper hit Dean in the jaw again, and then slammed the younger man into the wall before hitting him in the gut. Dean doubled over, and Jasper threw another punch. Sam knew Dean could have blocked it, because Jasper was getting sloppier and sloppier as he was overcome with grief, but Dean let the older man's fist catch him on the side of the face. He let it happen, and Sam found that he was letting Julie's uncle beat up his brother as well.

Jasper grabbed Dean's collar and shook him roughly. "You _promised_!" Jasper yelled. "You promised me you would keep my Juliet safe, Dean Winchester! I let you have her, and then you sent her away and you broke her heart, just so you could get her _killed_!"

Jasper was red in the face with rage, but there were tears in his eyes as well. "You promised," Jasper repeated angrily, shaking Dean again.

And the younger man raised his head and said in a voice more broken and guilty than any Jasper had ever heard, "I know."

With those two words, all of the fight went out of Jasper. He could not hit this man who refused to fight back, this man who had been like a son to him. And he couldn't hate Dean either, because Dean had done all he could to protect Julie.

Besides, there was nothing he could do to Dean that could hurt him more than losing her had.

Jasper let go of Dean, and he started to slide down the wall until Sam caught his arm and pulled him upright. Jasper stared at the two brothers for a moment and then said, "You can sleep here tonight. But be gone when I get up."

He walked into the kitchen and shut the door. Dean picked up his bag and started up the stairs, but not before he heard glass shatter in the kitchen and Jasper yelling in anger and pain and grief.

* * *

Needless to say, Dean didn't sleep well that night.

He and Sam slept in the room where Dean had stayed for a couple weeks. The room where he had first slept with Julie. Everything in here brought up memories of her, and when Dean's eyes, which couldn't shut without seeing her bloody corpse, roamed around the room, he saw a picture on the bedside table. One of Julie and Taylor, wearing dresses for some wedding or other event the family must have gone to before Dean met them.

There was the face that Dean had spent the past year staring at with love in his eyes. The same hair he had stroked when she cried. The same body that lay next to his each night. The same lips he had kissed hundreds of times.

He couldn't take this. Making sure Sam was asleep, Dean got up and went into the kitchen. He got out a beer and walked around outside the house, trying to lessen the pain by drowning it in alcohol. One of the disadvantages of having a high alcohol tolerance was that it took a lot to get him drunk, and so by the time he came across the shed where he had first kissed Julie, he was still thinking very clearly.

Dean stepped inside and stared at the counter where they had sat, talking for hours. He could still find the exact place he had stood when they first kissed. And there was the corner of the room where they had sex once, just because they could.

Dean rubbed his eyes and ran his hand over his face, trying to stop the wetness in his eyes. Eventually, the tears passed, and he stood there feeling…empty.

"Are you happy now?"

Dean turned slightly to see Taylor standing in the doorway. He had never seen her without makeup, or with the puffy red eyes she had from crying. Dean was surprised by what almost looked like hate in her eyes.

"Are you happy now?" she repeated, taking a step towards him. "Now that you got her killed?"

Dean stiffened like she had just hit him. "Taylor…" he started weakly.

"It's _your fault_, Dean!" Taylor cried, grief-stricken. "She was back at home, and even if she was miserable, she was safe! And then you two get in trouble, and she rushes off to save you, and you get her killed. You took my cousin away from me and you got her _killed_!"

"I know I did," Dean said flatly.

"You don't seem very sorry about it!" she snapped. "You come in here and tell us she's dead, that she died for you, and yet you're fine! What makes you worth her dying for?"

"Nothing," he said. "I wasn't worth it."

Taylor slapped him, and he had to admit, he was surprised. He'd rarely seen Taylor do anything violent, even on hunts. Dean blinked and slowly turned to look back at her. She was breathing heavily, and she spat, "It should have been you."

Dean's temper flared. "Don't you think I know that?" he snarled. "Don't you think I wish _I _was the dead one?! She was never supposed to die—that's why I sent her away. So that she would never get hurt because of me. I didn't deserve her, Taylor, and I failed her, and you've got every right to want to kill me. I would, too."

They stared at each other for a long moment. Taylor wanted to hit Dean again, but staring into those grief-filled, green eyes, she realized she could never hate this man as much as he hated himself for what had happened.

Dean watched as she turned her back on him and walked out. Taylor and Jasper. Two more people he had cared about and probably lost forever. But the loss of them could never compare to losing her.

Dean returned to the room where Sam was sleeping and waited a couple hours before waking up his brother. Within a few minutes of getting up, the two brothers were gone, leaving Taylor and Jasper behind probably for good.

It was for the best, anyway. As long as those two stayed away from Sam and Dean, they had a whole lot better chance of not ending up like Julie.

* * *

Cas returned from his mission to find and revive Julie the next day, with one of the worst pieces of information Sam and Dean had ever received: not only was Julie dead, but Beelzebub had dragged her soul down to hell.

The Knights of Hell had the woman Dean loved in hell to torture for all of eternity. And he knew exactly what that entailed, having endured forty years of hell himself.

Castiel assured Sam and Dean that he and his angels would be doing everything they could to save her, but she was under even heavier guard than Dean, the righteous man, had been, with at least Beelzebub, if not more Knights of Hell guarding her and torturing her.

And that was the thought that kept Dean going for the next month. Whenever he would think about how hopeless this was, when he would get fed up chasing dead trails and searching for answers that weren't there, he would only have to think of Julie in even a fraction of the agony he had felt in hell, and he was filled with a new fury.

Sam began to seriously worry about Dean. He had never been present when Dean would have to deal with the loss of his brother, obviously, but he imagined that Dean would have been something like the man he saw now. Dean was letting himself go—he rarely slept, and if so, it was only for a few nightmare-filled hours. He drank so heavily Sam began to worry about his health. He rarely ate or spoke. He was pale all the time, with dark circles under his eyes. He wore the same clothes several days in a row, rarely shaved, and the bunker, or at least his room, was slowly falling into disrepair.

All that was bad enough, but Sam had even bigger worries. He was really beginning to worry about Dean's mental health and his control over the Mark. He often woke up to Dean's screams as in his nightmares he relived his torturous years in hell and imagined Julie enduring the same agony. And Sam had walked into the room more than once to find Dean staring at the Mark of Cain on his arm, or to find Dean's hand trembling uncontrollably, his eyes dark and conflicted.

Sam did everything he could for Dean. He tried to keep him moving, kept the research and lore flowing. He even found a couple cases for them to work, but it was clear Dean was not interested in anything but saving Julie. There were a few times Sam tried to talk to Dean about what was going on, but Dean refused to talk about it. He was shutting down his feelings, and they were slowly destroying him.

Sam had to admit, he wasn't doing a lot better. He had his own fair share of nightmares, and he struggled with a drinking problem of his own. He often found himself turning to say something to Julie, and her loss would hit him like a punch in the gut all over again. Sam knew if he didn't have Dean to worry about, he would probably already be falling apart. And Sam knew he was the only thing holding Dean together.

But this couldn't go on much longer. Both brothers were slowly falling into disrepair, and no one really seemed to be able to help them. Cas visited a couple times, but he never had good news. Crowley wisely stayed away from the boys. While he had saved them, he had sent Julie in instead of himself, and both Sam and Dean blamed him in part for Julie's death. The demon had been smart enough to get the Blade back so they needed him, because otherwise Dean would probably have hunted him down and killed him just so he had someone to punish besides himself.

Jody visited for a couple days, and Dean made himself presentable as long as she was there. The three of them were miserable together, but as soon as Jody had gone back to the teenage girl she was raising, Dean had fallen apart all over again. That was three weeks after Julie's death, and Sam was beginning to give up hope. No demon was stupid enough to make a deal with the Winchester's, and no angel seemed to be able to save Julie. If heaven and hell both couldn't help them…who or what could?

If Beelzebub had meant to destroy Sam and Dean, he had found how. A month after Julie's death, the two were threatening to fall apart at the seams. Dean was sure the Knight of Hell would be quite proud of all the damage he has caused.

And the worst part was, there was no end in sight. Cas had been out of reach for several days, Crowley was gone, no demons or angels would help them…with all of their resources, after everything they had done, Sam and Dean Winchester were completely helpless to rescue Julie from hell.

She was gone. Every day, Dean would wake up and realize it, and slowly but surely he was starting to realize that wasn't going to change. And it was destroying him. If he continued down this path, Dean knew he would lose himself, and Sam was too broken already to save him. The only person who could save him was dead…

* * *

_Screams. Fire. Blood. Choking on air so thick with the smell of sulfur it coated the inside of her throat. Or was that just her blood? Didn't matter, she no longer had an arm and she was on fire now and she was screaming and he was laughing, and she was so near death but she couldn't die, no. She was already dead. And then, when the pain was so bad she was going to just cease to exist-_

_It stopped. She was whole once again and he would lean close and whisper into her ear, "What do you say, Juliet? Are you ready to get off that rack and join me?"_

"_No." Every time, it was always no, even if she was sobbing or her voice was so broken she could barely speak. It was always no, and then he would begin again, or Asmodeus, or one of their other demons when they wanted a day off. Never ending, for all of eternity, nothing but torture and torture and more-_

_And then all of the sudden there was white light. White light cutting through the fire and the blood and the screams and the agony and she heard a high-pitched noise so powerful it shattered her. All around her, screams and bright light and the sounds of fighting, and she was too weak and battered and broken to even lift her head._

_Beelzebub's voice, his voice that had been the only sweet thing she'd heard down here, that syrupy tone turned sour. "You were a fool to come here, Castiel!"_

"_You were a fool to take her," another voice said coldly, a voice she hadn't heard in years. The voice of a friend. "You were a fool to hurt them."_

_Then there was more fighting, and she finally found in her the strength to lift her head when she heard her friend cry out in pain. He was bleeding, clutching his side, but he staggered over to her anyway, and his hand, the first gentle touch in ten years, touched her shoulder where, many years ago, he had touched _him.

_For a moment, she thought of him, of his green eyes and his smile, and the way he had talked and the darkness in him and the light, too. And in that instant before the white light swallowed her, for the first time in ten years, Julie smiled a little._

_She was going to see him soon._

* * *

Sam tensed as he heard someone knocking on the bunker door. The only person he could think of coming here would be Cas, but Cas normally just appeared inside and scared the shit out of them. Sam glanced around for Dean, but he was holed up in his room, nursing his wounds with a bottle, Sam was sure. As per usual.

Sam cautiously found a few weapons and stuffed them on his belt before approaching the door suspiciously. He had no idea what could be behind that door as he swung it open, tense and ready for a fight.

And he found himself staring at the last face he had expected to see…well, ever again. Sam's throat worked furiously as he stared in shock at her. Finally, he got out one word: "_Julie_?"

Julie blinked as she took him in. Wow. Had Sam really been that tall? And had his hair really been that long? He definitely hadn't had that scruff. Julie decided she was making Sam shave as soon as they got past the whole you're-not-dead phase.

Sam Winchester stared down at her in shock. Lips trembling slightly, he asked again, "Julie?"

Julie found herself smiling. It felt odd. Smiling wasn't something she'd done in…well, years. "Hey, Sam," she said gently.

All of the sudden, he was splashing a small canteen of water onto her neck. She blinked before wiping herself dry. "Right. Holy water. Good call." Sam stared at her in shock, and she said, "Well, don't stop now! Test me with some silver to make sure I'm not a shifter."

Sam held out a silver knife with a trembling hand, and Julie pressed it to the bare skin of her arm. She was wearing a black tank top and jeans that she had stolen from some poor, unsuspecting family a few miles back. Walking around in smelly, dirty clothes that had been on her corpse for about a month was getting her weird looks, so she had stolen some clothes and brushed her hair and teeth in a gas station bathroom on the way here. It had been a long drive in a car that she had also stolen (oops), but she had come almost without stopping to the bunker. She was desperate to see Sam and Dean after what had been ten years for her.

Sam started to smile when her skin didn't burn at the silver. "…Julie?" he asked again, really starting to believe she was there.

"Surprise!" she said, smirking slightly.

Sam suddenly tackled her in a hug so tight she could barely breathe. "Can't—breathe," she choked out, and he eased up a little. Julie hugged Sam back tightly, taking in his solid warmth. It felt so freaking amazing to have physical contact with someone, anyone, and not have them torturing her.

Julie's eyes were wet when they pulled apart, and so were Sam's. "I—but—how?" Sam got out, overwhelmed by this sudden turn of events.

Before Julie could reply though, the other Winchester walked into the room, muttering, "Who was there, Sammy?"

He didn't look up, but that didn't stop Julie from staring at him like she was seeing a ghost. He was wearing his typical faded jeans and button-down, dark shirt. But he didn't look so good. He had more stubble than normal, and his skin had an unhealthy pallor. There were dark circles under his eyes, which were dull and lifeless. Julie's heart squeezed painfully. She had missed him so much in hell, and he obviously hadn't fared well, either.

Dean looked up and then went even whiter, if that was possible. But, for the first time in weeks, Sam saw a light come into his eyes. Sam grinned, he couldn't help it. He watched Dean and Julie stare at each other for a long moment, and then he said, "Dean…I checked. It's really her."

Dean still didn't say anything, so Julie said carefully, "Hey, Dean. Um, it's, uh, it's good to see you. I missed you. A lot."

Suddenly, Dean took a large breath and unfroze. "Jules?" he asked as if he couldn't believe his eyes, and Sam stepped quickly out of the way as they ran to each other.

Dean held Julie tightly, afraid to let go. She buried her face in his neck, and he pressed his face into her hair until he could compose himself. In an instant, everything had changed. Just a few minutes ago, he was struggling to find the will to keep moving, wondering what the point was, about to give up hope. And then there she was at the door, saving him again.

Neither one of them seemed to want to pull apart, but eventually Julie stepped away from Dean. "I don't understand," he said slowly. "How…what…?"

"Cas," Julie said warmly. "He took practically every single one of his followers into hell and attacked and he got me out, but…" Her expression darkened. "He lost a lot of his followers. And he got hurt pretty badly."

"What? Where is he?" Dean asked, concerned.

"I don't know," Julie admitted. "He brought me up where you guys buried me, but after that I don't know what happened to him. And we need to find him, guys. Beelzebub stabbed him. It wasn't a mortal wound, I don't think, but…I'm just worried about him."

Dean nodded. "Okay. We should go back to where you were raised, start there. Sam, could you check hospitals, and Julie and I can search the area for him?"

Sam nodded, staring in wonder at his brother. Here was the woman he loved, back from the dead, but because Dean's best friend was in danger, he was completely ignoring the fact. The guy sure knew how to compartmentalize.

And so, without another word, Sam and Dean and Julie got into their separate cars and drove off, back to work.

* * *

Dean slammed the Impala door as he got out to pace, running a hand through his hair, frustrated. Julie quietly got out of the car and leaned against the body of it, watching him.

They'd been searching for Cas for nearly six hours, with no luck. It was nearing midnight, and they both knew they should call it a day and find a cheap motel to get some sleep. Julie hadn't slept in years, and Dean still looked like he could use some sleep. She had gotten him to eat at a crappy diner, and with her back, he had been able to eat again, eating so much food she felt a little sick. He did look better now than he had when she first saw him, but something was still different about Dean.

Julie studied him. He was the same man she had left…was it really only a month ago? There was an extra crease between his eyebrows, and he frowned more, but he was the same tall, handsome, tortured man she had been remembering all that time in hell. The demons had constantly thrown visions of him in pain, visions of him torturing her at Julie, but she had been able through all of that to cling to the thought of Dean as he really was.

He had been the only thing that had gotten her through that…well, hell. Even thoughts of her family, of Sam hadn't been enough to get her through some of the truly awful tortures Beelzebub or his second in command, Asmodeus, dreamed up. But the thought of Dean kept her going, kept her saying no when Beelzebub gave her the offer to torture instead of being tortured.

Julie pulled herself out of those dark, nightmarish thoughts and focused on Dean. He ran a hand over his face and sighed, the moonlight glinting off the ring on his hand and throwing his handsome face into shadow. Julie had forgotten about that little bump in his nose from it being broken repeatedly, forgotten about the way his body contorted as he walked. She had forgotten the shape of his lips and the roundness of his shoulders. But seeing him now, really seeing him, she felt whole again, enough to look around at the bushes they were parked behind and smirk, "We're not going to find Cas by hiding behind some bushes, you know."

"We're not going to find him tonight, anyway," Dean sighed. "There's not a motel for another couple dozen miles, and I'm sick and tired of sitting in that car, not talking."

Julie blinked. "Okay, so let's talk."

"You went to hell," he said flatly.

"Fun subject!"

Dean shook his head. "What…what was it like, Julie? What did they _do _to you?"

Screams and blood and fire, her own burning flesh filled Julie's mind for a moment. "You know, Dean," she choked out.

"For how long?" he asked, anguished.

"Ten years."

He looked down at the ground. "I'm…did you…did you ever say yes?"

"No," Julie said truthfully. "I never once tortured another soul down there."

Dean's eyes darkened. "I did. For as long as you were down there, I was torturing souls."

"But Dean, you made it through thirty years before that," Julie protested. "Anyone would give in!"

"Not you," Dean said firmly. "Not my dad, either."

"This isn't important," she said, trying to change the subject so he would quite hating himself.

Instead, he decided to get pissed at her. "You're right; it's not. Julie, you went to hell. For me. The whole reason I sent you away was to keep you safe from me, and yet you go and die and go to hell for me anyway?"

"I'm not going to say I'm sorry," she said firmly.

"No, of course you're not," Dean muttered. "You're too stubborn for that."

This was not happening. They were not fighting already! "I'm not going to say I'm sorry because I don't regret what I did!" Julie snapped. "I mean, sure, I wish I hadn't gone to hell, but saving you…I'm glad I did it. I'd do it again. If anybody needed to not go through hell again, it's you, Dean."

"Well, I guess you failed, because every day without you has been hell!" he snapped. Julie blinked, hurting for him. "Why did you do it, anyway?" he sighed. "We were fighting. We were broken up. Why would you come save us, why would you die for me?"

"You're kidding, right? Dean, has nothing I've ever said to you actually sunk in? I came because _I love you._"

"And what about Sam?" Dean pointed out.

Julie sighed. "I'm sure he didn't tell you this, but those couple of weeks we were broken up, I talked on the phone with him. A lot. We talked about us, how whatever was between us wasn't going to work, if we ever wanted to be together again, the three of us. I think he was moving on, and I know I was, too. And then, in hell…you were the thing that kept me going. Not Sam, not my family, just the thought that if I got through this, I could see you again. Loving you is the only thing that…that kept me sane."

It looked like Dean might be on the verge of tears. His hand trembling a little, he reached out and gently brushed his hand across her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned forward, touching her forehead to his. They stood alone in the dark, so many things unsaid between them, just content to be together again. "Jules…" Dean started, but what more was there to say that she didn't already know?

When Julie opened her eyes and pulled away slightly, her expression was a little mischievous. "You know…we really don't have to meet up with Sam until tomorrow morning. And there's not much we can get done now anyway."

Dean began to smile. "What exactly are you suggesting?"

"It's been ten years for me, Dean," Julie said. "And dammit, I cannot wait any longer!"

Dean grinned at her, a real, honest grin he hadn't given anyone in six weeks. Then he bent slightly to kiss her. It was a good kiss, a long, passionate kiss. When they finally pulled apart, Dean immediately walked over to the trunk and unlocked it, pulling out a couple quilts. He threw them to Julie who smiled to herself as she opened the back of the car and spread them across the backseat. While she was still bent over, Dean grabbed her hips, brushing his thumb across the anti-possession tattoo on her back that she had gotten replaced just before she had died…

Dean pushed that thought aside. Nothing else mattered but that Julie was here now, alive and well, with him. He turned her to face him, and she reached up and kissed him, one hand on the back of his neck and another in his hair. He pulled her even closer and they kissed fiercely, mouths moving together.

Finally, Dean wanted more. He started pulling her jacket off of her thin shoulders, and she shook it off, leaving her in jeans and a black tank top. For a moment, Dean stopped to stare at the imprint of Castiel's handprint on her shoulder. He had a matching one, although it was much less recent. Then Dean and Julie both took off his jacket, and Julie unbuttoned his shirt, tossing it onto the pile of discarded clothes in the bottom of his car. Julie ran her hands over his muscled arms and chest as they kissed again.

After a while, Dean came up for air and smirked, "Ladies first!" Julie lay down on her back in the Impala, and Dean straddled her, slamming the door behind him with his foot. Lying underneath him, Julie kissed Dean's mouth, then the stubble on his jaw, his neck. Her hands slid to the hem of his shirt, and she pulled it over his head and tossed it onto the floor.

Julie ran her hands over Dean, reminding herself how his warm, tan skin felt underneath her touch, the way his muscles rippled and strained as he moved. She touched the Mark of Cain on his arm, Castiel's faded handprint on his shoulder, the anti-possession tattoo on his chest. The marks of heaven, hell, and a hunter. She kissed the light freckles on his shoulder, breathing in the smell of him. Dean closed his eyes and rested his head against the cold window, drinking in her touch like she was drinking in him.

They carried on for a while, reacquainting themselves with each other. Gradually, their clothes all hit the floor of the Impala, and Dean and Julie enjoyed one of their greatest nights together. Eventually, Dean lay down next to Julie in a sprawl of limbs and bare skin, pulling a quilt up over them. Julie drifted off to sleep first, and Dean brushed his lips across her arm, which was draped across his chest, before he finally drifted off, lips pressed to the top of her head. That night they slept well, happier than they had been in a long, long while.

* * *

Sam looked up as the Impala pulled up next to his car. Dean got out of the driver's side and rushed to Julie's side to help her out like a gentleman. She laughed as he helped her out, and Dean pulled her in for a long, sweet kiss.

Sam waited for that ugly rush of jealousy he had once felt whenever he saw them like that. Instead, he felt only a rush of some warm, fond emotion, and he grinned. Clearly, those two had made up. All Sam had wanted for the past six weeks was for his brother to be happy again, with Julie. And somewhere, in all that wishing for his brother to be happy, he must have moved on. Without her there every second of every day, that passion had slowly faded until he could think clearly. Losing Julie had given him perspective; Sam could survive if Julie died, as long as Dean was there. But Dean could not.

Sam got out of the car and walked over to the happy couple. Julie grinned at him. "Hey, Sam. Any luck?"

"I think so," Sam said, smiling fondly at her. She looked really good today, for someone who had probably quit screwing his brother just long enough to get dressed and drive over here. A lot healthier than she should, having been dead until yesterday. And Dean looked a _lot _better. There was light in his eyes, and he couldn't stop smiling. The circles under his eyes were faded, and his skin had a healthy flush to it. Sam hadn't looked in the mirror in a while, but he was sure that he looked better, too, now that the three of them were back together.

"So you think he's here?" Dean asked, looking up at the small hospital in front of them.

"Yesterday, someone found a Caucasian man with dark hair in a trench coat with a stab wound on the side of the road, unconscious, and brought him here," Sam recited. "So yeah, I think he's here."

"Well, let's go see the man who saved our Julie then," Dean grinned before putting an arm around Julie and leading them inside.

The place was strangely quiet, which was their first warning sign. Dean described Cas to the first nurse they saw, and she pointed them to a room at the end of the hall. Sam muttered, "Christo," as she walked past him, but she didn't even notice. The three of them relaxed slightly and stepped into Castiel's room.

"Cas," Dean breathed, relieved, rushing to the side of the bed where his best friend lay in a hospital gown. Julie and Sam hurried to Cas's side as well.

"No, Dean, don't!" Cas started to protest, but it was too late. The door slammed behind them, and the three hunters turned to see four demons stepping out of the corner, wielding wicked, curved knives. Dean immediately shoved Julie behind him and pulled his demon-killing knife out, while Sam did the same with an angel blade.

"We figured you boys would be coming for Cassie soon enough," a tall, bearded demon smirked, eyes flashing black. His eyes landed greedily on Julie, and he grinned. "Juliet, sweetheart…looks like you found your boyfriend already! Good for you. Too bad we're going to have to take you away from him again when we send you back where you belong."

Dean opened his mouth to snarl at the demon who dared talk to the woman he loved like that, but Julie brushed Dean aside and said coolly, "Cute. Unfortunately for you, Damian, there's no Beelzebub or Asmodeus to hide behind up here. Just you and me. And I am going to kill you, that's for sure. Whether or not I kill you slowly to make up for all those years…that depends on whether or not you leave these guys out of it."

"No can do, sweetheart," the demon, Damian chuckled. "These boys belong to the king. And Castiel…well, we'll put him out of his misery."

Dean glanced back at Castiel, concerned. Was his friend really in such terrible shape? He didn't look too bad, just exhausted, and obviously not back to full strength if he couldn't take on these demons by himself.

However, he didn't need to. And neither did Sam or Dean, it turned out.

One of the demons was stupid enough to lunge at Dean while he was turned to glance at Cas, and Julie's knife flicked out wicked fast, slicing the demon's throat wide open. As that demon bled out, two others leapt forward. Dean lifted his knife to help Julie, but he and Sam both found themselves staring openmouthed as she made quick work of the two demons.

Julie had always been a good fighter, fast and clever and quick on her feet. However, opponents as big and tough like these demons could overpower her, or at least the old her. But something had happened to Julie in hell. She had gotten tougher and stronger and abandoned all principles while she fought. She stabbed one demon in the spinal cord so that he was paralyzed but not dead, and then sparred the other for a couple seconds until she was able to stab him in the gut. She stabbed him again in the throat and turned around to finish the other one off.

The fourth demon, the one she had called Damian, turned and tried to run. Julie straightened up, saw him running, and threw her angel blade. It spun through the air and hit him in the back, killing him almost instantly. All that had happened within ten seconds of her killing the first demon.

Sam, Dean, and Cas stared open-mouthed as Julie brushed her curls out of her face and looked at the four dead demons lying at her feet. She walked over to Damian and pulled her knife out of his back before wiping it clean on his shirt. Then Julie turned to face the three of them, smirking slightly.

Her smirk faded when she saw how all three of them looked nearly scared. She knew that hell had changed her, hardened her, but she had hoped that these men she cared so deeply about wouldn't have to know about it…

Julie cleared her throat awkwardly. "Um…sorry about the mess. I'll clean that up in a minute. You okay, Cas?"

"I'm still healing," Castiel admitted, looking down at his body. He was not used to having a limit to his power. Ever since Dean got him Metatron's juiced-up grace, he had been feeling great. But after that disastrous battle in hell for Julie where he had lost several of his most loyal followers and gotten that wound from Beelzebub's enchanted blade, it was taking him longer to recover than he had expected. He knew that Metatron's grace was slowly fading, but he still had a while before he needed to worry too much…

"Do you think you can walk?" Dean asked, and in answer the angel stood and stretched.

"I'm still not as breakable as you humans, Dean," Cas smirked. Dean searched the room until he could find Cas some clothes, while Sam and Julie did their best to mop the blood off the floor. Once Cas was back in his usual clothes, Sam and Julie carefully sneaked the corpses out behind the hospital to dispose of them. Meanwhile, Castiel studied his old friend.

Dean looked remarkably better than the broken, slowly failing man he had checked in on occasionally. Julie had only been back a day, and yet already she was healing him. All that time ago, Julie had saved Dean from himself, but it was clear now, after losing her once, that she was still needed to keep him sane and himself. Once, Sam would probably have been enough, but Sam had enough trouble trying to keep himself whole. Although, after everything Julie had endured before Cas was able to save her…she wasn't in great shape herself, either.

"You saved her," Dean said suddenly, and Cas was snapped out of his thoughts. Dean's green eyes were locked on him. "You risked yourself and all those followers to save her."

"Of course I did," Cas said, surprised. "She did not deserve to be down there. And besides, you and Sam needed her, and…she's my friend."

Dean smiled slightly. "Still…I couldn't ask that of you."

"She was worth it," Cas assured Dean.

Dean shook his head. "God, I don't deserve you. Or her, or Sammy…"

"Don't even start with that," Julie snapped as she and Sam reentered. Her eyes softened as they landed on Cas, and she smirked slightly, saying, "You look _good_, Cas."

The angel smiled sheepishly. "As do you, Julie. I'm glad to see you…"

"Alive again?" she finished. "Well, that's all thanks to you."

"Don't mention it," he muttered, looking down.

"No. You risked your life and some of your followers died so that you could save me. I didn't deserve that."

"Of course you did," Cas insisted. "You are far too good to be in hell, and besides…these men needed you. Of course, I would do anything to save you."

Julie grinned and hugged Cas briefly. He stood stiffly until she released him and rolled her eyes. "Well, we should get going, boys. If there were four demons, there could always be more..."

And so, the four of them started out to their cars and set out for home, together again, and ready to go back to work.

* * *

Sam looked up as Julie knocked on the door to his room. Ever since Hannah had showed up at the bunker around midnight to help Castiel back into heaven, Sam had holed up in here to give Dean and Julie some space, so he was a little surprised to see her here and not banging her brother to make up for all that lost time.

"Hey, Sam," she said carefully, stepping into his room.

Sam turned off the TV he had been watching and patted his bed for her to sit. "What's up?"

She settled down a respectful distance away from him. "Look, Sam, I just…I wanted to make sure everything is…okay between us."

He nodded. "Right. Well, I don't think I'm still in love with you, if that's what you mean."

Julie's mouth twitched. "Yeah, I think I'm over that too." There was a long silence. "I just…I don't want things to be awkward between us, you know? You were my best friend, and I still want you to be, but I understand if that's too hard…"

"No, I want that, too," Sam assured her, and they both laughed a little, relieved. After a moment, they hugged briefly. When they pulled apart, Sam told her she could stay and hang with him for a while.

"I'd love to, but…I'm pretty sure Dean would rather I be with him right now, you know?" Julie said carefully. "We've got a lot of…catching up to do."

Sam waited for that surge of jealousy at the thought of Dean screwing Julie all night, but it didn't come. He was so relieved he leaned forward and kissed Julie on the cheek, surprising them both. "I'm so glad you're back," he said softly.

Julie hugged Sam again, much longer this time. "Me too," she whispered, finding that in his warm, solid arms she could effectively block out those awful memories of hell for a few seconds.

Eventually, they pulled apart, and Julie left Sam's room. She walked to the room she shared with Dean and stopped in the doorway, smiling gently. God, the poor guy must not have slept in…well, a month. He was out cold, even though five minutes ago he had been taking off his clothes and trying to get her to do the same. However, she had wanted to make sure things were good with Sam as soon as possible, and Dean had not been able to stay awake for the five minutes it took to check on Sam.

She didn't even care, though. She was just glad that he was able to sleep again. Julie changed into pajama shorts and a tank top and slipped under the covers next to Dean. He stirred slightly, and Julie rubbed his bare back soothingly, kissing the light freckles on his shoulder blade.

Dean sighed contentedly, but after a few moments, he rolled over to face Julie. He kissed her for a long, sweet moment and whispered, "I love you, Jules," still half-asleep.

He draped his arm over her waist and within a few seconds, he was out again. Julie smiled again and pressed her cheek against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.

"I know," she whispered. And, while Dean slept soundly in a bed for the first time in a couple months, really, Julie slept fitfully, afraid to truly drift off and wake Dean up with her screams as memories from hell haunted her all night long.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Taylor and Jasper were going about their usual morning routine: get up, mope around, shoot dark looks at inanimate objects, eat breakfast and drink beer in a stony silence. Things had already been tense enough between them without Julie's light and sense of humor and ability to somehow force father and daughter to get along. But then, knowing that she was dead and not just running around the country with the Winchester's…the whole world seemed dark and pointless, now.

Taylor glanced up as someone knocked on the door. "I assume you're not going to get that?" she muttered, and Jasper ignored her. She sighed and got up, stalking over to the door and throwing it wide open.

Immediately, Taylor felt self-conscious. She was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, something she normally would not be caught dead in facing a handsome guy like this. She was wearing no makeup, and her hair was unbrushed. She would be mortified if it weren't for the fact that she knew this handsome young man before her.

"James?" she asked, confused. "What are you doing here?"

The tall, well-built young man walked into the house, uninvited. He wore jeans, work boots, and a dark jacket, and he had the short blond hair and ruggedly handsome looks of a hunter. "Tell me it's not true," he said to no one in particular.

"James?!" Jasper cried, getting up. "What are you doing here? It's been…well, almost two years!"

"There's a rumor going around that Julie's in _hell_, Jasper!" James cried. "And I need you to tell me that's not true."

Taylor looked down, and Jasper swallowed. "Look, James…I think you should calm down a little bit-"

"Just give me a straight answer, Jasper," the handsome young man snapped. "Where. Is. Julie."

"Hell, alright?" Jasper snapped, throwing all tact to the wind. "She's been dead and in hell for a month."

"I don't…how…" James put his head into his hands for a moment, composing himself. Then he raised his head and his brown eyes locked on Jasper's. "Who did this?" he asked in a dark voice. "I'll kill them."

"No, you won't," Taylor snapped, everything about this interaction rubbing her the wrong way. "A Knight of Hell killed her. Their king, actually. And the only person who can kill them is the person she died to save."

"Hang on," James said, head spinning. He had just found out that one of the only women he'd ever really loved, the only woman he had ever actually wanted to settle down with, was dead. And now she was in hell, after being killed by a nearly invincible demon?

"Let me get this straight," he said slowly. "Is this person she died for…is that the same guy she ran off with last year?"

Jasper glared at the floor. If he hadn't let her run off with Dean…maybe she'd still be here. But he couldn't have stopped her, and he knew that. "Same guy," Julie's uncle said sullenly.

"But the only guy who can kill them…the guy who killed Abbadon…that's _Dean Winchester_!"

Neither father nor daughter looked nearly surprised enough by what he'd just said. "Yeah, we know," Taylor said flatly. "We were close with him and Sam, right up until they got my cousin killed."

James sat down on the couch, uninvited. He needed to get his head to quit spinning. Jasper sighed and said, "Let me get you a beer, James. It's…it's a lot to take in."

While Jasper left to get beers all around, Taylor crossed her arms and stared at James. She could remember the first time she'd met him. She, Jasper, and Julie had been hunting a couple of shifters just outside of Maine, and found another hunter already working the case. And right away, Taylor had developed a crush on the handsome, charming, quick-witted James Hawthorne. He had hit on her for a couple of minutes, and then Julie had arrived on the scene.

And just like that, he was captivated. Taylor loved her cousin dearly, but there was some quality about her that made men fall madly in love with her, and it had always pissed Taylor off. Within a few days, James was practically worshipping the ground Julie walked on, head over heels for her. Watching Dean fall for Julie had reminded her a lot of watching James fall for her. It had only taken a few days for _that _handsome, charming, quick-witted hunter to fall in love with Julie. Only that time, Julie had fallen back.

That was one thing about James and Julie that had always bothered Taylor, besides the fact that her cousin always got the really good guys. Nobody wanted a slut like her, anyways. But, while James was captivated by Julie, and she was interested in him, she played hard to get. She wouldn't sleep with him the whole time they were on the hunt, and it took him visiting their home a couple weeks later and proving to Julie he really did have feelings for her before they actually had sex. The two of them dated for six months, James sometimes staying with the Carters', and Julie sometimes travelling with him. They were happy and all; in fact, James was so happy that after only six months of dating, he asked Julie if she would consider quitting hunting so that they could settle down and have a family someday. She had been so angry at him for trying to change her that they had broken up, but there was another part to it: Julie just didn't love James. Even though he had been a great guy to her, and she had really, really liked him…she hadn't loved him.

Then Dean Winchester came along. A guy so messed-up and dark, with so much baggage he dragged anyone who got close down with him. And while he was very hot, and Taylor would have definitely hit that, she had never really had serious feelings for him. She couldn't handle that much baggage. In fact, she rather hated this lifestyle of hunting and the baggage that came with it. She wasn't very good at it, and there was a large part of her that wanted a normal life, but she kept at it. But in all honesty, Taylor didn't really want a hunter, and especially not one with that much baggage.

But Julie, the nurse, saw someone in so much pain who needed help very badly, and she couldn't help but try to save him. And along the way…she fell in love. And Dean Winchester, infamous for his love-'em-and-leave-'em lifestyle fell in love with her, too. It was so romantic it made Taylor want to gag.

A knock on the door shocked Taylor out of her thoughts. She walked over to the door and opened it, wondering how many surprises she would have to face today.

Two more, it looked like. Two tall, handsome surprises she once would have been happy to see. Before they got her cousin killed.

Taylor tried to shut the door in Dean Winchester's face, but he stuck his hand out and stopped her. "Tay, let us in," he said in that gravelly voice.

"First of all, it's Taylor to you," she snapped. "And no, I don't think I will."

Sam sighed dramatically. "Come on, Taylor. You're going to want to hear this."

"What makes you think I want to hear anything either of you have to say?" Taylor snapped, glaring at them.

Before either brother could reply, James appeared at her shoulder. "Are these guys bothering you?" he asked darkly.

Dean's eyebrows shot up, half-surprised, half-amused. "Did you finally settle down with a guy, Taylor?" he smirked.

"I'm with Julie, actually," James said confidently. Taylor glanced at him, confused on why he would lie. Probably because he still wanted to be with Julie, after over eighteen months of being apart.

Dean smirked, although his eyes were dangerous. "I don't know who you are, pal, but I know that's not true."

"Really? And how do you know that, smartass?" James snapped, immediately flaring up. Taylor rolled her eyes. They didn't even know they were both former lovers of Julie yet, and they already hated each other.

"Because _I'm_ with her," Dean shot back.

James blinked. "Wait. Are these two…?" he asked Taylor.

"Yup."

James suddenly lunged towards Dean before Taylor grabbed his arm, trying to hold him back, until Sam just shoved him away. "You got her _killed_!" James snarled angrily. "You got Julie killed, and you have the _nerve _to show your face _here_? She's dead because of you-"

"No, she's not, actually," a familiar voice said, and Julie stepped calmly out from behind Sam where she must have been waiting to make an entrance like that. Taylor and James stared at her, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Julie smiled weakly and said, "Surprise!"

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Jasper said slowly for the third time. "An angel, who is also Dean's best friend, brought his angel army into hell and saved you?"

Julie sighed. "Yeah. Cas and his followers stormed where I was being kept and got me out."

"An angel," James said slowly. "I've never even met one."

"Stick around, buddy, and you just might," Dean muttered. James glowered at him, hating the superior tone that he was using. Actually, James just hated Dean. Everything about him: his stupidly handsome face, his arrogant attitude, the way he sat with his leg pressed against Julie's, the fact that she had died to save him…

"How long ago was this?" Jasper asked.

"I woke up in a grave two days ago," Julie admitted.

"And you couldn't have _called_?" Taylor snapped. She was not handling this nearly as well as Jasper or James. James hadn't really had time to adjust to the thought of Julie being dead before she suddenly wasn't, anyway.

"I wanted you guys to actually see me and believe me," Julie explained. "And…it was more dramatic."

Sam snorted and Julie tried and failed not to smile. However, the three other hunters sitting on the couch across from them did not smile.

"Look, guys, I know it must have been rough this past month," Julie said carefully after a long silence.

"_Rough_?" Jasper repeated incredulously. "Julie, you were practically my daughter, and then a month ago, these men walk in here saying you're dead, and then they call later and tell me you're actually in _hell_? That's not _rough_, Juliet."

"I know," she said quietly. "I'm so sorry. But…I'm back now, so everything's okay, right?"

"_Is_ everything okay?" her uncle asked, concerned. "I mean, Juliet…you were in _hell_. Most people aren't _okay_ after that."

Julie looked down, and Dean put his hand on her leg in a gesture of comfort that made James want to punch that bastard in the face. Was Julie really going to stay with the man who had just gotten her killed?

"I…I will be," she said carefully. "It'll just take some time. The important thing is, I'm alive now. So whatever happened before doesn't really matter anymore. Whatever you were feeling towards Sam and Dean, whatever I went through…we just need to move on."

"Oh, come on," James laughed. "You can't be serious. That guy next to you? He and Shaggy over there got you _killed_, Julie! And now you want us to pretend that all never happened?"

"Look, Jim-" Dean started to snap.

"It's James."

"Like I give a damn. Jasper? He can be as pissed at me as he wants. Taylor? She can want to claw my eyes out, and I won't blame her. But you've got no right to get so upset, Jimmy-"

"It's _James_," he growled. "And you know what? I've got as much right as anyone to be upset. She was the woman I loved for six months-"

"_Was_ being the key word there."

James moved like he was going to get up and start a fight, so Julie stood abruptly. "You know what? I think we should have lunch."

"I already ate," James muttered sullenly.

"Then you can sit quietly and pout while the rest of us eat. Dean, why don't you and Jasper help me cook?"

Dean shot James one more death glare before following his girlfriend and her uncle into the kitchen. As soon as the door shut, Julie whirled on him. "Alright, now you're going to shut it and listen," she snapped in a quiet, intense voice. "You're an adult, Dean, not a bad rip-off of that stupid love triangle in Twilight. So start acting like it."

"Did you hear him?" Dean protested.

"Yeah, I did, and I heard you too. Now make some sandwiches and keep your pretty mouth shut."

Jasper smirked for the first time all day, and Julie turned her attention to him as Dean went to work making food. For a moment, uncle and niece stared at each other in silence. Then Julie said softly, "Look, Jasper-"

"Don't," he said suddenly as he crushed her in a hug. "Just let me be glad you're alive before you start driving me insane."

Julie laughed, but it came out breathlessly as she tried not to cry. They embraced for a long time before Jasper released her and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Scare me like that again and I'll kill you," he muttered, and then they both laughed a little.

Julie looked over and saw Dean smiling slightly as he watched them out of the corner of his eye. Jasper followed her line of vision and his jaw tightened visibly when he made eye contact with Dean.

Julie could sense the tension in the room and knew there was a lot of unspoken business between these two men. "You know what, I'm going to go make sure Tay and James aren't killing Sam," she said, and then she quickly started to leave the kitchen. Just before she left though, she added, "Uncle Jasper, I know you're mad at Dean for what happened to me, but you need to know something. It wasn't his fault. I was the one who chose to go back, and I was the one who chose to die for him. There's nothing he could have done to stop that."

For a moment, Dean and Jasper both stared at Julie, unable to speak. Then she turned and left without another word, forcing them to talk through their issues.

Dean turned back to the tomatoes he had been slicing. Jasper stood there awkwardly for a moment, and then he said, "So…she's back."

Dean stopped making food and turned to face Jasper, making sure to set the knife down before starting this tense conversation. "Yeah. Yeah, she is."

"Bet you were happy."

Dean smirked almost bitterly. "I was pretty far gone, and just getting worse. Too much longer and…I don't know what I would've done." Picked up the Blade again, hunted down the Knights and killed as many as he could before one of them killed him or he went full dark-side, probably.

"You're not going to send her away this time, are you?" Jasper sounded slightly defeated.

Dean sighed. "No. No, I…I need her. I know that now. And besides, she's not safe away from me anymore. She's as much a target as Sam and I. Might as well have safety in numbers."

"And she couldn't leave you if she tried."

Dean looked down, smiling ever so slightly. "And I doubt I could make her."

After a moment, Jasper said firmly, "Good." Dean glanced up, surprised. "Dean, when my Juliet died to save you, I wanted to hate you, I really did. But any man she loves enough to die and go to hell for without a second thought…any man who loves her like you do…you two should be together. Besides…she's okay now. That's what really matters."

Dean nodded gratefully. "So…are we good then?"

"Oh, hell, no," Jasper said, and Dean blinked, surprised. "You'll need to do a whole lot of groveling and household chores and make some pretty kickass sandwiches before we're 'good.'"

Dean smirked. "Well, I can do the sandwiches at least."

Jasper put his hand on Dean's shoulder. "That'll do, I suppose." Both men smirked slightly and went to work preparing lunch together, slowly and tentatively rebuilding their relationship as the day wore on.

Taylor wasn't much for expressing her feelings, but after lunch, she pulled Julie and gave her a long hug. "Do something stupid like die for a boy again and I'll kill you," she muttered, and Julie was struck for once at how alike she and her father were.

Julie laughed. "You couldn't if you tried, Tay," she shot back, and there was no argument there.

After lunch, the six of them played some cards. Although Taylor never quite came out and said it, she slowly forgave Dean as the day wore on. By that evening, there was a familiar, easy routine between the three Carters' and the two Winchesters'. But there was still James on the outside.

It wasn't like they didn't try to include him. But he sat there, pining after Julie and glowering at Dean, making it hard to say much of anything to him. Sam tried valiantly, but James' dislike of Dean seemed to carry over to Sam, even without him knowing how Sam had once felt about his ex-girlfriend.

Still, it wasn't until that night, after most people had gone to their respective bedrooms for the night, when Dean went downstairs for a beer that the tension between him and James came to much of anything. Dean stopped abruptly in the kitchen when he saw James standing in front of the fridge, getting his own beer out.

James turned around and his expression darkened when he saw Dean standing a couple feet away. "Almost done there, pal?" Dean smirked, unable to not be snarky and condescending to this guy. He remembered once, on a dock in the town where Julie had lived when he met her, they had sat and talked about past relationships. And this had been the guy she had loved the most. Six months she had spent with this man, and although Dean had spent twice that amount of time with Julie, the thought of her sleeping with this annoyingly attractive blond guy pissed him off.

"I know you think you're tough, Winchester," James snapped. "But I'm not exactly a pushover, either, and Julie's not really around at the moment, so I don't have a lot of reasons not to break your face in."

Dean smirked. "Hey, sorry, buddy. I was just making conversation."

"You know, you're a little smug for the guy that actually got her killed and sent to hell," the other man said darkly, and Dean couldn't help it; he flinched slightly.

"You're about the last person I need reminding me of that," Dean snapped.

"Why are you still with her?" James asked, surprising Dean. "Taylor told me why you two broke up in the first place, right before she died. Supposedly, you were trying to keep her safe. Well, obviously it didn't work out so well, but now that she's back to life, you're just going to risk her dying again?"

"I can't keep her safe by sending her away. She proved that. So, I might as well let her stay where she belongs."

James snorted. "You got something to say?" Dean asked darkly, crossing his arms.

"She doesn't belong with you. You're not good for her."

"And you're any better?" Dean shot back.

"At least with me she was safe _most _of the time!" James snapped. "And she was happy, too. We could have settled down and had a more normal life. She can't have that with you."

"In case you can't remember, she didn't _want _that with you," Dean said coldly. "She told me she wasn't sure she ever even loved you."

James looked stung, and for a minute, Dean almost felt bad. He knew what it was like to be hung up on this girl. But then James shot back, "At least I would've taken care of her. I wouldn't have let her get killed."

Before he quite knew what had happened, James was pinned against the wall, a very pissed Dean Winchester grabbing the collar of his jacket. "I didn't _let _anything happen to her," he growled in a terrifying voice. "If I could have stopped that, if I could have died instead, I would have without a second thought."

There was a moment of silence. James was staring at the terrifying man before him, trying very hard not to be scared by the darkness in his eyes. And then a woman's voice cried, "Dean, let him go!"

Dean hesitated for a second, and then released James and stepped away. Dean didn't look away from James as Julie appeared at his side, wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt and still looking beautiful, somehow. James couldn't meet her disapproving eyes.

"You two are adults, right?" she snapped after a moment. Neither man said anything. "Then start acting like it. Dean, go back to our room."

"But-"

"No buts! God, I sound like your _mother_. Now go to bed."

James smirked, and Dean shot him a death glare before storming off to their room. "And wipe that stupid look off your face," Julie added with a glare at James. He immediately stopped.

"Julie, look, I-" James started.

"I really _don't_ want to hear it," Julie muttered. "What I want is to go to bed, honestly. But when it took Dean seven minutes to get a beer, well…I could guess what was going on."

"Why are you with that guy?" James snapped suddenly. "He's not good enough for you."

Julie laughed darkly. "You don't want to start with me, James."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I just don't get it. You deserve a _nice_ guy."

"Dean is nice. Probably not to you, but I think you could understand why."

"You deserve a guy you could settle down and have a life with, Julie," James said gently, stepping closer to her.

She took a step away. "That guy isn't you either, James. You're a hunter as much as he is."

"But I would've given it up for you," he insisted.

"Well, I wouldn't have," she said flatly. "Besides, that was a long time ago. It's been…over a year and a half now, hasn't it?"

"I don't care," James said. "Julie, I still care about you. A lot. And even if you don't want to think of me in a…_romantic _way anymore, at least think of me as a friend who's looking out for you. That guy is trouble, Julie. He and his brother are dangerous. They got you killed once, and who's to say it won't happen again?"

"You know what? It probably will. But if I die again, it'll be with the people I love, doing what I'm best at, trying to do good. And that's not your decision to make, or Jasper's or Dean's or anybody's. That's mine."

James shook his head. "You always were a headstrong, stubborn bitch when you wanted to be," he muttered, but when Julie looked at him, he was smiling fondly.

Julie shook her head, smiling slightly. Although her feelings for James had faded away over time, she still had fond memories of him. She had cared about him a lot, but never the way she felt about Dean, or even Sam, if she was being honest. Maybe she really did have a death wish, but it seemed that she really only could love the people most likely to get her killed.

"And you always had trouble with letting go," Julie said softly. James looked down. "You have to. You know that, right? James…please _try _to move on. You're a great guy, and I want you to be happy. Find a nice girl who can really love you, someone who actually does want to quit this life with you. I'm just…I'm not the one for you."

James sighed. "Just…promise me you'll take care of yourself?"

"I've been taking care of all three of us for months," she smirked, before returning to the motel room where Dean Winchester waited.

* * *

The next morning, Dean and Julie woke up, showered and got dressed, and walked downstairs, ready to go. Julie stopped at the bottom of the stairs, smiling slightly at the picture before her.

Sam and Jasper were chatting happily in a corner, swapping old hunting stories and laughing. James was drinking a beer at nine o'clock in the morning (Julie must have a think for borderline-alcoholics), and he was talking to Taylor, who was back to her old, sexy self. She was laughing at something he had said, genuinely laughing. Not the fake laugh she used to get laid. Julie smiled at James, and he nodded once.

Who knows? Maybe there was something there with James and Taylor, after all that time that Taylor's cousin had dated him.

Sam, Dean, and Julie said their goodbyes and drove back to the bunker. As much as they would have liked to go on relaxing, they had given themselves one day to just take a break. But now, it was time to get to work once again. And they were calling in the big guns.

Castiel arrived at the bunker first. Although he was no longer suffering from his wound, thanks to Hannah and the rest of his remaining followers, Cas seemed strangely detached and quiet.

"Everything alright, Cas?" Dean asked his old friend once they got past the pleasantries.

"Yes, it's just…" Cas sighed. "I lost a few more followers after saving Julie. They think my judgment is clouded if I would let angels die trying to save one human."

Julie looked down, ashamed. Not only had Cas risked everything to save her, but he was losing some of his precious few followers because of it.

Dean gently touched Julie's shoulder, knowing what she was thinking. "I'm sorry, Cas," he said after a moment. "But I can't say I regret what you did."

"Nor can I," the angel replied.

Sam reentered the room, with Crowley following him. The former king of hell looked hilariously short next to Sam Winchester. His eyes landed on Julie and he smirked slightly. "Well, look at you! Juliet darling, you look excellent, considering you should be dead."

Julie decided to let that Juliet slide just this once. "You would know, wouldn't you, having sent me to my death?"

"I do regret that," the demon said, seemingly honestly. "If I could've prevented it…"

"You could've prevented it, but you didn't," Dean snapped. "Now, I'm willing to let that slide because she's okay now, and because we're going to need your help and the Blade to stop the Knights. But pull something like that again-"

"I saved all three of you!"

"You got her killed!"

"That's enough," Sam snapped, silencing the two bickering men. "We've got work to do, and we don't need to be fighting with each other."

"Thank you!" Crowley sighed dramatically.

"Don't think I'm not angry with you," Sam snapped, turning on the demon. "But, as it always seems we do…we need you. So I'm willing to work with you, but if you ever try to hurt Julie or Dean or any of us…"

"You'll kill me, I know," the demon muttered. "Alright then, you bunch of drama queens. What exactly do you need me here for? I'm assuming it's not just to argue."

"We're getting rid of these Knights once and for all," Dean snapped. "And unfortunately, we'll need a demon's insight to figure out how."

"I know how we can kill them all," Crowley said brightly. "You take up that First Blade and we'll find them for you and a quick fight scene later, we're done!"

"It won't be that easy," Castiel muttered.

"No, of course it won't," the demon muttered. "It never is with you boys."

There was a beat. "And there's no other way to kill the Knights?" Julie asked, desperate for any way to end this without having to watch Dean take up the First Blade.

"Not that we know of," Sam sighed. "And it seems like all we've done for the past who knows how long is look for another way."

There was a long silence. Finally, Dean said gravely, "So we find the Knights. Cas, Crowley, you two keep on the lookout for them, and we'll keep searching. Any sign of them, you call us, or we'll call you, and you can get me the Blade, Crowley, and we can end this."

Sam's fists clenched. Julie looked down and bit her lip. Castiel frowned. Crowley's expression stayed carefully neutral. Dean looked around at the four of them and sighed. "You know that's how it has to be, guys," he said in a defeated voice.

"We can keep looking," Sam said weakly, not believing himself. "There may be another way."

"There's not, Sammy, and you know it."

"What about Cain?" Julie pointed out. "Couldn't he kill them if we got him the Blade?"

"He didn't kill them before; what would make him do it this time?" Crowley pointed out.

The five of them were silent again. "It'll be okay, guys," Dean said, his eyes on Sam. "I'll be ready for it this time. And you…you can help me stay…human."

Julie put her arms around Dean and buried her face in his chest. He stroked her hair as he kept his eyes on Sam and a thousand unsaid words passed between the two brothers.

"We can do this," Dean said confidently. Julie pulled away from him and nodded at him. Sam gave him the weakest of smiles, and even Castiel seemed to agree. Crowley continued to keep his face carefully neutral, but Dean knew this was what the demon wanted.

They were all okay with this. That was the important thing. It was the right thing to do, and every single one of them knew it. And that was what mattered.

It didn't matter that Dean knew he wouldn't be ready for the Blade, that he knew he wouldn't be able to control it or himself. What mattered was that he was going to do the right thing.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

Dean didn't glance up from the thick, dusty volume he was reading when he heard footsteps coming into the room. He was sure it was just Sam or Julie, concerned about him, trying to get him to eat or leave the bunker or do _something _besides sitting here reading the same books over and over.

They didn't understand though. Ever since deciding to take up the Blade once they found a Knight, something in Dean had changed. He had already resigned himself to the fact that he was going to soon be slowly losing himself. So he was burying himself in his work, trying to find a way to slow the change the Blade and Mark combined would make in him, and how to find the Knights of Hell as well.

He didn't want to admit it, but he was also trying to get Sam and Julie used to the idea of slowly losing him. Dean didn't know how this was going to end, but most likely, it wouldn't end well for him, and he wanted them to be able to move on when it did.

Julie stopped in the doorway of the library, shaking her head. He was sitting there, hunched over a book like he had been three hours ago, when she had checked on him last. This was a different book at least, but he had read it before; all three of them had.

Julie sighed and walked over to Dean. She rested her hand on the table, next to Dean's arm, waiting for him to look up. He didn't.

"You've read that book three times, Dean," she said coolly after a moment. "Is it really more interesting than me?"

"Sorry, Jules," he sighed, looking up finally and running a hand through his hair. He looked so exhausted. She frowned.

"Are you even sleeping?" she asked him, sitting on the table to get a better look at him.

"Are you?" Dean shot back.

Julie was silent for a moment. "Dean, what are you doing?" she asked suddenly.

"I'm trying to find a way to find these Knights, or something that'll help me with the First Blade or the Mark of Cain…something…"

He sighed. He knew it was hopeless, and so did she. But Julie was never going to say that, not when he looked this defeated already.

"Cas and Crowley are out there looking for the Knights," she reminded him gently. "There's not much we can do to find them, though. We just have to wait."

"Waiting is not my style," Dean muttered. "So I'm just trying to keep busy, feel like I'm actually doing something."

He went back to his book, and Julie frowned. Something was odd about Dean. It was almost like he was trying to shut her out or something.

She took a deep breath and said seriously, "Dean, I've been back from hell for…what? Ten days? But I already feel like you're trying to…to shut Sam and I out, and I just…I can't lose you."

Dean looked up from the book, concerned. "Jules, honey, you know I would never-"

"I know," she said softly, putting her hand over his. "I guess I just…I'm worried about you. Sam and I both are."

"I'm okay, really," Dean started weakly, but he gave up when he saw how disbelieving her expression was.

"What is this about, really?" she asked pointedly.

He couldn't tell her, he couldn't scare either of the people he loved most with the dark thoughts he was having. So he did what Winchester's did best: he lied to somebody he loved to protect them.

"Beelzebub," Dean said darkly. "Yeah, I know we need to stop all of the Knights, but he's the leader, the brains of the operation. And also…he killed you, and he tortured you for ten years. I can't rest until he's dead, Julie."

Julie frowned. "Look, Dean…I know he's awful. God, I know that better than just about anyone. But…I don't want to see you destroy yourself over this need for revenge. I just got you back, Dean. Can't we just…can't things just be normal for a little bit?"

Dean wanted to list all the reasons why they couldn't, but it was _her_. His expression softened, and he finally closed his book. He stood up, and so did Julie. "Normal? Really? With _us_?" he smirked, slowly drawing her closer.

"As normal as things can be, when you're hunters," she amended, repressing a sigh as Dean gently brushed her hair behind her ear. "Sam found a case earlier today."

"Really?" Dean asked, surprised. "With the Knights?"

"No, a normal case. It looks like a haunting, and it shouldn't be too difficult of a case. But it's a nice break, a distraction." He looked skeptical, so Julie added, "A chance for things to be normal again. The way they were before I…" She looked down, and Dean was so eager to change the subject off of Julie's death, that he sighed and gave in.

"Alright. Where is this 'normal' case, anyway?"

Julie's expression darkened slightly. "You're going to love this…" she muttered.

* * *

"Al_right_," Dean chuckled as he pulled into the limited parking of the sorority. "Don't you just love it when ghosts hunt sororities, Sammy? All these scared, slutty party girls…"

Julie smacked his arm as he tried to park, and he nearly rear-ended a car. "Hey! No hitting the driver!" he protested.

"Fine, I'll wait until we get out of the car to kick your ass," she muttered. Although she knew that Dean was joking, it still got under her skin when her hot boyfriend joked about liking other women. Even though half of these girls couldn't even legally drink, very few of them would pass up a chance to sleep with someone as hot as Dean, even if he had fifteen years on some of them. And, as they got out of the car, two pretty brunettes in shorts and skimpy tank tops walked past, and they both winked at Sam and Dean and then giggled flirtatiously.

There couldn't have been a ghost in a guy's dorm or something, huh? Although that still could have been a problem; on more than one occasion, Julie had to practically beat gay guys off her boyfriend. There were definitely perks to having a very attractive boyfriend, but it had its downsides…

"Hey, asshole!" a girl yelled, and the three of them turned to see an attractive young dark-haired woman in a tank top and skinny jeans marching over. She had big, dark eyes, a sexy body, and a pretty face. The kind of girl Sam and Dean used to sleep with all the time when they were younger. "Watch where you're parking! You almost hit my…."

She stopped abruptly as she took in Sam and Dean. Her eyes lingered on Sam, and Julie sighed in relief internally. Then the pretty young woman smiled suddenly.

"Sorry," she said a little breathlessly. "That was rude. I'm just, uh…I'm a little tense at the moment."

She was still staring at Sam, and he smiled back slightly. "Sorry about that. My brother's a pretty bad driver."

When the young woman wasn't looking, Dean kicked Sam pretty hard in the shin. There were few things about himself Dean actually took pride in, and his driving was definitely one of them.

The young woman laughed. "Well, that's okay. Doesn't really matter anyway. No harm, no foul." She held out her hand to shake Sam's. "I'm Leah by the way. Leah Jamison."

"Leah Jamison?" Sam repeated as he shook her hand. "Hang on. Were you roommates with Kelsey Bryant and Mia Holt and-"

"Olivia Nelson, yeah," she said quietly, her smile suddenly gone. "How did you know?"

"We're police," Dean explained, stepping forward. "We're investigating the murders of your roommates."

Leah looked them over. "You don't look much like cops."

"Strictly speaking, we're off duty," Julie explained, stepping forward. "It's really more for sentimental reasons that we're investigating. I went here a few years ago, and when I heard there was a suicide followed by two murders all in the same dorm within a month of each other…well, you can see why I'd want to investigate." Julie held out her hand. "I'm Julie, by the way. Julie Sanders, and this is my boyfriend, Dean Hansen and his brother, Sam."

"Wait. Which one's your boyfriend?" Leah asked, slightly concerned.

Dean put his arm around Julie's waist and kissed her briefly. Julie smirked. "Does that answer your question?"

Leah smiled slightly, glancing back at Sam. But then her expression darkened as some thought hit her.

"Is something wrong?" Sam asked her gently.

"No, it's…it's nothing," she laughed weakly. "It's just…my roommate, Mia. She would have been all over you, Sam. She had a thing for really tall guys, and…" Leah laughed weakly, but all three of them could see the pain fresh in her eyes.

Sam wanted to comfort the poor girl. "Leah, I'm…I'm sorry for your loss. Really. I know what it feels like to lose someone really close to you. Several people, actually."

"It was the most awful thing," Leah said quietly, and this bright, sunny sorority parking lot seemed too happy a place to be discussing such dark, sad things. "When Liv…when she overdosed…it was so awful. Mia and Kelsey…we were all each other had. And then, Kelsey…she…" Leah covered her mouth with her hand and tried to blink away her tears.

Sam touched her shoulder in a comforting gesture. "I'm so sorry, Leah. Look, we don't have to do this here. Would you rather do it inside?"

"No, god, no," she said quickly. "Three of my best friends have died in that room in the last month. I don't want to go in there anymore than I have to."

Dean and Julie shared a look. They both felt awful for this poor girl, but they needed to get into that room. It was very likely the place of a haunting.

"Okay," Sam said in an understanding tone. "That's fine, Leah. Listen, I know this is hard to talk about, but…do you think…could you tell us how you think your friends died?"

Leah swallowed. "Well, Olivia…her boyfriend was cheating on her. With three other girls. When she found out, she was devastated. I mean, she loved Trevor. And we tried to be there for her, but she wanted to be alone, so Mia and Kelsey and I went out and when we came back…she had overdosed. She was dead before the doctors even got there."

Leah wiped the tears away from her eyes. "Then Trevor got hit by that car, you know, except the cops could never prove that anyone had actually been in it when it hit him. There was no evidence of someone being in the car. And then, three weeks later, Kelsey was home alone. I don't know what happened, but when I got back late from a party, she… she was in the bathtub, drowned. But…the police think someone forced her from the way she was found. And then, a week ago, Mia…she got thrown out the window. She… it could have been a suicide, she could have jumped, but some kids say they saw someone standing in the room like they pushed her out."

She turned away because she was crying. Sam wanted to comfort the poor girl, but there was only so much he could do. "I'm so sorry for your loss," he said as gently as he could. "I…my girlfriend got killed, too. And both my parents. I've lost my fair share of friends, too, so…I know how hard it is."

Leah sniffed and turned back to them, red-eyed. "You know, it's funny," she said in a surprisingly stable voice for someone who had gone through so much. "I've been hearing that a lot, 'I know what you're going through' and so on. But…that's the first time anyone's ever said that and I actually believed them."

She and Sam stared at each other for a long time, some unspoken communication passing between them. Then Leah's expression changed slightly. "You know what? I think I can actually do this. Why don't I take you guys up to the room?"

The three hunters looked around the dorm room. It was very bare, with three of the girls' stuff having already been removed, and Leah, it turned out, was also moving out. Her clothes and other personal belongings were packed up in boxes against the wall. Only her bed remained unpacked, since she was spending one last night here in the dorm room before moving out. With practically everything gone, normal cops wouldn't be able to find any evidence anyway. But Sam, Dean, and Julie weren't looking for normal evidence. They were looking for EMF or other signs of ghosts, and Dean pretty quickly picked up some EMF signals.

The three of them quickly formed a plan. Dean and Julie would go to the cemetery where the body of Olivia Nelson was buried to salt and burn her. If that didn't stop the killings, they would have to do more research, but most likely it was Olivia. All three hunters had encountered ghosts who had committed suicide, and often they remained to haunt friends or foes, trying to punish those who were cruel to them or convince loved ones to join them. When they had heard that Trevor, the cheating boyfriend had died, and then that two loved ones of Olivia had been killed, it became pretty obvious what was going on.

As for Sam, he was left to keep an eye on Leah. He took her out for a late dinner, trying to keep her out of the haunted dorm room. They sat and talked for a couple hours. Sam found her surprisingly charming and easy for him to identify with. She was a very smart girl, having gotten into college on a full ride, like him. She was a senior, and she had been at the top of her class until a month ago, when she had quit trying as slowly all of her friends began to die. Still, despite all she was dealing with, she had a good sense of humor and made a few jokes even though anyone else probably would have been sitting there in a shocked, grieving silence. She was tough, smart, funny, and very pretty, and gradually, as the night went on, Sam found himself increasingly more attracted to her. He was a little old for her, considering the ten year age gap, but he couldn't help it.

And it seemed that Leah was developing a crush on Sam, too. As the night wore on, she found herself staring into his eyes for too long, or laughing too hard at the funny things he said. Around ten o'clock, when Sam brought her back to the dorm, for a second it seemed Leah might invite him in. But then she remembered this was the room where three of her best friends had died in the last month, and how selfish it would be to be having sex with a guy in here, no matter how hot and intelligent and kind and understanding he was. So Leah said goodnight to Sam and shut the door before he could try to stop her from being alone in there.

Sam waited outside the dorm building, trying not to look like a stalker. He just wanted to keep an eye on the window of Leah's room. It was the best he could do for now. He felt infinitely more relieved when Dean called around midnight to say that the bones had been taken care of, and that Leah should be safe.

Sam had given up and was turning to walk away from the dorm building when he heard a faint scream.

Instantly, he was running inside the building for Leah's room. In the thirty seconds it took him to get to the door, things had not gone well, though.

Leah had been about to drift off to sleep when she felt a cool wind stirring her hair. She sat up, confused, and found herself staring at a pale, emaciated version of the once beautiful Olivia Nelson. Her long blond hair was stringy, and her pretty face was pale and sunken. Olivia's eyes were shiny with tears, and she said in a weak voice, "Leah, come with me."

Leah screamed, horrified at this ghostly figure before her. The figure flickered and disappeared, and Leah sat there in bed, clinging to her sheets, shaking and breathing heavily.

Then suddenly she was being pulled out of bed, kicking and screaming, by some invisible force. Leah thrashed around until she got a grip on one of the legs of her bed and she held tightly to it.

"Come with me, Leah," Olivia's raspy voice whispered in her ear, and an icy hand pried her fingers off the leg of the bed.

Leah screamed again, terrified, as she was dragged across the room into the bathroom. Olivia appeared over her as she cowered on the floor, terrified, tears streaming down her face.

Olivia pointed with a shaking hand towards the toilet. "Leah, don't you love me?" the ghost whispered, crying silently. "Then come with me."

"No," Leah whispered. "No, please. Help! _Help!"_

The ghost was forcing her towards the toilet, and for all her struggling, Leah was useless. Icy hands were pushing her head towards the water, her dead friend was going to drown her, and all the time, Olivia was whispering, "Come with me, Leah. Come with me."

Suddenly there was a loud crash. Leah was so terrified she didn't realize until much later it was the sound of a door being kicked down. But just as the ghost of Olivia was about to force her head underwater, there was a gunshot, and the ghost vanished.

Leah scrambled away from the toilet, and someone caught her just before she stumbled and fell. Leah looked up and saw Sam there, saying, "Hey, it's okay. You're okay. I've got you."

Leah sobbed in relief and buried her face in his jacket. For a moment, Sam wrapped his arm around the poor girl and held her while she sobbed, but he knew this wasn't over. The ghost could be back any second, and she would try to kill Leah again, and probably Sam as well.

"Leah, listen to me," Sam said as gently as he could. "I know this is crazy, and I'll explain as soon as I can, but I need you to tell me—is there anything still around here of Olivia's—anything that she might still be connected to?"

Ten minutes ago, she would have thought he was insane. But after just about being killed by the ghost of her friend, anything made sense. "My necklace," Leah gasped, pulling away from Sam. "She gave it to me a few days before she…"

Sam started to reach for the silver locket, but all of the sudden, Leah screamed, "Sam, look out!"

Olivia had reappeared, and she was pissed. She threw Sam into the wall, and his head cracked on the counter, hard. As he lay there, stunned, Olivia advanced on him, looking to kill.

Panicked, Leah looked around for something to fight the ghost off with, anything. Her eyes landed on Sam's shotgun, the one that had gotten rid of the ghost for a few seconds. Before she really knew what she was doing, she picked up the gun. Leah had dated a gun enthusiast once, and he had taught her how to shoot a shotgun. Good thing, too.

Leah fired the gun, thankfully hitting Olivia and not Sam, and the ghost disappeared again. Sam groggily sat up and said, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Leah muttered. "Now what was this about my necklace?"

"Right. Here, can I see it?" he asked, pulling a lighter and what looked like a salt shaker off his belt. As confused as she was, she yanked the necklace off and tossed it to him. Immediately, Sam sprinkled some salt on it and held the lighter to it. They sat there for a few seconds, watching the locket begin to melt.

Leah looked up and screamed as Olivia reappeared in the doorway, really pissed this time. But Sam said calmly, "Sorry about this, Olivia," just as the locket finally melted away.

Olivia wailed as she slowly caught flames and then disappeared into bits of ash. For a long moment, both Leah and Sam were silent. Then Leah slowly turned to face him, shaking slightly.

"Sam, you have a lot of explaining to do."

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Leah said slowly from her position on the end of the bed. "Ghosts are afraid of salt?"

"I just told you that ghosts and monsters and demons and angels are all real, and that I kill them for a living, and _that's _what you're worried about?" Sam smirked.

"Well, if I think too much about that, I'll think I've gone batshit crazy!" she pointed out, and he chuckled lightly.

"It is crazy," Sam sighed, exhausted. He had quickly covered up for that mess back at the dorm room, telling the authorities how he had been walking past the dorm, heard a scream, and run to help. He said he had found some guy trying to hurt Leah and fired a couple times at him, but he had escaped. They gave a pretty generic description of some guy and both feigned being in shock to get out of further questioning. Then Sam had taken Leah back to his room in the motel where he and Dean and Julie had adjoining rooms to explain the real truth. He assumed that Dean and Julie were back and asleep, because he didn't hear any noise inside their room. He would check on them after he got everything sorted out with Leah.

"Olivia…did she kill Trevor and Kelsey and Mia, then?" Leah asked softly, just now realizing what must have happened.

"I'm afraid so," Sam said gently. "But you have to understand…ghosts are born out of violent deaths. And…they get warped to the point where…they're not themselves. Olivia was mad at Trevor when she died, so as a ghost…she killed him. And she wanted to be with you and Kelsey and Mia, but she was dead, and the only way she could find to be with you was…"

"To kill us too," Leah finished. "Wow."

Sam sat down next to her and hugged her briefly. "I'm sorry, Leah. I wish I could have helped all of them, and not just you."

"The point is…the point is you helped me, though," she said, taking a deep breath. "You saved me. So thank you."

"Don't mention it," he muttered.

"No, really, thank you," she insisted. She studied him with those big, pretty, dark eyes. "So…this is what you do all the time? You and your brother and that Julie girl? You just…save people from ghosts and monsters?"

"It's a hell of a job," Sam admitted. "And the health care plan sucks."

Leah laughed, and he allowed himself a small smile. "You're pretty amazing," Sam said, studying her. "When I was your age, I…I lost my girlfriend, and I wasn't able to laugh like that for a while."

Leah's expression softened. "I'm tough, I guess," she said softly. "And I'm sorry. About your girlfriend. That must have been rough."

"It was," Sam admitted. "I really loved her. I was going to marry her, but…she got killed. And it was pretty hard on me. Thank god for my brother, Dean. I would've lost it without him." Sam was reminded of how, only a few days ago, Dean's love had been dead, and the only thing keeping him from completely going to pieces was Sam. They held each other together through whatever hell they endured, as long as they had each other.

"You must get pretty lonely, though," Leah said. "I mean, I know I do. I haven't loved anybody in a couple of years, and I guess you just get…"

"Lonely," Sam finished. "Yeah, I know the feeling."

For a long moment, they stared at each other. Then Leah suddenly leaned in and kissed Sam. He closed his eyes and kissed her back, tilting his head to kiss her better. For a long moment, they just kissed, and then Sam found himself pushing her onto her back, and Leah's hands were sliding up under his shirt, tracing over his chest.

Sam stopped kissing her for a moment when Leah suddenly started trying to undo his belt. It wasn't that he didn't like Leah, he really did. But for a couple months not too long ago, whenever a girl would try to hit on him or want to sleep with him, Sam couldn't find it in him. Of course, that was because he was falling for Julie, and now Sam waited for Julie to pop into his head and make him forget about this funny, tough, smart, pretty girl and how much he liked her.

She never did. Sam smiled a little to himself as he kissed Leah again, hands sliding up under her shirt.

He really had moved on.

* * *

Sam woke up feeling really damn good. It had been quite a while since he had sex with anybody, but last night had been good. Really good. Leah seemed to think so as she rolled over sleepily and nuzzled closer to Sam, kissing his neck.

For a moment, Sam let her, absently stroking her long, dark hair. But then he remembered Dean and Julie. He hadn't seen them since they left to go deal with the remains of Olivia yesterday, and he needed to make sure they were okay.

Sam sighed as he got out of bed, not really wanting to have to return to his life. It had been nice to be a part of Leah's for a day, but that's not who he was. He was a Winchester, and he needed to get to work on stopping the Knights.

"Are you leaving so soon?" Leah smirked, watching as Sam got dressed.

"I'm sorry," he said honestly. "I would stay if I could, but…my brother and Julie and I…we've kind of got a bit of a demon problem on our hands that we should probably get back to."

"That's definitely the weirdest excuse a guy has ever used the morning after," Leah muttered, and Sam smirked. He pulled a t-shirt on and zipped up his jeans before walking over to kiss her briefly.

"Leah, last night…" he started, uncertain of how he should say what he was feeling.

"Was pretty fantastic, can't argue with that," she smirked. "But you have to go. I get it. I didn't expect anything else."

She got out of bed herself and pulled on her pajamas from last night. Sam felt a little guilty, even though she didn't seem upset. He had never enjoyed being the guy who always disappeared in the morning, unlike Dean, who had relished it until he met Julie. He didn't particularly like leaving women behind, especially not women who had lost so much so recently, like Leah.

"You'll be okay?" he asked her uncertainly.

She kissed him briefly before saying confidently, "Yes. I'm tough, remember?"

He smirked before turning to the door that was connected to Dean and Julie's. He knocked once and waited for a response. "Hey!" he yelled when there was no response. "Time to get up, guys! We've got work to get back to."

There was still nothing, not even Julie groaning as she had to get up or Dean swearing at Sam and throwing a pillow at the door, as he often did. Concerned, Sam fished the spare key out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

He and Leah stepped into Dean and Julie's room. It was empty, the beds still made, and no signs that they had ever returned from their mission. Sam's heart sank.

Leah watched, concerned, as Sam grabbed his phone and quickly dialed Dean's number. There was no response, so he dialed Dean's other number, and then his _other _other number. He tried both of Julie's and no one picked up. As the last call went to voicemail, Sam threw his phone onto the bed, frustrated, and put his head in his hands.

"Sam, what's wrong?" Leah asked, concerned.

He raised his head, and she saw real panic and fear in his eyes. "Dean and Julie….they're gone."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

Dean slammed the trunk of the Impala and turned to Julie. "Well, that's one less ghost we'll have to worry about."

Julie stepped closer to him, and he put his arms around her, letting her settle into his side. For a long moment they just stood, taking comfort in each other. "Is everything okay?" Dean asked her gently after a moment.

Julie pulled away and sniffed. "Yeah, sorry. I just…I don't know. I guess I just missed…this."

"You missed digging up a month-old corpse so we can cover it in salt and then light it on fire?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"I miss normal hunting stuff," she said, hitting his arm lightly. "I miss just working a case with you and Sam."

"Yeah, me too," he admitted. Dean gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Come on, Jules. We should get going, make sure Sammy's okay."

"He's probably banging that Leah girl," Julie muttered. "She seemed pretty into him, and vice versa."

Dean chuckled. "You're probably right. Well, either way-"

But Julie would never know what Dean was going to say next, because at that moment, several figures suddenly appeared out of nowhere in a loose circle around Dean and Julie.

Immediately, Julie pulled out her angel blade, and Dean scrambled to get his demon-killing knife. Six or seven men and women in dark clothes stood around them, laughing raucously, and several of them flashed their eyes black, proving that they were demons. Dean leaned so his mouth was next to Julie's ear, about to whisper an attack plan, and then a tan-skinned man with a goatee and dark, clever eyes stepped forward, grinning, as he dragged an all-too familiar figure into the middle of the circle and threw him to the ground.

"Cas!" Dean yelled, throwing caution to the wind. He rushed to his friend's side and pulled the angel upright. Cas's head lolled a little bit, and Dean was filled with rage when he saw the blood on Cas's face and neck.

Castiel's blue eyes opened slightly and he groaned, "Dean, I'm sorry…"

"The hell did you do to him?" Julie snapped protectively at the goateed demon.

"We didn't do anything!" he said innocently. "This was all Metatron."

"What?" Dean growled. "Metatron's out of commission. He doesn't have any power. I made sure of that."

"_Didn't _have any powers," the demon corrected. "But my big brother, he made a deal with Metatron—if he got the angel out of heaven's jail, got him some grace, and got him a new army of rogue angels, he would join us. And, best of all, he knows how to read an angel's mind. So we just got him Castiel here, and our new ally was able to tell us exactly where the infamous Dean Winchester was."

"I'm sorry," Cas repeated weakly. "Dean, I tried to fight him-"

"Don't worry about it, Cas," Dean muttered. "We'll take care of these sons of bitches and then we can worry about him."

"Dean, that's going to be a bit of a problem," Julie muttered, still not taking her eyes off of Goatee over there. She looked torn between hatred and terror.

"What are you talking about?" he said. "We can take a handful of demons, no problem."

"That's Asmodeus," Julie said darkly, nodding towards the demon she was still staring at.

Dean's blood ran cold. "Juliet, sweetheart, you remembered!" the Knight of Hell chuckled, opening his arms for a hug. "Did you miss me, baby? Because I sure missed you."

Cas was standing on his own now, so Dean stepped away from him and moved protectively in-between Julie and Asmodeus. "You so much as go near her, you son of a bitch, and I'll kill you," he snarled.

"It's a good thing you're so pretty, Dean," a woman sighed, and they whipped around to see a beautiful woman with long blond hair, tan skin, and a huge rack step forward. She was one of the sexiest women Dean had ever seen, but he could tell just from the way she stood and the air of pure evil she gave off who she really was, and there was no way he could ever be attracted to that bitch. "You're really quite stupid if you think you can kill us without your First Blade," Apollyon smirked, stepping closer.

Dean, Julie, and Cas all stepped away from her, but Asmodeus was coming at them from the other direction. As the two Knights slowly circled them, Dean realized how truly screwed they were. To think he'd only had Julie back for ten days, and he was going to lose her already.

"My sister here insisted on coming to collect you with me," Asmodeus sighed. "However, she had better watch herself. She's only recently been reinstated as one of us, after you two and Sammy boy defeated her without any First Blade or anything."

Apollyon practically hissed at Asmodeus. "You think you're so high and mighty, do you, brother?" she spat. "You're nothing but Beelzebub's lap dog."

"Still better than his chew toy," her brother smirked.

"Enough!" Apollyon snapped. "This isn't about who is better. This is about making these pathetic humans wish they had never even existed."

"Cas, can you get her out?" Dean whispered, shooting a worried glance at Julie. She was tough and brave, more so than just about anyone, but she was shying away from Asmodeus, shuddering as his dark eyes lingered on her. Dean could only imagine what that demon must have done to her in hell to make her so terrified of him.

"I'm sorry, Dean," Cas said brokenly. It seemed like that was all his best friend could say. "But my grace is starting to fade, and they're overpowering me."

"Fantastic," Dean muttered. Then he addressed the two Knights, "Alright, here's how it's gonna be. You two are supposed to take me to your brother so he can 'make me wish I never existed,' that's fine. I'll go with you, no fighting or anything, and do whatever the hell you demons want. You just let these two go, leave them out of it, and I'll do what you want."

Apollyon and Asmodeus both laughed. "Oh, Dean, I think you'll be doing whatever we want anyway," Apollyon smirked.

"And do you really think I could just let my lovely Juliet leave me again?" Asmodeus pouted. "She and I were so close down in hell. Why, I spent almost every day with you, darling. It was hard to even begin the day until I heard your screams."

Dean wasn't sure which one of them he wanted to kill more. Why, oh _why_ had he decided to wait until they found the Knights to use the Blade? If he had it now, he could murder these evil sons of bitches that had already done so much to hurt the people he loved, and planned to do even more.

"And Metatron is far too fond of Castiel to let him go anywhere," Apollyon added. "I think he wants you to be his new pet, Castiel. He can keep you on a leash and everything to show other angels what happens when you cross the wrong guy."

"Bite me," the angel snapped, and despite how truly screwed they were, Dean smirked slightly.

"Well, this has been fun and all, but we'd better get you three to your new home," Asmodeus said brightly. He stepped forward towards Julie, and Dean drove his knife hilt deep into the demon's heart.

Asmodeus looked down at the blade in his chest and sighed. He waved his hand lazily and Dean flew several feet back in the air and landed hard on his back. Julie shrieked and tried to run to him, but Asmodeus grabbed her arm and pinned her to him, pulling Dean's knife out of his chest to hold to her throat.

Before Dean could even get back on his feet, Apollyon had appeared next to him, twisting his arm behind his back and pinning him. Breathing heavily, Dean met Julie's eyes across the crowd of laughing demons and tried to convey to her that everything would be okay.

He was lying, and they both knew it. Rarely had they been in worse shape than they were right now.

At least Sammy was safe.

Apollyon stroked the side of Dean's face, her long nails, painted black, digging into his skin slightly when she forced his head back to look at her. "What do you think, Asmodeus?" she sighed dreamily. "If I'm a bad enough girl, do you think big brother will let me have this one, even if it's just for a little bit?"

Asmodeus laughed. "You'd have to be pretty damn evil before he let you get your hands on his precious Winchester," the Knight of Hell chuckled darkly. "Beelzebub's going to want to peel the flesh off of that one himself."

Julie thrashed against the demon, the thought of Dean at the hands of the demon who had tortured her for years worse than any pain imaginable. Asmodeus just laughed at her, tracing his thumb across her cheek as he spoke. "Juliet, baby, you don't like it when I talk about pretty boy like that, huh? Well, sweetheart…try and remember what Beelzebub would do to you back in home sweet home. Remember how much agony you were in, how you screamed and begged for death?" This time Dean was the one who fought against Apollyon, the thought of Julie in hell making him crazy.

Asmodeus whispered in Julie's ear, his breath hot against her skin. "You remember all that pain? Well, that's _nothing _compared to what we're going to do to that man."

And before Julie could scream at him or even try to throw him off, two demons lunged forward and grabbed Cas, and without another word, all of the demons vanished, taking their victims along with them.

* * *

Dean leaned his head against the bars of his cell. He was sore from being pushed and kicked and thrown around until the demons finally got bored and tossed him in this cell, and the walls and floor of this prison they were being held in were spreading a deep cold through him. He hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours, and he wanted nothing more than to just rest. But he had much bigger problems than his own discomforts.

It would be bad enough being captured by the Knights of Hell, but then they had to go and take his best friend and his girlfriend, too. The three of them had been sitting in silence for over an hour in their cells, trying not to think about what would soon be happening to them.

Dean wasn't sure if he was relieved or even more upset when someone finally approached their cells. Once he saw who it was, though, Dean knew exactly how he felt: like he wanted to rip this bastard's head off.

"Well, well, well," Metatron chuckled as he stopped to stand in front of Dean's cell. In the cell to Dean's left, Castiel stood up, as did Dean and Julie in the cell to his right. The three of them glared at this treacherous angel, who had never looked happier. "This feels oddly familiar, doesn't it, Dean?" Metatron said cheerily. "Except I was the one behind bars then. You were still a dead man though. Quite literally."

"I have to admit, and this means a lot coming from _me_, but even _I _didn't expect you to stoop this low," Dean growled. "Working with demons? Have you finally given up on trying to at least pretend to be an angel?"

"Heaven doesn't want me? That's fine. Hell does." Metatron shook his head. "And hell wants you too, Dean. These demons have got great plans for you, things even _I _have never dreamed of. But of course, being the moron that you are, you'll put your precious morals above your own life, and you'll refuse to do what they want, and you'll die."

"If those are my options, then I'll take death any day," Dean snarled.

"But what about her?" the angel pointed out, turning to face Julie. "Is her life really worth your morals?"

Dean hesitated, and Metatron grinned, knowing he'd found something. "Say I gave you an offer. You go along with the plans these Knights of Hell have for you, and I'll make sure that your girlfriend goes free. I can even make sure that she and Sam be set aside when the demons start their whole pillage and plunder bit. What do you say, Dean? Doesn't that sound better than having to watch her die?"

"Shut the hell up," Julie snapped at Metatron before turning to Dean. "Ignore him, Dean. You know better than to trust him. And anyway, he doesn't have that kind of power. These demons are probably just waiting until he's served his purpose so they can kill him, too."

"Oh, come on," Metatron said, mock-offended. "I don't have any quarrel with you, Juliet! In fact, I've never done anything to you to make you so…_distrusting _of me."

Julie laughed bitterly. "I don't even know where to start. You took Cas's grace, you made the angels fall from heaven, started a civil war with them, killed hundreds of innocent people and angels, tried to kill Dean, and then you went and joined the Knights of Hell and gave us to them. So it's really more of what have you _not _done to make me distrust you?"

Metatron glared at her. "You know, normally I would admire your spunk, kid. But you seem to make a habit of trusting the wrong people. You trusted the Winchester's, and they got you killed and sent to hell. You trusted Castiel, and you ended up here because of it."

"You haven't exactly proved to be trustworthy yourself, Metatron," Cas said darkly. "All you've ever done is betray your people, your cause, and now your very nature. Allying yourself with the Knights of Hell? And you call yourself an angel of the Lord?"

"Not anymore," Metatron growled. "God's dead, Castiel. Has been for years. He's gone, and he's not coming back, and I and several of my followers know it. We picked the winning side, and you three would have been wise to do the same."

"I've never been one for doing the wise thing," Dean muttered. But before he say anymore to the despicable angel in front of him, two men walked around the corner, chatting amicably.

"Alright, times up, Metatron," the taller of the two demons said in his familiar, pleasant voice. Dean saw Julie visibly flinch at the sound of the Knight's voice, and he wanted, no, _needed _to kill that son of a bitch. "Be a good boy and run along back to your little army," Beelzebub said condescendingly. Normally, Dean would have loved anyone who talked to Metatron like that, but there was no one he hated more than this Knight of Hell.

The angel hesitated for a moment, and it was clear he hated being treated this way. However, he vanished with the sound of flapping wings that accompanied an angel wherever they went, leaving Dean, Julie, and Cas alone with Asmodeus and Beelzebub.

"Sorry about that," Beelzebub sighed. "He really wanted to have a few words with you three, Dean especially, and considering he got us you two in the first place, it only seemed fair to give him a couple minutes. But not to fear, he'll leave you three alone now. Now it's our turn."

The two hunters and angel glared at the Knights in stony silence. Beelzebub sighed dramatically. "Really, boys? Is that how it's going to be? I mean, I guess I can understand Juliet being unhappy with me…after all, she didn't seem to enjoy hell too much. But can't we all just try to be civil? Dean? Can't we just have a conversation like proper adults?"

"You killed Julie, and you tortured her in hell, and you expect me to _talk_ with you?" Dean growled. "The only thing I want to do is kill you, you son of a bitch."

"At least we're talking now," Beelzebub muttered to Asmodeus. "Fine. You don't want to talk? I understand. We'll have plenty of time for that later. We're actually here for Julie anyway."

It took all of Julie's willpower not to back into the corner of her cell and beg for them not to hurt her. Dean's fists clenched as Asmodeus unlocked Julie's cell and advanced on her. "Hey!" Dean yelled. "Leave her alone! It's me you want anyway."

"Actually, I really do want Julie," Beelzebub said calmly, leaning against the door of Dean's cell as he watched his brother grab Julie's arm and haul her out of the cell. "I've missed you, darling," he said with a smile as she was dragged over next to him. "It got awful lonely in hell without my favorite toy, so Asmodeus and I decided we'd go and get you back."

"Get your filthy hands off her!" Dean growled as Asmodeus pinned Julie's arms to her side and teasingly touched the side of her face.

"Oh, calm down, Winchester," the Knight chuckled. "We won't do anything we haven't already done before."

He suddenly hit Julie so hard her head snapped to the side. Dean and Cas both cried out, but they were useless.

Beelzebub smirked. "Perhaps we should continue this somewhere where these poor men don't have to watch. Wouldn't you prefer that, Juliet?"

Julie lifted her eyes to glare at the Knight in front of her. No one could understand the amount of courage and strength it took to meet his eyes, after everything these two demons had done to her. "Bite me," she spat at him, and the king of the Knights of Hell raised his eyebrows, surprised.

"These few days back on earth have been good for you, darling," he chuckled. "The last time I saw you, if I remember correctly, you were sobbing and begging for me to just kill you. Except I couldn't, because you were already dead."

Dean lunged towards Beelzebub, but he was stopped by the bars. Both Knights of Hell smirked at him, and Asmodeus began to haul Julie away, Beelzebub following. Dean broke when they got about ten feet away and started yelling, "No, wait! Leave her alone! Take me, dammit! _Take me_!"

Asmodeus said something to Beelzebub, and both demons laughed. Just before they dragged Julie around the corner and out of sight, she turned and met Dean's eyes. He expected her to give him a reassuring look or try to convince him she would be okay so that he wouldn't worry.

Instead, he saw her blue eyes wide with terror. "Help," she mouthed to him, and then she was gone.

Dean tried pointlessly to kick down his cell door, unable to bear seeing Julie so afraid and unable to help her. Eventually, Dean sank to the ground and put his head in his hands, trying not to imagine what they were doing to Julie.

But it turned out he didn't really have to imagine. Because not even five minutes after she had been dragged away, Julie began to scream. And she wouldn't stop.

Cas watched with pain-filled eyes as Dean tried to block out her screams, but it was useless. This place had been designed so that it was impossible not to hear the screams of the tortured. And so Castiel was forced to watch helplessly as Julie's tortured screams finally became too much for Dean, and his friend silently began to cry.

* * *

Crowley looked up from the row of shots before him on the bar when his phone began to ring. Sighing dramatically, even though there was no one around to hear, he pulled his phone out of his suit jacket and blinked in surprise when he saw the number.

"Something wrong, Moose?" the demon asked in a bored voice as he answered the call.

"Do you have the Blade?" Sam's low voice growled. He didn't sound very happy.

"Do you have a Knight of Hell?" Crowley countered.

"No, but they've got Julie and Dean."

Crowley's eyes widened. "What? Where?"

"I don't know," the man on the other end admitted, sounding anguished. "But they went missing last night, and I found where they disappeared. The place reeks of so much sulfur it had to be at least one Knight, if not more." Sam took a deep breath. "I need your help, Crowley. I've got to find them."

"Why not ask your friend, Castiel?" the demon said airily, trying to pretend he wasn't concerned.

"Cas is missing. I got ahold of Hannah, and found out that heaven's been overthrown by a group of rogue angels led by Metatron. She thinks he's got Cas, and she and the rest of the angels are here on earth with no idea what to do. So basically, everything that could possibly go wrong has, and you're all I've got, Crowley." The demon was surprised. Sam hadn't trusted him…well, ever. The fact that he was desperate enough to beg the former king of hell for help meant things were really bad.

"Alright," the demon sighed. "I can probably find a spell that will find your brother and his girlfriend. I'll have to get the ingredients first, as well as the First Blade."

"How long will that take?" Sam asked.

The line clicked dead.

Sam sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He had been trying to ignore what was going on by always being on the move, always doing something. But now that he had to wait, all he could think of was his brother and Julie and possible Cas at the hands of the Knights of Hell, and it was killing him.

Sam had sent Leah back to her sorority the moment he had known things were really bad. She couldn't get caught up in this mess; she'd die. She had wanted to stay and help Sam find them, but he had refused. There was no way he was having any more innocent blood on his hands.

But if Leah were still here, at least he would have something to distract himself from his dark thoughts. Sam had been tortured by the devil himself; he knew what true agony felt like. So he had a pretty good idea of what Dean and Julie could be enduring right now, and the thought of good, sweet, brave Julie who had just barely escaped hell, or his brother who meant more to him than anything else in this world going through that kind of pain…

Sam blinked, startled, as something slammed onto the hood of the Impala. He turned around and saw that Crowley was back already with several ingredients for a spell. He had slammed a large bundle wrapped in brown cloth onto the hood of the car, and for a second, Sam wanted to throw that weapon as far from here as he could. The thought of it taking over his brother and slowly demonizing him again was awful, but the thought of Dean and Julie at the hands of the Knights was somehow worse.

"Well, Moose," Crowley said gravely. "Let's get to work."

* * *

Julie hadn't screamed in over an hour. Dean wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, though. For all he knew, she could be dead. They could have killed her again, and Dean hadn't even had her back for two weeks.

"Dean…" Cas tried gently. He had been trying to get Dean to talk for the past three hours, ever since Julie had been dragged away. But Dean had nothing to say.

"Dean, she'll be okay," the angel said, but he didn't sound like he believed himself. "We'll find a way out of here, and then we can get her out of here. We'll all be okay."

Dean lifted his eyes, and the pain in them felt like a knife in Castiel's side. "No, she won't, Cas," he said darkly. "Nobody would be okay after this. After everything they did to her before, in hell."

Cas tried to think of something he could say to comfort Dean, but there was nothing. Dean hadn't seen Julie while she was down there. She had been almost unrecognizable; so bruised and bloody and beaten, so broken, and there was so little of her left that Cas almost hadn't realized it really was Julie. Dean was right. Nobody was okay after hell. He sure as hell hadn't been.

There was a distant crash, and couple seconds later, a groan of pain from the end of the hall. Both Cas and Dean lifted their heads at the sound of the commotion. After a few seconds, they heard footsteps approaching and both of them stood warily.

And then he came running around the corner. Dean wasn't sure whether to grin or panic at the sight of his little brother in such a dangerous place. "Sammy!" he whispered. "What are you doing here?!"

"Saving your ass," Sam muttered, approaching Dean's cell. "You okay?" he asked, eyes wide.

Dean's expression darkened. "Cas and I…we're okay. But Julie-"

"Keys," another voice said, and Dean glanced over and saw Crowley there as well, tossing Sam the keys. Sam quickly unlocked Dean and then moved to unlock Castiel. The four men grouped together, and Sam asked, "Where's Julie?"

There was a beat. "They took her a few hours ago," Cas said when it was clear Dean couldn't even talk about it. "Asmodeus and Beelzebub, they're both here. And Apollyon, somewhere."

"Great," Sam said darkly. "Where's Julie? I'll go find her and make sure she's okay. And Dean…"

He glanced from Crowley to his brother. Dean finally noticed the brown bundle in the demon's arms and swallowed. He knew instantly what it was, and the Mark of Cain on his arm burned, itching for him to hold that weapon once more.

"Right," Dean growled. "Sammy, you and Cas go make sure Julie's alright. Crowley…you and I have some demons to kill."

Sam hesitated, suddenly unable to let Dean take up that Blade. "Dean, wait-" he started.

"Go find the girl before something else happens to her!" Crowley snapped. "I'll watch out for your brother. He's safe with me, remember? I need him."

"We have to go, Sam," Cas said gently, and Sam knew he was right. The two of them turned and went down the hall where, hours ago, Julie had been dragged away. They rushed through several halls, opening every door they found until finally, they found her.

Sam's stomach flipped at the sight of Julie when they finally found her. She was unconscious on the floor of a dark room. There was a drain on the floor which her blood was slowly trickling down, and twisted, horrific torture weapons lined the walls and hung from the ceiling. Julie was pale, one of her legs twisted at a horrifying angle, and there was blood, her blood, all over her face, arms, clothes, and even in her hair.

"Julie," Sam whispered, horrified, before rushing to her side. He carefully sat her up and her blue eyes fluttered open, dull and pained.

"Sam?" she asked groggily in a pained voice.

"It's okay, I've got you," Sam said soothingly. "Cas, can you heal her?"

"My powers are blocked in here," the angel admitted, watching her with sad, tired, guilty blue eyes.

"That's okay," Sam said gently. "We'll get you out of here, Julie. You'll be okay."

"Dean," Julie choked out suddenly, eyes wide.

"He's okay," Sam assured her. "Crowley's with him, they're going to go take care of the bastards who did this to you."

"No," Julie said, panicked. "No, he can't!"

"Julie, he's got to use the Blade. I don't want him to use it any more than you do, but-"

"No, you don't understand!" she cried. "While Beelzebub…while they were torturing me, he told me a bit about their plans. They've got plans for Dean, and they want him to use the Blade. They _want _him to, Sam!"

"What?" Sam said in a low, cold voice, turning to face Cas. He looked as surprised and concerned as the two of them.

"We've got to stop him!" Julie said weakly.

"Let's go," Sam said darkly, carefully picking Julie up and cradling her in his arms. Moving carefully so as not to hurt her further, the three of them set off to find Dean before it was too late.

* * *

Dean knew something was wrong. For one thing, he hadn't run into a single demon in this entire prison. It was deserted, and that should have been a sign to him that he should stop and think. But he couldn't. All he could think of was how these demons had made Julie scream, how they had done that to her for a decade in hell. They could not be allowed to live after that.

He and Crowley ran through the winding hallways of the prison until finally they came across a large room with the doors flung wide open. That should have been another warning sign. They wanted him to come in, but Dean didn't care. They wanted him to kill them? Fine, he'd be glad to.

Dean barged into the room and found himself glaring at Beelzebub and Asmodeus. They had been waiting for him, and that should have been the final sign. He should have fled then, but he didn't. The Mark of Cain on his arm was like a magnet, dragging him towards these despicable demons, and the First Blade, only a couple feet away in Crowley's arms, was calling out for him to take it up once more.

"You got free, Dean?" Beelzebub smirked. "I'm impressed. Sam must have come with Crowley here to rescue you, then. I guess I'll have to kill him too, now."

"You go near my brother and I'll kill you," Dean snarled. "Actually, I'm going to kill you regardless."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Asmodeus smirked. "Nothing's changed, Winchester. You're still powerless against us."

"Not exactly," Dean smirked, and without another word, he turned and yanked the bundle out of Crowley's arms. He threw the cloth to the side and found himself holding the First Blade for the first time in over a year.

And it was like he was coming back to life. New energy and strength poured through his veins, and his heartbeat thudded in his ears, a pounding drum driving him forward. The Mark of Cain was no longer burning—it was at peace now, reunited with the Blade.

And for the first time in over a year, he felt so damn good.

Dean raised his eyes and saw two Knights of Hell before him. He relived Beelzebub beating him, watched that demon kill the woman he loved. He imagined them carving her up in hell like Alastair once had to him, and he heard Julie's agonized screams all over again.

They deserved to die. They were despicable. He was going to murder these sons of bitches, and he was going to enjoy it.

Asmodeus smirked. "What do you know, Beelzebub? It worked."

"Not quite," the king of the Knights murmured. "For it to be complete, he's got to kill."

And before Dean, Crowley, or even Asmodeus could understand what was going on, Beelzebub suddenly whipped out his blade, the one that had killed Julie, and stabbed his brother through the chest. "I am truly sorry, brother," the demon said calmly. "Out of our siblings, I always hated you and Behemoth the least."

Then he pulled the blade out of Asmodeus and vanished.

The Knight of Hell staggered to the side, stunned and weak. Dean knew that should have been warning enough. Beelzebub had just attacked his brother so that Dean would kill him. If that wasn't obvious enough that he shouldn't use the Blade, nothing was.

But it didn't matter. Asmodeus had made Julie sob and scream and bleed. He had tortured her, and he had tortured countless others, and Dean was going to make him pay.

And before the Knight of Hell could recover, Dean lunged forward and drove the First Blade into Asmodeus's heart.

The demon wailed, fiery light bursting out of his eyes and mouth, and then he suddenly went limp. In the silence after the kill, Dean heard a familiar voice cry, "Dean, _no_!"

Dean threw the dead Knight to the floor and turned around. There was Crowley, watching him with an unreadable expression. Castiel stood in the doorway, looking grave. And there was Sam, holding a weak, bloody, beaten Julie in his arms. Both of them were staring at him, horrified.

"Dean, no…" Julie whispered, echoing Sam's words.

Dean stared at them, not comprehending. "Put the Blade down," Sam said as gently as he could.

Dean tried, but he couldn't. It felt so good, so _right _in his hands…what were they upset about, anyway? He had killed a Knight. Only five more! They should be grateful!

"Dean, it's over," Julie whispered. "Put it down."

He wanted to. He really did, if it would make her happy. But his hand wouldn't move. Dean realized he was trembling, and yet he couldn't make his hand release the First Blade.

"Dean?" Cas asked gently. "It's okay. You can let it go now."

"It's over," Sam said softly. "Dean, please."

And finally, agonizingly, Dean dropped the Blade. It hit the ground and the thud echoed through the room. Dean slowly sank to his knees, and Julie watched him, tears in her eyes. She wanted to go to him, but she couldn't even stand on her own.

Sam and Cas exchanged worried glances. What should have been a victory, the death of a Knight of Hell, was clearly not what they had hoped. For some reason, Beelzebub had wanted this, and if he wanted something to happen, it couldn't be good.

Sam, Cas, and Julie watched Dean with worried looks as he slowly realized what had just happened. Then he looked up at them, wearing the same concerned expression they all wore.

Except for Crowley. While the four of them fretted over what this turn of events would mean for them and for Dean, Crowley stood in the corner, smiling.

Everything was going according to plan.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

"Mr. Hansen?" the nurse asked gently.

Sam lifted his head. He had been about to nod off again, even though the chairs in this waiting area were far too small for him. Sam quickly stood up and grabbed his cup of coffee. "Yes?" he asked the nurse, a heavy, middle-aged woman.

"Ms. Sanders is awake now, and I couldn't find either of your friends, so I figured I should let you know. Would you like to see her?" she asked kindly.

"Yeah," Sam said quickly, and the kindly nurse led him to the room. She assured him that "Ms. Sanders" was doing much better before leaving him alone to talk with her.

"Hey, Sam," the woman lying on the hospital bed said as he shut the door behind him. Sam turned to get a better look at her. Julie Carters looked a lot better than the bloody, beaten woman he had brought into the hospital several hours ago, but she was still pale and weak. There were a few stitches on her face and arms, and she had an IV in her wrist. She looked small and frail in that hospital gown, her blond curls wild around her pale face. Still, she managed to smile at him.

"Hey," Sam said gently, coming to sit in the chair next to her bed. "How are you?"

"I've been better," she admitted. "I've also been a lot worse."

Sam sighed. "Look, Julie, I'm so-"

"Don't start, Sam," she said firmly. "We're not going to talk about what happened, okay? We're going to talk about normal people things like…well, like normal people."

"Got an example?" Sam smirked.

"Like…how did things go with Leah?" Julie asked, blue eyes curious.

"Ah, yes, because stopping a ghost from killing a woman is something normal people do."

"Shut up," Julie muttered, and he knew she would punch his shoulder if she wasn't still weak from what she had endured yesterday at the hands of the Knights of Hell. "I meant with the two of you."

"I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Oh, come on, Sam! I like to think I know you pretty well, and you were almost as into her as she was into you." Sam glanced down, but he was smirking. "So? Did anything happen after you heroically swooped in and saved the girl?"

"Maybe," he said, smirking slightly.

"Look at you!" she laughed. "Sam finally got some action!"

"Finally?" he repeated. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you haven't gotten laid in months," she pointed out.

"Yeah, well, we've been a little busy, and I don't live with someone I can just bang whenever I want, unlike _some _people."

Neither wanted to admit it, but part of the reason he hadn't been sleeping around was her. Julie knew what it meant if Sam had started sleeping with other women again. He had moved on, and she was glad he had.

"I wish I hadn't," Sam muttered suddenly, surprising Julie.

"Was she really that bad?"

"What? No, she was…" Sam laughed awkwardly. "I just meant…if I hadn't been…_distracted_, I would have noticed you two were missing way before. Maybe I could have gotten there before you got hurt or Dean…"

"Don't put that on yourself," Julie said sharply. "It's not your fault, Sam. There's probably nothing you could have done, nothing anything of us could have done to change what happened. The point is…we've just got to figure out how to deal with what happened."

There was a brief silence. "How is he?" Julie asked softly.

"I don't know," Sam admitted. "He won't talk to me. He won't talk to anybody, really. He and Cas went somewhere to talk, I suppose, but I don't know where."

"Does he seem…different?" Julie asked carefully, afraid of the answer.

"Not yet." Sam swallowed and looked down at his shoes. "It didn't…he didn't start to change for a while. He fought it before, and I'm sure he will this time. I just…"

"I know," Julie said softly when Sam couldn't finish his thought. She moved her arm, the one without the IV, so she could rest her hand on Sam's knee. "He's gonna be okay. He knew this was coming, and he's been getting ready. And we'll help him. He won't be alone."

Sam nodded a couple times. He took a long sip of coffee and then sighed. "You're right. We'll take care of him." His eyes lifted to meet Julie's. "What about you? Are you going to be alright?"

"What do you mean?" she said carefully.

"I mean about your nightmares."

Julie blinked. "I don't-"

"You've been able to hide them from Dean somehow, but believe me, I've noticed," Sam said knowingly. "And I imagine they'll just get worse after what happened." Julie looked down at the sheets, unable to deny what he was saying. Sam put his hand over Julie's on his leg and said earnestly, "Julie, I remember what that was like. In fact, I was worse than you. I had hallucinations of Lucifer all of the time, and it got to the point where I started going crazy and my body basically started dying on me. But I got through it, with a lot of help, and I want to help you."

"It's really not that bad, Sam," she protested weakly. "I don't want to worry you or Dean any more than I have to."

"You can't hide things from us to try to protect us, Julie."

"That's literally all you guys do!" she pointed out.

"And how well did that work out for us?"

Julie sighed. "Fine. I'll talk about it with you or whatever else you want me to do, but please…don't tell Dean. The last thing he needs is another thing to worry about."

"You should tell him," Sam said gently. "He'll want to know. He would want to help you."

"He's got enough problems," Julie said. "Besides, I'll be okay. I'll get used to it. You two both did."

Sam sighed and shook his head. "You know, Julie…sometimes it scares me how well you fit in with us."

"I know," Julie said softly, rubbing her thumb across the back of Sam's hand. And Sam sat and talked with her for an hour until she was finally able to drift off.

* * *

The next time Julie woke up, she was feeling significantly better. A nurse brought her a meal, and Castiel came in and talked to her for a few minutes. He told her that Dean seemed to be holding things together well, and that Dean had given the Blade to Cas for safe-keeping. Sam came in, and the three of them discussed this new issue of Metatron and his rebel angles joining the demons. It seemed that the threat only seemed to be growing.

They all carefully avoided the subject of Dean and the plans the Knights had for him. And as much as Julie wanted to ask about where Dean was and why he wasn't in here with her, she restrained herself. Eventually, a nurse came in and asked Cas and Sam to let her sleep. Julie didn't want to sleep, but pretty soon, she couldn't even keep her eyes open anymore.

When Julie woke up, he was there.

He was sitting in the chair next to her bed, his head in his hands. He looked up when Julie pushed herself into a sitting position, and his green eyes met hers.

"Hey," Julie said carefully after a long moment.

"Jules, I…" Dean didn't know how to finish that sentence. I'm sorry? I should have been able to save you? I should never have let that happen?

"Come here," she ordered, and he moved his chair closer. They had taken Julie off the IV, so she was able to put her arms around Dean and rest her head on his shoulder. Dean gave in and hugged her back, and Julie closed her eyes when his solid arms went around her.

"I'm sorry," Dean said after a long time.

Julie pulled away. "No, you're not."

"Um, I'm pretty sure I'd know if I was sorry."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for. It was not your fault that the Knights found us, or that Metatron is back, or that they tortured me…absolutely none of that is your fault, so don't you try to take the blame."

Dean sighed. "God, you take the fun out of everything."

Julie smirked, and he gave her a small smile. "How are you feeling?" Julie asked him after a while, taking his hand and putting it in her lap. As he spoke, she played absently with his fingers and ended up holding his hand.

"I don't know," Dean sighed. "Not as bad as I expected. But I usually feel pretty good right after I kill someone."

Julie twisted the ring on his finger, focusing on his hand and not the Mark burned into his skin or the darkness the First Blade had put in him again. "Not really some_one_," she muttered. "Asmodeus was a monster, and he deserved to die."

"Hey, I'm not arguing with you," Dean said. "But…Cas tells me…Beelzebub told you he _wanted _me to start using the Blade again?"

"Well…" Julie sighed. "He said they've got…_plans _for you, whatever that means. And they all started with you taking up the First Blade again. Look, I don't know what he meant, and he may have just been messing with me. I don't know. But it doesn't really matter. What matters is, we're all okay. Right?"

"Right." Dean brushed the hair out of Julie's face with his free hand and she closed her eyes. His touch was still so gentle and caring, not rough or violent like she had been fearing. He was still him. "The nurses say you should be able to leave tomorrow. They don't know how you could possibly have healed so quickly. Of course, they don't know about the angel that's been healing you whenever they're not looking."

"I didn't, either," Julie admitted. "I guess that would explain how my leg is miraculously not broken." Dean smirked. "You have the best friends, you know that?" Julie said fondly.

"I'd be dead without them," Dean admitted.

They talked for a while about simple, ordinary things, watching the crappy daytime television playing in Julie's room. Eventually, Dean drifted off in his chair, and Julie turned the television off. She watched him sleep until she too drifted off.

* * *

The next day, she was released from the hospital. Sam had gotten her fresh clothes from the Impala, and she got dressed in a navy blue button-down shirt and dark jeans, finally feeling like her old self. Cas had left yesterday to go help his followers regroup and figure out how to deal with Metatron's betrayal, so Sam, Dean, and Julie set out for the bunker, just the three of them. Things would have felt almost normal, if not for the First Blade, wrapped in a cloth again, in the backseat with Julie.

However, they didn't even make it halfway to the bunker before Sam got a call from a fellow hunter. There was a vampire case, and a pretty serious one, in Colorado. There was a nest that had supposedly gone dormant a few years back, and they were killing again. However, the hunter, a guy named Howie Clark was a lone hunter, and there were about ten vampires in the nest. He knew he was in over his head, so he passed the case along to the Winchester's.

The case was only four or five hours out of their way, and Sam and Dean knew they should take it. But there was Julie in the backseat, still not fully recovered from the ordeal with the Knights.

Julie wasn't going to let them ignore a case like this just because of her, and so she insisted they take it. Both Sam and Dean knew better than to try to argue with Julie on something like this, and so the three hunters set out for Colorado for yet another case.

It was a pretty serious case, from the sound of it. This nest of vampires was pretty old and dangerous. They'd been around for at least a century, and several hunters had tried to kill them before, and lost their lives. Every time they killed a hunter, they vanished and didn't resurface for another couple of years, making it difficult for a group of hunters to just go in there and clean them out. However, three completely unrelated humans had gone missing in the past couple of days in a place where this particular nest had resided several years ago, and Howie was pretty certain it was this infamous nest of vamps.

Julie and Sam especially seemed uneasy about this case. If it really was this dangerous nest, they might be biting off a little more than they could chew. But Dean was surprisingly eager to be on another hunt so soon after taking up the First Blade. Julie wasn't sure what to think of that. The Blade would push him to kill more often and more brutally, from what Sam had told her, but as long as he was killing monsters, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

By the time the hunters rolled into town, it was pretty late. It was already dark out, and they knew better than to try and fight vampires at night, when their vision and senses were heightened. So Dean drove over to a cheap diner, and the three of them stuffed themselves with greasy burgers and over-salted fries, talking and laughing like they hadn't in a while. They hung out at the diner for a couple of hours before finding a motel, on the nicer end of their scale. There were a couple good movies playing on the television, and so Sam, Dean, and Julie settled down on the bed in Dean and Julie's room and watched TV together, letting Dean flip back and forth between movies when one got boring. He practically had them both memorized anyway.

Sam and Julie joked and talked like they hadn't in months, not since he started to develop a crush on her. And Julie had to admit, despite the threat of the Knights always hanging in the air and the dangerous vampires they would soon be fighting and the evil that would soon be taking over the man she loved...she felt good. It was good to hang out with Sam, laughing and teasing Dean and brushing casually against Sam like they used to, and to not have to worry about what thoughts might be going through Sam's head, or to have to focus on controlling her emotions.

She realized she had missed Sam. Not in the same way she had missed Dean, a desperate need to be with him again or she knew she couldn't carry on. But she had missed his smile and his sense of humor and his laugh, rather rare, but warm and genuine.

She had missed this. Just her and her boys, hanging out, making fun of Dean's lack of manners and kissing him until he quit pouting, and Sam being able to laugh about it instead of sitting there watching them jealously. Once it got late and the three of them began to have a hard time keeping their eyes open, Julie hugged Sam for a long moment, and he hugged her back.

"I know I say this a lot, but I am so damn glad you're back," Sam muttered as they pulled away.

Julie smiled at him. Then a mischievous glint came into her eyes. "I missed you too, Sammy."

His eyebrows shot up. "Well, goodnight then, Juliet," he shot back

She shot him an annoyed look, and he shrugged. "Alright, I guess I deserved that," Julie admitted. "'Night, Sam!"

He nodded at her and closed the door connecting their adjoining rooms. Julie sighed and changed from everyday clothes into a camisole and pajama shorts. Dean pulled off his shirt and barely changed from jeans into sweatpants before he was out like a light. Julie smiled fondly at him as she settled into bed next to him. She absently stroked his arm, but caught herself as her fingers brushed dangerously close to the inflamed skin on his forearm.

She could go through a day like that, having fun with Sam and Dean, and she could almost believe it was the good old days again. But things were different now. She had no idea how Dean was actually doing—for all she knew, he could already be halfway down the path that would make him the near-demonic shell of himself Sam and Cas had been forced to leave.

Immediately, Julie pushed those dark thoughts away and tried to sleep. She was still pretty tired, her body still recovering from her ordeal with Asmodeus and Beelzebub. But her mind was not doing a very good job of recovering...

* * *

"_I've got plans for lover boy, you know," Beelzebub said calmly, wiping her blood off of his knife. "Very big plans. It's really the only reason he's still alive, a dangerous man like him. I'm going to use him."_

"_You stay away from him," Julie said. She meant to snarl defiantly at the demon, but her voice broke on "away," and Asmodeus smirked._

"_Oh, I think we'll do whatever we want to pretty boy, and his brother, once he gets stupid enough to try and save the day," Asmodeus chuckled. "If it's any consolation, I think we'll give your angel buddy to Metatron. I mean, these angels are pretty savage and all, but nobody knows torture like us. Right, sweetheart?"_

"_Bite me," she spat, and this time she was able to keep her voice steady._

"_I've got a better idea," Beelzebub said, and without warning, he drove a burning hot poker into her already broken leg._

_Julie screamed, high and tortured. She had been trying so hard to keep from crying out, knowing that her screams would be their own form of torture for Dean out there, but these demons knew what they were doing. Not only were they the masters of torture, but they had kept Julie in hell for ten years..._experimenting. _They knew exactly what would make her scream or sob, what would hurt her the most, what would get the most pathetic noises out of her…_

"_Why?" Julie choked out, hoping to distract them for a while so they would give her a couple minutes reprieve before they continued._

"_You're going to have to specify, my dear," Beelzebub sighed dramatically._

"_Why_ him_? Why us? Why do you have to torture us, why do you have plans for Dean specifically? What did we ever do to you?"_

"_Besides kill countless demons we tortured and created ourselves, kill our sister, and possess the only thing that could kill one of us?" Asmodeus snapped._

"_To be fair, we didn't even like Abbadon," Beelzebub corrected his brother. "But then again, I don't really like anyone. I guess that's the answer, Juliet. I was created by my lord Lucifer to kill, pillage, rape, torture, destroy…the whole shebang. It's my nature, darling. And when I find people who I know will try to stand against me, people who will bend so ridiculously far before they break…well, I have to at least try to see if I can get them to snap."_

_Julie would shake her head in disgust at him if she weren't so weak. The Knight knelt in front of her and brushed some blood off of her cheek. Julie hated that it was true, but his touch was as familiar as Dean's to her. Maybe even more so._

"_Besides…seeing people as sweet and gentle and good as you, my dear…I always find it so entertaining." He smirked. "People who spend their whole lives trying to be good, to be heroes…those are the people who end up making the best demons."_

_Julie blinked. Beelzebub stood up. "I mean, take me for example! I was an upstanding man. I was courteous, just, hard-working, honest, kind…I had a wife and a daughter I loved so very dearly…" The demon shuddered. "It was quite disgusting. But I thought I was happy. And then my wife and child died of a plague. I was heartbroken, so filled with pain that I was ready for life to end. And then my lord appeared, and he offered to take away all the pain…"_

_Beelzebub smiled peacefully. "You have no idea, Juliet, how hard and painful and _insignificant_ human life is until you've moved on. Every time I threaten your Dean, or whenever I torture you…that pain you feel? It all goes away. You don't feel guilt or pain or worry…you can be yourself, who you truly are. No pretenses. No false hopes or attempting to do good and failing. You can do whatever you want to whoever you want. I must tell you, darling, it's quite a wonderful feeling."_

"_You're despicable," Julie snarled. "You try to justify what you do by saying that it makes you _feel good?"

"_Oh, no," the king of the Knights chuckled. "I don't have to justify what I do. It's great. And I know you'd enjoy it, Juliet. That pain you felt when Daddy died, or when Dean sent you away to 'keep you safe'…it doesn't hurt anymore, love."_

_Julie would never admit it, but she would love a life where she felt no pain. But she would never, _ever _become a demon._

"_You know who else would make an excellent demon?" Beelzebub smirked. "I'll let you guess. He's another one of those people who tries so hard to be good, always trying to save people and be the hero. But he always seems to fail, doesn't he? He's got so much guilt and so much grief and so much pain that he carries with him all the time. And he's got an evil in him, too, and it's just going to grow. I'd be doing your Dean a kindness if I took away all his pain and let him be who he truly is."_

"_No," Julie growled. "He'd never become one of you. He's far too good for you to ever do that to him."_

_Beelzebub laughed. "Juliet, darling, how blind are you? The man's already dangerously dark, with no help from us. And a few years back, he went to hell, too, or hasn't he told you? And he gave in after just thirty years, and that wasn't even to a true master like Lucifer or Asmodeus or me, of course. Sweetheart, I know it hurts, but you have to understand...that man you love…he's halfway to becoming a demon already. And believe me, he'd be happier as one."_

"_No," Julie whispered. "No, he would never…he would never do that…"_

_All of the sudden, the demons were cutting into her again, and her blood was flowing, and she was screaming, and she was staring at Dean's handsome face, but then his green eyes flashed black-_

"Jules, honey!"

Julie's eyes flew wide open and she found herself staring up at Dean. For a moment, she could swear his eyes really were black, but then he moved closer to her, concerned, and she saw his eyes, their familiar green, in the moonlight.

"Julie, what's wrong?" Dean asked gently, and she realized that her face was wet with tears and she was hopelessly tangled in the bed sheets from thrashing around.

"I just…" She sat up shakily, trying to wipe away the tears.

Dean softened. "C'mere," he sighed, getting out of bed and half-guiding, half-carrying her out of bed. He walked her over to the sink and she washed her face and splashed some water on her neck. She watched the water run over her hands, cool and clear, until she was finally calm again.

Julie turned around and found Dean studying her. "How long?" he sighed.

"What?"

"How long have you been having the nightmares?" he said carefully.

"Dean, I…" Julie stopped. There was no point in lying to him. "Since…since I got back."

Dean sighed again. "I figured."

"How did you know?" she asked slowly.

"Jules, I went to hell too," he said, looking about a hundred years old. "I remember what it was like when I first got back. What it's still like, every once in a while."

Julie decided not to tell Dean that this nightmare hadn't been from hell, but instead a memory from only a few days ago. "How…how do you deal with them?" she asked him softly.

"Whiskey," Dean muttered. "Working a case. Not sleeping." He looked up and met her eyes. "You."

Julie stepped into Dean's waiting embrace and rested her head on his chest. "I'm so-" she started to apologize.

"If you even try to apologize for having nightmares about the ten years of hell you went through to save me, I _will _lose it," he warned her.

They were both silent for a moment. "I'm sorry," she said firmly, and he sighed.

"Yeah, me too," he muttered after a couple of seconds.

The two of them slipped back into bed, but neither felt much like sleeping. "Talk to me," Julie said.

"About what?" Dean asked, rubbing his thumb across her shoulder.

"Anything," she said. "Something happy, or funny. No more nightmares of hell stuff."

"Okay," Dean shrugged. "I did a case here, once."

"Really?" Julie asked, intrigued.

"Yeah. It was a while ago, and some ghost was haunting that abandoned factory we passed on the way in."

Julie settled in against Dean's chest, absently tracing her fingers along his arm as he spoke. "Well, it technically wasn't abandoned yet. People were still working there, but conditions were so shitty they probably shouldn't have been. Some fifteen-year-old kid got killed in an accident working there, when he technically shouldn't have been allowed to work there at all, and he started haunting the place. Killed a couple of his bosses before I rolled into town and saved the day."

"Look at you," Julie smirked. "Did they shut the place down then, after all those deaths?"

Dean snorted. "No, that place stayed open for six more years before someone finally pointed out all the health codes and laws they were breaking and they got shut down."

"Six years?" she repeated. "But that place looks like it's been out of commission for years!"

"Yeah, it has. That must have been…wow. Summer of '04, I think."

"You're kidding," Julie said. "So you were…what? Twenty-four?"

"Twenty-five, actually," he replied.

"And Sam must have been twenty-one then," she realized. "Bet you gave him quite the night when he finally could legally drink."

"Once it's legal, it takes all the fun out of it," Dean smirked. "And actually… Sammy was at Stanford then. It was just me."

"Oh. Right." Julie squeezed his hand apologetically, wanting to kick herself for bringing up that touchy subject. Even now, fourteen years after the fact, Sam abandoning his older brother for a different life still hurt. And they had been having fun, too…

"Wonder what you were like at twenty-five," Julie smirked, changing the subject. "What do you think? Would I still have liked you?"

"Well, for one thing, you would have been seventeen," Dean pointed out. "You would have still been in high school." He pinched her cheek teasingly. "Damn. You're practically a baby."

"That's not what you were saying a few nights ago," she smirked, and that shut him up. "Anyway, ignoring the age gap. Would I have still fallen for you at twenty-five?"

"No," Dean said without hesitating. "Believe me, you would have hated me. I was a screwed up borderline alcoholic-"

"God knows how I can't stand _them_-"

"And I was a pig if I do say so myself," he finished. "I wouldn't have fallen for you, because back then…I'm not even sure I knew how to love. Believe me, Jules, I was very much the different girl every night type of guy. You would have hated me."

"But if we had met a few years later, when I went through my rebellious, slutty phase, we would have been great," Julie smirked, trying not to imagine a world where she had fallen for Dean and slept with him and he had been gone in the morning instead of by her side, looking at her with love in his eyes.

"Still wouldn't have fallen in love," Dean pointed out. "But that would have been some damn good sex."

"Can't argue with that." Julie stopped to think for a moment. "I wonder what it would have been like if we had met a lot earlier."

"I think…you would have saved me from a lot of messes," Dean admitted. "You probably still would have died though, going off my track record."

And suddenly it wasn't fun anymore. Julie sighed and stroked the side of Dean's face. "I wouldn't have cared," she whispered. "I would still love you."

"I love you too, kiddo," he smirked, and she shot him a dangerous look.

"Got it. No more kiddo. I thought we were still going off the age gap."

"Well then, I think it's a bit past your bedtime, Gramps."

Dean chuckled and kissed Julie. She kissed him back, a lot more passionately than he was expecting. She held his face in her hands even after she pulled away, as if she was afraid to let him go.

"I love you," she murmured.

Dean pulled her closer to him with one arm, tucking the covers in around her with the other. He stroked her blond curls until Julie slowly relaxed and drifted off into a nightmare-free sleep.

So, maybe she didn't need whiskey, or to always be working a case, or to just refuse to sleep. Julie would be okay. She had him.

* * *

The next morning, Dean and Julie showered and got dressed before joining Sam in his room. They entered the room just as he hung up the phone, smiling slightly.

"Who was that?" Dean asked as he grabbed a bagel out of the bag Sam had bought and ate half the thing in one bite.

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother's horrific table manners. "Um…that was Leah. The girl we helped."

"Why was she calling?" Dean asked with him mouth full. "Everything okay back there? You did gank the ghost, right?"

"I—yeah," Sam sighed. "I think she was calling for more…personal reasons."

Dean's eyebrows shot up. Then he chuckled. "Look at Sammy, back in the game! Jules, I owe you ten bucks."

"Already took it," she said coolly, taking a bagel and settling on the end of Sam's bed. "What did Leah want?"

"To make sure we were all alright," Sam shrugged. "I spared her the gory details and just said you two were with me and you were okay."

"So does she know about hunting now, then?" Dean guessed.

"Yeah, and she was pretty chill about it. She didn't seem to have any plans after college, and it's her senior year, so…I think we may have accidentally created another hunter." Sam smirked almost proudly.

"You know, maybe she could hunt with us for a while, if she does become a hunter," Julie said. "Bet you two would have loads of fun."

"Ooh, and could we go on double dates and everything?" Dean said in mock-excitement. They both shot him looks, and he grinned, always able to amuse himself, if no one else. "Sorry. No, she seemed pretty cool. Hot, too. Nice job, Sammy. She could come by anytime she wanted."

"Thanks, guys, but…" Sam sighed. "Right now, we should focus on the Knights. I'm not really interested in bringing her into our lives if it's just going to get her killed. She stays out, she stays safe. Maybe, if we survive all this…maybe then we could visit her again or something. But until then…"

"I get it," Dean said. "I know what it's like, wanting to protect someone you love from all this."

For a moment, there was a beat of silence. "Well, boys, we have a nest of vamps to kill, unless anyone has any objections," Julie said finally, to break the tense silence.

Neither of them did, so the three of them loaded into the Impala. They drove through town, checking out any abandoned buildings or barns where vampires might be likely to settle down. After they had killed a hunter here about thirteen years ago, a couple of his friends had come seeking vengeance, and when they realized the vampires were gone, they burned their old nest. So, if the vampires were even here, they could be anywhere.

It was getting close to noon, and all three of them were miserable and frustrated, when Dean suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"The factory!" he cried suddenly, slamming on the brakes as they passed it for the third time that morning.

Sam groaned, having smacked his head on the roof of the car. "What about it?"

"It's abandoned, isn't it? We haven't checked there, though."

And so the three hunters parked a safe distance away from the deserted factory and crept up to the back door. Dean made quick work of the cheap padlock on the door, and they crept silently through the dark halls of the factory until they came to a room where the workers had once assembled goods on the conveyor belts. The conveyor belts were still there in the room, but there were still and rusty. There were some other, newer things in the room as well.

Stretched between a few conveyor belts were four or five hammocks. Sleeping bodies were sprawled inside them, and Dean couldn't make out much more than a couple limbs dangling out of the hammocks. Over in the corner of the room, though, there was another body, one that made his stomach lurch. The man was obviously dead, his head half-disconnected from his body. His skin was even paler than a corpse's, and there was so little blood for such a gruesome wound he must have been sucked dry.

"That's one of the missing men," Sam whispered.

"Great," Dean hissed back. "Well, we found the nest. But where are the rest of them? Aren't there supposed to be like-?"

"Get down!" Julie suddenly hissed before shoving both brothers into a maintenance closet. The three of them squeezed inside just as footsteps rounded the corner.

"…Bit risky to come back to a town we've already hit, Morgan," a man's low, gruff voice grumbled.

"It's been thirteen years, Horace," a woman's voice snapped, surprisingly low and cold for a woman. "And honestly, I don't quite care if some idiot hunters find us and try to take us out. I want revenge for Millie and Logan."

"Look, I'm sorry your brother and his mate got caught, Morgan, but they were being _stupid_," a third voice snapped. He sounded younger than the other too, not much older than a teenager. "You can't kill someone and then leave a witness. It just makes it that much easier to get caught. You'd think we've been around a couple weeks and not centuries."

"You're not even two-hundred, Joe," the woman, Morgan snapped. "So don't talk down about my brother or Millie."

Both men sighed. Julie was so tense she thought she might snap. They had stopped walking and were standing maybe three feet away. If it weren't for the awful stench of this place, they would have detected three beating hearts, three bodies full of blood already.

"But he's got a point," the older man sighed. "That last hunter we killed here…he had a partner, remember? That guy got out, and we learned long ago survivors tend to come back to bite you in the ass."

"He's come up in the system a couple times since then," the young man added. "Carters, Jasper Carters, I think it was." It took everything in Julie not to cry out as she realized what they were talking about. If she so much as gasped, though, they'd be dead. "He's been killing quite a few of our kind the past decade or so."

"Oh, don't tell me you're scared," Morgan smirked. "Joey, we've had this system for a couple centuries, and we've survived long after they're all dead. One vengeful brother is not going to be enough to wipe _us _out."

The other male vampire, Horace, chuckled, and their voices and footsteps faded away. "Come on," Sam whispered, forcing Dean and Julie out of the closet. The two brother took off, half-dragging Julie back to the car, since she seemed to be in some state of shock. But as they finally reached the Impala and safety, Julie suddenly threw them off and turned to go back.

"Julie, what the hell are you doing?" Sam cried, grabbing her arm. "We're not ready to take on that many vamps, especially ones who know how to survive like those do. They've been around _centuries_, Julie. We can't just march in there and kill them right now. They'll eat us alive."

"You think I _care_?" Julie snarled, and both brothers were surprised by the intensity and anger in her voice. "Did you hear them?!"

"Yeah, they mentioned Jasper," Dean shrugged. "So what? They didn't know about you."

"No," Julie said in an oddly choked voice, and she suddenly looked near tears. "Didn't you _hear _them? That hunter they killed thirteen years ago had a partner who survived, and that was Jasper. '_A vengeful brother'_?" she cried, and Sam's stomach dropped out of him as he finally realized what she meant, and what those vampires had been admitting to without even realizing.

"Oh, Julie…" he said weakly, wishing he could help her, but knowing he couldn't.

Julie stared at them with tears in her eyes and said slowly, "Those are the vampires that murdered my father."


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

**Thirteen Years Earlier…**

"Juliet?"

Juliet Carters looked up, excited, as the front door of Jasper's house opened. She and her cousin, Taylor, had been staying there alone for about a week until their dads returned from a hunt. And that must mean…

"Dad!" she yelled, practically running into the other room. And there he was in the doorway, tall and lean, wearing faded jeans and a battered hunting jacket. Thomas Carters grinned when he saw her and opened his arms.

Juliet hugged her father tightly. She remembered that in her younger days, whenever her father returned from a hunt, she would leap into his arms, squealing. She was a bit old for that now. Fifteen years old, and he _still _wouldn't let her hunt! He had taught her how to fire all sorts of guns, all the tricks to protect yourself from all different kinds of monsters, and she was proving to be an excellent fighter herself, tough and smart and quick. But Thomas did not want his daughter getting any more involved in the life he led than she had to.

Thomas pulled away from his beloved daughter and tousled her long blond hair. She wore it down nearly to her elbows in long golden curls. She had a pretty, fresh face, big blue eyes, and she had already developed the body of a young woman. One of his biggest fears while he was away, besides the fact that a monster could come and try to hurt her, is that a young man would try to do the same to his beautiful daughter.

Juliet smiled up at her father. Despite all he'd been through in his thirty-five years, Thomas still looked relatively young and handsome. He and his older brother both did. They looked similar, with handsome, square-jawed faces, close-cropped, dirty blond hair, the same slight wrinkles in-between their eyebrows from furrowing their brows, but also the same laugh lines around their eyes. "How'd it go, Dad?" she asked. "I'm assuming you won and all…"

"Oh, hell yeah, we did!" another voice chuckled, and her uncle, Jasper stepped into the house behind Thomas. His had more stubble than Jasper, and there were deeper lines in his face, but he too was handsome in a rugged sort of way. He tried to tousle Juliet's curls as well, but she dodged away and shot him a look, causing him to grin.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't swear in front of my daughter," Thomas sighed.

"I don't give a damn about it, Dad," Juliet said sweetly with an innocent smile up at them.

Jasper laughed and gave the girl a one-armed hug. "Oh, I missed you, Juliet. Now, where is _my _daughter?"

Juliet looked down, slightly ashamed. "She…she went out again. With that Derek guy. I tried to tell her not to, but she wouldn't listen to me."

"Of course she wouldn't," Jasper sighed, his good mood gone. "Great. Tommy, you just be glad you've got a good girl there."

He stomped off to go hunt down his wild, rebellious daughter. Thomas hugged his daughter again. "I do, don't I?"

Juliet grinned. Then father and daughter put away all of the weapons they had brought on the hunt and settled down for a meal and to catch up. Juliet told her father all about school that week, how she had aced three more tests, and how two more boys had asked her to the homecoming dance in a couple of weeks.

"Are they nice boys?" Thomas asked in-between bits of her sandwich.

"Luke, the junior, he's really sweet," she shrugged. "Paul…well, I probably won't say yes to him. He's a senior, and a jock-type, and I think he's just taking me to try to get laid at the end of the night."

Thomas clenched his fists. It was difficult for him to even hear his sweet young daughter talking like that. "Well, if you do go with him, remind me to whoop his ass when he comes to pick you up. Oh, and one more thing—you're not going with him!"

"Calm down, Dad," she sighed. "I wasn't planning on it. I'm smarter than that."

"I know you are," he replied fondly. Then Juliet asked Thomas all about the hunt, and how they had managed to kill the djinn.

"It was tough," Thomas admitted. "He almost got me under at one point, but Jasper stepped in and saved me. That's the job of big brother's right? Always saving you?"

"And fathers," Juliet added, hugging her him tightly. "Remember last year, when you actually let me go on a hunt for a once, and that ghost tried to drown me? You shot it with rock salt and saved me."

"I couldn't let anything hurt my sweet girl," he sighed, stroking her hair. Then he frowned. "Listen, Juliet…I'm really sorry about this, sweetheart, I truly am. But…Jasper and I already found another case. It's a vampire nest a few hours from here, and they've been pretty active lately. We figured we'd go take them out and be back in time for your homecoming dance, easy."

Juliet frowned. "How long will you be gone?"

"A week tops. Probably not even that long. All we've got to do is find them and do a little beheading and we are out of there."

"And when are you leaving?"

Thomas sighed. "Tomorrow. I'm sorry, sweetie…"

"Don't be!" Juliet insisted. "I have the coolest dad in the world! He runs off to kill vampires and save people's lives, but he'll still be back in time to send me to the homecoming dance. If only he would just take me with him…" she added hopefully.

"Not on this one, Juliet," her father said. "This'll be a tough hunt, and I'm not letting you get hurt, no matter what."

Juliet sighed, but she didn't pout for very long. She only had her father back for a day, anyway. After a couple hours, Jasper returned with Taylor and they yelled at each other for a good ten minutes before calming down. Then the family settled down to talk and watch TV for a few hours.

The next morning Juliet helped Thomas and Jasper get ready for their hunt, while Taylor pouted in a corner, watching. The two brothers loaded up their truck, talking in their usual easy, teasing banter. Jasper hugged both girls goodbye before getting into the driver's seat, because he always insisted on driving everywhere.

Thomas hugged his daughter tightly for a very long time. For some reason, this goodbye was feeling especially hard. Maybe it was because their time together had been so very short. He wished he could stay with his darling daughter forever, but he had a job to do.

"I love you, Juliet," he said quietly, and she smiled, looking near tears for some reason.

Juliet was feeling odd about this goodbye as well. It felt strangely…final. She pushed that dark thought aside and whispered, "I love you too, Dad."

He kissed the top of her head and got into the truck. And the two brothers drove away, waving at their daughter as they disappeared into the distance.

That was the last time Juliet ever saw her father again.

* * *

**Thirteen Years Later…**

"I'm going back in there, and I'm killing those bastards," Julie snarled, pulling her arm free of Sam's grip and stepping towards the abandoned factory.

"Jules, no!" Dean snapped, stepping in front of her. "Look, I know how hard it is to lose a father, believe me. And I remember how much I wanted revenge. But we have no idea how many vamps are in there and what we're up against."

"I don't care!" Julie snapped. "Dean, he was my father! I loved him more than anything, and they murdered him, and you honestly believe I'm going to let them keep breathing for another _minute_ now that I've found them?"

"Julie, just listen to us," Sam said as gently as he could. "I remember when I was in your shoes, ten years ago. We found the yellow-eyed demon that killed my mom and Jessica, and I wanted to charge into a burning house and try to kill it. I knew it was suicide, but I didn't care, because I _needed _revenge. And if Dean hadn't been there to stop me, I would have killed myself trying to get revenge. Is that really what you want?"

"He was the best man in the world, and he was the only parent I had left, and they killed him," she said softly, but now she seemed closer to tears than charging in there to go down fighting.

Dean could swear he could hear his heart breaking seeing Julie like this. She never talked about her dad, or her mom either, but she had been two when Katrina Carters had died, so she didn't really remember her well. Her father, on the other hand, had raised her until she was fifteen, and the thought of his death was so painful she never talked about it.

The death of John Winchester had messed Dean up a lot, but for different reasons. He had loved his father, despite the hell of a life he had put him through. But it wasn't just the loss of his father that had screwed Dean up. He had been twenty-six, an adult who had been living and hunting without John for a year, and he knew he didn't need his father anymore. It was the knowledge that John had sold his soul to save Dean and had essentially died and gone to hell to bring him back from the dead. And Dean could not cope with that grief and guilt.

But this was different. Thomas's death hadn't been for Julie, but he had been such a good, kind, loving father, unlike John in many ways, that his death had destroyed her. And now that she had the chance to get revenge, Dean could understand why she would throw all caution to the wind and go in guns blazing.

"Julie, sweetheart, I promise we will get your revenge, okay?" Dean said carefully, looking her in the eye. "But we can't just go charging in there! We've got to think, we've got to plan-"

"What planning?" Julie snapped at him. "We've got weapons, we've got training, we have the advantage during the day. What else could you possibly want, Dean?"

Dean had almost never seen her lose her cool like this. The last time she'd snapped at him like this was when they were fighting about her and Sam and her safety. He had lost her then, and he was not willing to lose her again. So he took a deep breath to keep from snapping back and said carefully, "I want you to calm down. I'm not letting you go in there like this—you'll get yourself killed!"

"So what? I let them walk free?!"

"No," Sam said as calmly as he could. "You just need to get some perspective. If it were any other hunt, you wouldn't go in there and fight a bunch of vamps without a clear head."

"He's right, you know," a woman's cool voice said, and the three hunters whipped around, all arguments forgotten. Because now it didn't matter whether or not Julie was too upset to fight.

The vampires had brought the fight to them.

Sam and Julie drew their machetes, and Dean resisted the urge to pull out the weapon that he was keeping in his jacket. That was a last resort, if nothing else could possibly work, but as eight vampires slowly formed a circle around him and the two people he loved most, Dean had to fight the urge to whip out the First Blade and massacre these vampires.

"Did you really think we couldn't smell you?" the female vampire who had spoken before smirked. Dean recognized her voice as the one who had been talking inside the factory, the one called Morgan. "Thought you were going to sneak around in a building full of vampires and not get caught, little hunters?"

Dean clenched his fists, trying to ignore the way the Mark of Cain was burning, egging him on, urging him to pull out the First Blade. But he knew from experience the more he used it the faster he deteriorated into something that…well, wasn't him.

"You know what? I'm glad you found us," Julie said coldly. "Makes it that much easier to kill you."

"She's cocky, this one," a tall, burly vampire with a ponytail chuckled. He crossed his muscular arms, and they bulged. "What makes you think you can kill us, sweetheart? There's three of you and eight of us. And you're just hunters. You can't win."

"You have no idea who you're up against," Julie snapped.

"Well, obviously the Winchester's," Morgan sighed dramatically, pushing her long, dark hair out of her face to study them with cold, dark eyes. Sam and Dean blinked, surprised that she knew them. "What?" the vampire smirked. "Are you really surprised that we know you? Every monster who's not practically a newborn knows who you boys are. And to think we'll be the ones who get the honor of killing you…"

"Yeah, good luck with that," Sam muttered. "A lot of monsters have tried and failed. What makes you think you're any better than them?"

Morgan glanced around at the seven other vampires with her. "Most of us have been alive for over two-hundred years. You boys are tough and all, but you're babies compared to us. We know how to _survive_, Winchester."

"You know, you wouldn't have to survive like this if you didn't kill," Sam snapped.

"We're vampires!" a young male vampire laughed, and Dean recognized his voice as well as the one belonging to the vampire they had called Joey. "We have to kill to survive!"

"We've met vampires who survive without killing humans, so don't you pretend you don't have a choice," Sam shot back.

"No, he's right," a petite blond vampire laughed. She would seem pretty and innocent if not for the darkness in her eyes and the dried blood around her mouth. "I have to admit…there's something so _fun _about the thrill of the hunt, watching the life fade from a human's eyes, tasting that fresh blood…" She chuckled darkly, and Dean suppressed a shudder at this evil creature before him. He hated vampires, but there was a small part of him that could identify with them after his brief spell as a vampire himself. He remembered those sickening urges to drink and kill, and he could understand why they would just give in to their nature and embrace it.

Sometimes it got hard to fight who, or rather _what_ you were.

The other vampires were chuckling and nodding at what the blond vampire had said. "I have to admit, I don't know who you are," Morgan said, studying Julie.

Dean moved to stand protectively in front of Julie as he often did instinctively, but she shoved past him, eyes fiery with anger. "You want to know who I am? I'm the daughter of Thomas Carters, a good man who you and your nest here murdered thirteen years ago."

Morgan blinked and then laughed. "Oh, that's right! I remember him. He and his brother came in, cocky and tough and all talk, it turns out. Your daddy? He died pitifully. We tore him up pretty bad, and his big brother dragged him out of there so he could bleed out in his arms. I'm sure it was sweet and all. All I really remember was that he was tasty, and I'd bet you are too, my dear."

Julie's fists were shaking with rage. "He was the best man in the world, and you murdered him, and I swear to god, I'll kill you all," she growled.

The vampires chuckled. "I'd like to see you try," a burly vampire laughed, and then they all leapt forward as if commanded.

Julie tried to behead Morgan, but the vampire was fast on her feet. She dodged Julie's swipe and struck her across the face. Julie stumbled backwards straight into a waiting vampire who tried to wrestle her to the ground. Meanwhile, Sam beheaded one vampire before three vampires leapt on him, disarming him, and they descended on Dean's brother.

Dean watched in horror as his girlfriend and brother fell at the hands of the vampires who would kill them without hesitation. And he knew then he had no choice. If he had to choose between losing a bit of his humanity and watching either of them die, he knew what he would pick.

Morgan's head whipped up and she started to step towards the shorter Winchester. But she froze as the man pulled a strange bone knife out of his jacket. She didn't know what it was, but somehow she could sense its power. There was so much strength and power and evil in that weapon, and as she watched, the man's expression changed to something dark and malicious.

For the first time in over a century, Morgan felt fear of a human. She turned to run, but this man was too fast and strong. She barely got three feet away before he caught up to her and with one quick sweep, the vampire was beheaded.

One of the male vampires roared in anger and leapt at Dean. The hunter dodged the vampire's first strike and then slugged him hard in the face. The undead monster, which should have been stronger than any human, stumbled back. Two more scrambled forward to take his place, and Dean made quick work of them.

The remaining four vampires all went at Dean at the same time, leaving Julie and Sam forgotten on the ground. They watched in awe and horror as Dean beheaded the blond vampire in a quick swipe and then easily beheaded the burliest vampire. The remaining two vampires realized they were doomed and tried to run, but Dean caught the larger, burlier one and slammed the hilt of the Blade into his spine, breaking something. The monster screamed in pain and fell, and Dean beheaded the vampire calmly before approaching the final vampire.

The young vampire, Joey, backed away from him, trembling. "Wait, please," he begged. "I didn't want to hurt you…I was never going to…I was just obeying Morgan! Please, you have to believe me!"

Even with all of her hatred of these monsters who had murdered her father, Julie felt a twinge of sympathy for this pathetic monster. "I'm sorry, please!" Joey wailed. "Please, don't-"

His begs were cut off abruptly, along with his head.

For a moment, Dean stood with his back to Sam and Julie. They slowly got to their feet, uncertain what to do, as he stood there, breathing heavily, the bloody First Blade still gripped tightly in his hand. Julie tried not to look at the corpses of eight vampires lying at Dean's feet. As much as she had wanted them dead, this didn't feel like much of a victory. Because that hadn't seemed much like Dean killing them. The cold, unfeeling way he had obliterated these monsters…that had seemed almost monstrous itself.

Julie risked a glance over at Sam and saw the same fear and concern mirrored on his face. So this really was a problem, and she wasn't just imagining it.

Dean turned slowly, and she expected the same scared, confused Dean she had seen the last time he had killed with the Blade. But instead, the man she loved looked remarkably calm and even a little smug. He knelt and wiped the First Blade clean on Joey's jacket before tucking it back into his jacket.

And then he smirked at Julie. "Told you you'd get your revenge, didn't I?"

Julie swallowed, feeling oddly hollow inside. She had thought revenge would make her happy, or at least give her some peace, but she was somehow even more upset now than she had been when those evil vampires had still been alive.

* * *

The Impala pulled up in front of the gates of the Cedar Hill Graveyard in Colorado. Three hunters got out of the car, two men and a women. But instead of the usual salt and gasoline they brought into cemeteries for salt-and-burnings, they carried with them only two bouquets of flowers. White lilies and lavender, the flowers that had made up the bouquet at the wedding of Katrina Mayor and Thomas Carters. Thomas had told Julie that one time, when she was eight, as they went through old photo albums, and she had somehow remembered it for twenty years.

Sam, Dean, and Julie walked through the graveyard in silence until they found the two tombstones, side-by-side. One was white marble and had Katrina Mayor-Carters engraved on it in flowery script. It was beautiful, and expensive, and Helen Mayor, Julie's grandmother, had it made when Katrina died. It said all sorts of things about her being a perfect wife and mother and daughter and upstanding citizen and a woman of good upbringing. Julie absolutely despised the tombstone. She had visited it twice in her life, once with her father, and once after he died, cold and grieving and alone. She and Jasper had made sure that a specific tombstone was put next to it, though, because even in death, they would want to be together.

Thomas Carters' tombstone was just a grey tombstone. It said Thomas Carters and the years he had lived and it stated simply at the bottom: "A good man."

Some people might find that rude or cold or bland. But it wasn't, it was just true. There was nothing more that needed to be said. Thomas Carters had been a good man, the best, and that was all that should have to be said about anyone at the end of their life, if they lived it right. It could say "loving husband, father, brother, and uncle," or "he died too early," or "he was too damn good to die." All of those things were true, but Thomas honestly would just want to be remembered as good.

Julie knelt in front of her parents' tombstones and gently placed the bouquets in front of them. She sat in silence for a while, the chilly wind blowing her hair in her face, but she didn't care. She had wanted to come here for some closure after everything that had happened with the vampires who had killed Thomas, but now she didn't know what to do or say.

She just sat there, feeling empty and sad and alone. Julie was just beginning to regret coming here, when she felt someone kneeling down next to her and turned to see Sam kneeling on her right side. Dean knelt down on her left side and the three of them sat in silence in front of the tombstones were Julie's parents' remains lay. They sat there until they grew numb, and then Julie buried her face in Dean's jacket and pulled Sam into their embrace. For a long time, the three of them held each other, and then without another word, the three hunters got up and walked back to the car.

* * *

Dean toweled off his wet hair and walked into his bedroom. Julie was curled up on the bed with a thick novel in front of her, but her eyes weren't moving across the page. He sighed and stopped on his mission to find a shirt to ask her, "Do you feel any better now?" Now that she had gotten revenge for her father's death and visited his grave. Now that she should theoretically have closure.

"No," Julie said flatly. They'd only been back at the bunker from that traumatic hunt for a few hours, and yet already Dean had cleaned the room, cleaned out his guns and sharpened all his knives, cooked and eaten a huge meal, and showered. She knew he was trying to keep himself busy so he wouldn't have to think about what he'd done, but she honestly needed him right now. It was selfish, but she wanted him to stop for just a moment and actually talk to her.

Dean somehow seemed to sense how she was feeling, and he sat down on the bed next to her, wearing only a battered old pair of jeans. Oh well. He didn't need a shirt to be there for the woman he loved, who was hurting a lot right now.

"I'm sorry," Dean said softly, putting an arm around Julie and pulling her a bit closer to him.

Julie sighed and tossed her novel on the floor. "It's not your fault," she muttered.

"You're right," Dean admitted. "Even _I _can't find a way to blame myself for what happened to your dad. But it shouldn't have happened. Your mother shouldn't have died either. No one should have to go through that."

"You did," Julie pointed out.

"Which is how I know how much it hurts." Dean hesitated. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. I don't know." She bit her lip. "It might help."

"Tell me about them," he said gently.

And so Julie did. She told Dean about her mother, who she could barely remember, but had been a sweet, gentle woman. Mostly, she talked about her beloved father, and how tough and funny he could be, but also how gentle and loving and caring. She recounted stories of him teaching her how to defend herself, about how defensive he got of her around boys, of his wonderful relationship with Jasper and how destroyed the elder brother had been when he lost his little brother.

"Sounds a bit like me and Sammy," Dean admitted.

"Maybe I just like to surround myself with dysfunctional brothers who hunt supernatural creatures and always seem to be getting killed." Julie had meant to say it as a joke, but it came out harshly honest.

"You would've liked him," she said after a long moment. "And he would have liked you. After he got past the whole wanting to kill you for sleeping with his daughter bit."

Dean laughed lightly. She hadn't heard him laugh since before they had found the vampires' nest, and it was such a rare, wonderful sound…

"I wish he could have met you," Julie whispered, leaning into Dean's bare chest.

"Me too, Jules," he sighed, stroking her blond curls. It was a comforting gesture for both of them, one that soothed them no matter the circumstances.

Julie suddenly realized how selfish she was being. Here was Dean, struggling with the Mark of Cain and the First Blade and the new need to kill slowly overtaking him, and yet she was just rambling on about her dead father. Thomas had been dead thirteen years—Dean was struggling _now_.

"Forget about that, though," she said, sitting up straight to look at Dean. "Let's talk about you."

Dean glanced down. "Or we could not," he muttered.

"Look, I'm not complaining about those vampires dying, or about you saving Sam and I, but…Dean, the way you killed them…it just didn't seem-"

"Human?" Dean smirked bitterly. "Yeah, well, you had better get used to that, Julie. I'm not going to be human for much longer. That Blade and the Mark are going to take over me and turn me into a killing machine, and we had better be able to kill all of the Knights before then, because when I go full monster, you or Sam or Cas is going to have to put me down."

"Dean!" Julie snapped, shocked and horrified. "Don't talk like that! It doesn't have to be like that-"

"Yeah, it does," he said darkly, getting up. "Look, Jules…I can feel this…this _evil _inside of me. And it's just going to get stronger. This happened to me before, but it's happening faster now. I guess it's because I've already used the Blade before and it's picking up where it started or something, but it's going to take me over, and I don't want to live like that. You'd be doing me a kindness if you just ended me."

"Stop it!" Julie snapped, getting up as well. "That's not going to happen. You can fight it, and we'll help you, and once all the Knights are dead, you can give it up again. You did it before with no help but Crowley, and you can do it with all of us there for you."

Dean nodded, but Julie got the feeling he was only doing that to make her feel better. He pulled on a t-shirt and walked out of the bedroom to go get more food or something, leaving Julie alone. She stood there alone in the room for a long moment, trying and failing not to imagine Dean going dark and them having to "put him down."

She had hoped that they would have months before they really had to worry about this. But it was clear that things were moving a lot faster now, and if they didn't hurry, they'd lose Dean before he even managed to kill all the Knights, and it would all have been for nothing.

* * *

Crowley sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Demons didn't need sleep, but they sure got exhausted. He couldn't remember the last time he had just gotten to sit down at a bar and relax, and he was grateful for the chance now.

He ordered several shots of the darkest, strongest thing the bartender could find. As he sat, waiting, he found his mind wandering to Dean Winchester and what he would be doing right now. That man had taken up the Blade again to get revenge for his precious girlfriend and to protect the people he cared about most. A noble cause, but a foolish action. And while Crowley had been trying to get Dean to take up the First Blade again, there was a very small part of him that felt bad for the poor man.

He just wanted to get to live happily ever after with that girl and his brother. And after all that he had done, was that too much to ask?

Apparently so, because everyone, including Crowley, still had many plans for the eldest Winchester.

The bartender returned with four shots of extremely strong stuff that he didn't even bother giving a name to. "And what would you like, sir?" the bartender asked someone behind Crowley.

"Just to talk to my friend here," the man said in a horribly familiar, pleasant voice.

Crowley stiffened and tried not to show fear as the handsome young man sat down on the stool next to him. "How have you been, Crowley?" Beelzebub took one of Crowley's shots and whistled after downing it. "Damn. Those are _strong. _So not too well, huh?"

"What do you want?" Crowley growled, glaring at the bar. The Knight was preventing him from teleporting out, and he knew he was about to die, but he at least wanted it to be quick.

"Just to talk," the Beelzebub said calmly. "I've got some questions for you about our dear Mr. Winchester. I know you two have a reasonably close personal relationship, and I know you have some influence on him. Obviously, you got him to start using the First Blade again, with a little help from me."

"About that," Crowley said. "Why would you want the only man capable of killing you wielding the only weapon that can kill you?"

"For the same reason you do," the Knight shrugged. "The end result. And I _am_ aware that he can kill me now. So I'll be steering clear of him, sending however many monsters and demons and angels it takes for him to finally lose himself, or until one of them kills him. And I assume that's what you want, too…"

Crowley nodded hastily, afraid to disagree with this dangerous demon. "But what do you need me for?"

"Well, Crowley, so far things are going according to plan, although I do wish I could have sacrificed Apollyon or Adramalech instead of Asmodeus. I was rather fond of my brother. I mean, you should have seen him torture that poor girlfriend of Dean's—he was a true master, and always good for a game of poker. But sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the greater evil."

"Sure," Crowley shrugged. "But you've got him using the Blade again, and I'm not sure why you want me."

"I'm here to make you a deal, Crowley," Beelzebub said with a charming smile. "As I'm sure you know, I'm king of hell. But once Dean Winchester is defeated and our plans can really come to culmination, I will no longer be wanting hell. I'll be turning earth into the new and improved hell, but I will need a second-in-command to run downstairs for me. So what do you say, Crowley? You be a little spy for me, let me know how our Dean is doing and how I can speed up the process, and once it's complete, you get your old throne back?"

Crowley hesitated slightly. "Your other option would be me killing you now," the king of the Knights of Hell added darkly.

"We have a deal!" Crowley said quickly, and the former king of hell and the current one shook hands.

"Another round, sir!" Beelzebub called as Crowley quickly downed the rest of the shots, trying not to think about what he was doing. The bartender brought out another round of shots and Beelzebub proposed a toast.

"To the fall of Dean Winchester!" he chuckled, and the two demons drank to that.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

_Hooks dug into Julie's flesh, one in her thigh and another in her shoulder, and she screamed. They pulled her in two opposite directions and she wailed as skin and muscles tore._

"_Please," she sobbed. "Please stop."_

_The hooks released her and she was falling. She hit something hard, and the impact broke several bones in her body. She was in so much agony that she knew she should be dead, but she couldn't die, and it wouldn't end._

_Asmodeus's true form appeared before her, horrifying and disgusting. He laughed cruelly, and she felt something pierce the skin just below her ribcage and slowly cut downwards. She was far too weak to scream, so she made pitiful, dying animal noises._

_Her stomach was sliced open, and he began to fish around inside. Julie found the voice to scream again, tears pouring down her bloody, bruised, ravaged face, but he wouldn't stop. The demon was dissecting her, and he wouldn't stop, and she couldn't die, and it would never end…_

_Suddenly, her leg was on fire, and Julie screamed until her voice broke, the smell of her burning flesh filling her nostrils, the agony too much for her to bear, and she was wailing, "Please, please let it stop, please let me die, _please…"

Julie shot upright in bed, her hands flying to her stomach. She ran her hands over the smooth skin, assuring herself that she was once again whole and sound. Her leg wasn't a blackened, burnt mess, and her skin was smooth and showed no signs of the horrific ways Beelzebub and Asmodeus had torn it apart and put it back together again so they could destroy her in a new way. It had been a game to them, her in never-ending agony.

Julie was coated in sweat, and she was trembling. The sheets were tangled around her legs so that she knew she had been thrashing around, and she was sure she had been screaming. But somehow Dean was still asleep next to her. He was rolled over so that she could not see his face, but she knew he must be asleep. If he was conscious, he would not be able to bear hearing her scream and beg like she had surely been doing.

Julie carefully got out of the motel bed, making sure not to disturb Dean. She wiped the tears from her eyes and stripped, stepping into the shower to run cold water over her body. She wasn't in hell. She was here on earth in some shitty motel with Sam and Dean, and she had been alive for a month now. She was okay, at least physically.

The nightmares had been getting less frequent, and Julie had hoped they were ending. But they still came occasionally, and they never ceased to be horrible. Her memories of hell were so vivid that it usually took a lot of gentle words and soothing touches from whichever brother woke up first to bring her back to reality.

Julie had no idea how Sam and Dean had done it without help. They were stronger than her, she knew that, but they hadn't really been able to put themselves back together, either. They still bore the mental scars of hell, and they would never heal or go away, and neither of them would ever be okay again.

It was horrible to think of what those good, brave men who she loved so dearly had to endure. Julie pushed those painful thoughts away and dried herself off. She pulled on a cotton robe and dried her hair as best she could before stepping back into the motel room.

Immediately, she knew something was wrong. Dean was twitching, and his bare chest was shiny with sweat. As she watched, confused and concerned, he rolled over and moaned in pain, his brow furrowed. He was having a nightmare, too, Julie realized. No wonder he hadn't woken up—he was going through his own little bit of hell.

Dean made a pitiful noise that made Julie sick to her stomach. He suddenly thrashed violently, and Julie was finally snapped out of whatever spell that had held her there, staring at him. She rushed to the side of the bed and touched Dean's face, saying over and over, "Dean, it's okay. You're okay. I'm here. Dean, honey, wake up!"

But he wouldn't, or couldn't. Julie began to panic as Dean begged, "Please, stop. Help me, _please_!" His voice broke, and there was so much pain etched in his face, and every muscle in his body was straining, and she couldn't seem to wake him up.

Julie was panicking. This was her own little nightmare, seeing Dean in any kind of pain, even a memory. She shook his shoulder, crying, "Dean, honey! You're okay! _Dean_!"

* * *

_Dean strained against the cold metal bars that held him strapped to the table. The table where Alastair was doing his own "procedure" on Dean. He had told Dean as he strapped the damned man to the table how he enjoyed taking people apart to see how they worked. He was extremely curious to see what made Dean tick. And so the demon had slowly began to carve at him, peeling away layers of skin and muscle, straight to the bone, trying to see what would break Dean first._

_Dean screamed through gritted teeth as Alastair stripped the muscles off of his thigh. "I can stop, Dean," the demon said almost gently. "I'll stop hurting you right now, and all this pain will go away. Just join me-"_

"_No," Dean groaned. "No, you son of a bitch, I would never…"_

"_You've been saying that for a decade now," Alastair sighed. "And I'm impressed, Dean, I really am. You fought long and hard. You're a hero. Now give into your nature."_

"_No," Dean repeated, but he hesitated slightly this time._

_Alastair latched onto that slight hesitation and cut into Dean with a new passion. Dean twitched and fought and screamed until he finally couldn't even move. He just lay there, sobbing silently, as the demon slowly destroyed him. He should have been dead long ago, but he couldn't die, and it would never end…_

"_One little word, Dean," Alastair said teasingly. His blade teasingly traced the outline of Dean's mouth. "One word and I'll stop." He sliced Dean's bottom lip open and hot, thick blood poured into the poor, broken hunter's mouth. "It'll all end, all the pain, all the fighting. You can step off this rack and do what you were made for. And you'll never have to watch Sammy die again, or see someone hurt that woman again, because it won't hurt you anymore. Just say yes, Dean. Just use the Blade."_

_And suddenly, Alastair wasn't Alastair anymore. He was Beelzebub, speaking in his smooth, charming voice. "I'll spare them," the Knight of Hell assured Dean. "I'll set them aside, and they'll be able to live together, safe from harm. I'll even throw in the angel."_

_Dean finally saw them, kneeling behind Beelzebub. There was blood on Sammy's face, and Julie looked pale and weak, and two demons held knives to their throats, a split second away from slitting their throats. He wanted to cry out, but he had no voice. A pathetic gurgle was all that came out of his broken body._

"_They'll be safe, and you will never feel pain again," Beelzebub said gently. "You won't have to fight any longer, Dean. You can be yourself. Just say yes. Just step off that rack, take up the Blade, and everything will be okay."_

"It's okay, Dean. You're okay._" It was Julie's voice, but it wasn't coming from the weak, scared one he saw before him. He felt the nagging sensation that there was something else, somewhere else he needed to be…_

"_Just give in," Beelzebub urged him, holding out the First Blade, and the metal bar holding Dean's arm down disappeared, and suddenly his arm was intact. He found his fingers reaching for the familiar First Blade, stretching towards it and the peace it promised him._

_Sam and Julie and Cas would be saved. He wouldn't have to fight it anymore. He could be himself, and quit pretending to be some good hero. He wasn't. He was evil, a murderer and a torturer like this demon before him. Like Alastair._

_Dean's fingers brushed the Blade, and then Julie's voice reached him. _

"Dean, honey, _wake up_!"

His eyes flew open and he took a huge, gasping breath. Slowly, he got his racing heart and wild breaths under control and found himself staring up at a wide-eyed, terrified Julie.

"Dean, are you…?" she started to ask, but then she stopped.

Dean couldn't think of a single word to say. Julie lay down beside Dean and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder until slowly he quit shaking. But even as the horror and the pain from that nightmare of hell faded, Beelzebub's words didn't.

"_Just give in. You can be yourself. You won't have to fight any longer. Everything will be okay. Just say yes."_

* * *

"Is he doing any better?" Julie asked Sam softly.

"Well, he's drunk. Not sure if that's better or worse." Sam smirked bitterly as he studied his older brother through the motel window. The man sat outside on the hood of the Impala, leaning back against the windshield, taking another swig of his beer. He didn't look any more tired or haggard than normal. The stubble on his jaw was thicker than normal, and there were dark circles on his eyes, but those weren't exactly new.

Sam had woken up to hear Julie crying Dean's name over and over, sounding panicked. By the time he got out of bed and unlocked the door to their motel room, Julie had woken Dean up from his nightmare, and she was holding his brother, trying to get him to calm down. Once Dean became fully conscious, he was ashamed to have Sam and Julie see him like this, and he locked himself in the bathroom until he was fully composed. He had then proceeded to get drunk at not even eight in the morning.

Things had been going so well, too! They had just finished up their first real hunt since killing the vampires who murdered Thomas Carters two weeks ago. Julie was upset because of the reminder of her father's death, and she was miserable because of her nightmares of hell, but also because of her concern for Dean and the affect the Blade would have on him. And Dean had been getting slowly but surely more surly and closed-off. Sam had watched this happen before, but it hadn't been anywhere near this quickly. And he was forced to watch miserably as his brother slowly began to drift away.

A hunt had been just what they needed, and they had solved the haunting in a couple of days. It had been oddly invigorating, investigating and salt-and-burning once again, like the good old days. Dean had laughed like he hadn't in a while, and Sam and Julie had felt encouraged, seeing him back to normal.

Or so they thought. Clearly, things were not getting better. Julie had been so shaken after seeing Dean like that, and even Sam was a bit overwhelmed. This was all happening too quickly. He was supposed to have Dean for _months_, and they were supposed to kill all the Knights of Hell before they got anywhere near losing Dean…

"I should go talk to him," Sam sighed. The last thing Dean needed was to think he was alone in this.

"Alright," Julie whispered, watching Dean with a sad expression.

Sam grabbed a beer for himself out of the cooler they always kept handy and left the motel to walk over to his brother. Dean didn't even glance up as Sam approached.

"Move over, Dean," Sam ordered. "You do not have to take up the entire hood of the car."

Dean smirked ever so slightly, and Sam felt gratified. "Fine, you floppy-haired bastard," he muttered, shifting so Sam could sit on the hood of the Impala as well.

Sam smirked slightly, settling down next to his brother. They both took long drinks of their beers and didn't speak for a long moment.

"Did she send you out here to check on me?" Dean asked flatly after a moment. "Because I'm fine, Sam-"

"Well, first of all, that's bullshit," Sam said. "And no, Julie didn't send me, although she's worried about you, that's for sure."

"It was just a nightmare," Dean muttered. "Nothing new."

Sam studied his brother for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to say this. "Dean…you remember a few years ago, when I was having those hallucinations of Lucifer?"

"Hard to forget the devil driving my little brother crazy," Dean muttered darkly.

"Well, Dean…that was like living a nightmare. There was no way I would have gotten through that if you weren't there for me. You were there for me when I needed you, Dean, but if you're not going to let Julie and I be there for you-"

"I'm _fine_, Sam!" Dean snapped. "Really." He took a deep breath. "Look, I just…it was just a nightmare. I'm just usually better at hiding them from Julie. It's nothing new, nothing to be worried about. Just good old, screwed-up me."

Sam wanted to help his brother, but he couldn't find the right words to say. Finally, he just sighed and said, "Okay, Dean. Just…just know that we're here for you, okay? I know you can get through this, and Julie does too. You just have to believe it yourself."

"Right. Okay, Sammy." Sam was pretty sure his brother was just saying that to make him happy, but there was no point in fighting Dean.

Both brothers sighed and took another swig of their beers in unison. Sam wanted more than anything to be able to help Dean, but this was his problem and his battle. Once again, Sam was helpless to help his big brother, and he was getting sick and tired of feeling so useless while Dean was in pain.

"Guys?" Dean and Sam both looked up as Julie stuck her head out of the motel room. She looked concerned. "Look, I'm really sorry, but…something just came up on the police radar. There was another death on that abandoned McGrath farm just a couple hours ago."

"What?" Sam asked. "But we just torched that ghost!"

"They think it was a suicide," Julie explained. "But it seems really weird, you know, since there was just a case there. I was thinking we should try to see what's going on once the police leave."

Sam glanced over at Dean, who stood up and chucked his empty beer bottle into a nearby trashcan. "Let's get to work," he said flatly.

* * *

It was just after dark when the police finally wrapped up their investigation and left the McGrath farm abandoned. The three hunters, who had been waiting in the Impala, cleverly parked in a small patch of bushes and trees and hidden from view, quickly got out of the car and crept across the property of the farm to the abandoned barn where a young woman had been found dead, having been shot by her boyfriend. He had confessed to the police near tears, saying he had no idea why he had done it, except that a strange, mysterious, wonderful woman had told him to, and he had been forced to. Of course, no authority would buy that, and no mysterious woman could be found.

Sam, Dean, and Julie had been there just yesterday, to put to rest a ghost of a man who had hung himself in the rafters of his barn and had done the same to a couple of teenagers who had sneaked into the barn to smoke some drugs. This seemed to be something else, though. If it was a supernatural occurrence, and not just a lying murderer, there were many things it could be. A seductive ghost, a demon, a shifter, a siren…they had come prepared for just about any monster possible, armed with silver, bronze, and demon-killing knives, and plenty of salt and guns as well.

Still, Julie was feeling very uneasy. Part of it was her concern for Dean, yes. She was worried about what another hunt would do to him in this fragile state. But it also seemed odd that another possible case had just popped up. Almost like whatever it was wanted to be found, and was maybe even coming to them…

Sam carefully opened the barn door and led them inside, shining his flashlight in all the corners of the dark barn. The three hunters checked every inch of the place in tense silence, but it was soon clear that there was nothing in this barn to even suggest a monster or something else evil.

"Split up?" Dean muttered after five minutes of searching.

Sam and Julie exchanged a worried look in the dim light of their flashlights. Dean sighed. "Don't worry about me, okay? I'm still Dean Winchester. I can take care of myself long enough to look around this place. I don't need a babysitter."

"That's not what we-" Sam started.

"Let's just split up," Dean snapped. "I can take the area around the house. Sam, you got the field?"

"Sure," Sam sighed. "Julie, you want to keep searching the area around here and those couple of sheds?"

"Fine," Julie sighed, still watching Dean with a concerned expression.

The three hunters split up. Dean looked around the abandoned house, shining his flashlight into bushes and trees and then finally peeping through the boarded-up windows. He found nothing, so he kept searching.

Dean was just thinking about kicking the door of the abandoned house down and searching through it when a woman asked in a smooth, attractive voice, "Dean?"

He whirled around, raising his gun, and then froze. An absolute bombshell stood in front of him, her long, dark hair falling in luscious curls down to her huge rack. Her face was almost too pretty, and her body was long and tan and curvy. She wore a very low-cut tank top and extremely short shorts, showing off as much of her tan, toned body as she could. Everything from her big, dark eyes to her full lips to her sexy body was perfect, and despite the fact that Dean knew he should be fighting, he was stunned for a moment.

"Hey," she said, somehow seeming both shy and innocent and sexy at the same time. She smiled slyly at him. "I was hoping I'd find you here."

Dean's head cleared a little as he remembered that he was hunting her. Dean cocked his gun and snapped, "Move and I'll shoot."

"It won't hurt me," the woman said calmly.

"What are you?" Dean snapped. "Because I'm pretty sure I've got something that will hurt you."

"If you're referring to the First Blade in your jacket there, we both know you're bluffing," she smirked slightly. She stepped closer to him, and there was something so sexy about the fluid way she moved that Dean forgot to take a step back. She looked up at him from under thick, dark eyelashes and smiled slightly. "It's not worth killing little old me to go dark, now is it, Dean?"

"How do you know about that?" he asked shakily.

"I know a lot of things," the gorgeous woman sighed. "My employer told me all about you, Dean. And I'm supposed to make you do things…such horrible things…" Dean's grip on the gun, which was going slack, tightened up, but she gave him such a sad, sweet look that he hesitated.

"But now, seeing you…you're not a monster, Dean," she continued. "You're a good man. I see that now. I could never do what he wanted me to do. Not to you."

She was standing so close to him that he could feel the warmth radiating off of her and smell her sweet perfume. Why wasn't he backing up? She was talking about doing horrible things to him!

"What…what did he want you to do to me?" Dean asked shakily.

The beautiful woman raised her hand and ran her fingers through Dean's hair. Something about her scent and her gorgeous looks and her soothing, pleasant voice was making him heavy. He dropped his gun, but neither of them noticed. She stretched up to kiss Dean and stopped, her lips an inch from his.

"He wanted me to make you kill your brother," the woman whispered.

That snapped Dean out of the spell he was under, but before he could fight her off, the woman had grabbed his face and was kissing him. After a couple of seconds, he threw her off and stared at her, chest heaving.

"What did you…what are you?" he asked angrily, but he was finding it hard to think clearly. He wanted to be angry with this woman…but, god, she was so wonderful and beautiful, _perfect_…

"I'm a siren, Dean, sweetie," the woman smiled. "And you're mine now."

* * *

Sam jogged up to Julie, who had her back to him, surveying the dark yard before her. "Any luck?" he asked as he reached her.

Julie jumped, and then smacked his arm. "Sam, don't scare me like that!" she snapped.

"What happened to you being a hardened hunter?" he smirked back.

"Shut up," Julie muttered. "Anyway, I haven't found anything. No signs of a monster or anything. I think the guy was just crazy."

"Yeah, me neither," Sam sighed. "I guess we can talk to him tomorrow, but there's not much point in hanging around here if there's nothing to find."

"Guess we just find Dean," Julie sighed, pulling out her phone and hitting speed dial one. Her phone rang for a couple seconds before she realized she heard a phone going off behind her.

Julie turned around and hung up, smiling slightly at Dean. "There you are," she said. "We were about to go find you. We don't think there's a monster around here."

"You're wrong," Dean said flatly, and then he suddenly lunged forward without warning and his hands closed around Julie's throat.

It was odd. She had seen him beat demons and monsters with his own bare hands, watched Dean kick down doors, watched him wipe out an entire nest of vampires without breaking a sweat and even watched him kill a Knight of Hell, but Julie had never really realized how strong Dean was until he was crushing her windpipe. Julie was too shocked to struggle as Dean choked the life out of her. Her head was spinning by this unimaginable turn of events and the sudden cutoff of oxygen to her brain, and everything was going fuzzy.

Sam had been staring at his brother in shock, unable to comprehend what was happening. This couldn't be Dean, because Dean would never lay so much as a finger on Julie. So be it shape shifter, demon, or even the Mark and the Blade controlling him, this wasn't Dean. He wasn't going to stop, and so Sam had to make him.

"Dean!" Sam cried, snapping out of his shock and tackling his brother. It took all of Sam's strength to pry Dean's hands off of Julie and she collapsed, gasping for air. The two brothers struggled for a moment until Sam pushed Dean a few steps back and stepped protectively between Julie and Dean. He offered her an arm to pull herself up with as he stared at Dean, shocked and horrified. "What the hell was that, Dean?" he snapped.

"Christo," Julie coughed out in a hoarse voice. Dean didn't flinch but glared unblinkingly at Julie. So he wasn't a demon, then. Shifter, maybe?"

"Don't you worry, this is Dean alright," a woman's smooth, pleasant voice said, and Sam and Julie both stared, wide-eyed, as a truly gorgeous woman stepped out of the shadows to stand next to Dean. She brushed her long dark curls out her beautiful face and smiled pleasantly at them.

Sam swallowed a few times, trying to get over how ridiculously beautiful she was. "Who…_what_ are you, and what are you doing to my brother?" Sam asked her darkly, finally finding his voice as Julie touched his arm and he remembered who the enemy was and who was on his side. This woman, whoever she was, sure didn't seem to be.

"My name is Cynthia," the beautiful woman said sweetly. "I am one of the oldest and most powerful sirens alive."

A siren. Julie somehow hated this unfairly beautiful woman who was controlling her boyfriend even more. This monster had somehow managed to transfer her poison through saliva, probably by kissing Dean, and now she was manipulating him into doing whatever she wanted. She could make Dean try to choke the life out of Julie, she could control his body, make him a great new sex toy, she could make Dean kill himself…the thought made Julie's blood boil.

"And you're controlling my brother?" Sam asked darkly. "Bad idea, _Cynthia_. Demons and angels have been trying to control him for years, and there hasn't been a single one of them who can tell Dean what to do and not end up dead."

"But I'm not telling him what to do. Am I, sweetheart?" the siren asked Dean sweetly, shooting a glowing smile towards him.

Dean put his hands on Cynthia's waist and then, right in front of Julie, they kissed, sticking their tongues down each other's throats. Red colored her vision as jealousy filled Julie, causing blood to roar in her ears. She understood a bit how Sam must have felt back when he loved Julie, and he would have to watch Dean and Julie kiss in front of him.

But this was different. Dean loved her, and she loved him, and Dean was _hers_. That siren was beyond dead. Julie was going to hack that bitch to pieces.

Dean and Cynthia pulled apart, and Dean turned to face Julie, his green eyes filled with contempt. It hurt her more than many of the physical pains and tortures she had endured over the years, even if it was just the siren's control over him causing Dean to look at her like that.

"I was hired by Beelzebub," Cynthia sighed, stroking Dean's arm. "My job was to find you three and make Dean kill one of you. It was supposed to be Sam, because the moment Dean killed his own brother, he'd be so far gone that there would be no coming back from that, not ever. But if all I really have to do is make my lovely Dean kill someone he cares about so that he'll go dark…I'd much rather it be you."

Cynthia's beautiful dark eyes landed on Julie. "See, handsome Dean here is easily one of the most…_enjoyable _men I've vanquished. But somewhere inside of him, he's still got feelings for you, Julie Carters. It's quite annoying, so I gave him an ultimatum. Either he can take you out of the picture…or we can never be together."

Julie hated to admit it, but she was worried. Normally, she wouldn't be worried. She had never been afraid that Dean would hurt her; she had been afraid for him and of what he might become, but she had never believed even for a second that Dean, _her_ Dean, would do anything to hurt her if he didn't have her best interests in mind.

But this siren…she was undeniably beautiful, more beautiful than Julie. And she seemed very powerful. And on top of everything, Dean had already been struggling to control himself with the Mark of Cain and the First Blade driving him to kill. With all of that combined…part of Julie believed Dean might actually kill her. He had already attempted to once.

And sure enough, Dean took a step towards Julie threateningly, reaching inside his jacket to pull out the First Blade. Julie bit back a scream. This was her worst nightmare, worse than tortures in hell. _Dean _killing her, _Dean's _hands ripping her apart, _Dean's _cold eyes being the last thing she ever saw, his cruel laugh the last thing she ever heard.

"Dean…" she pleaded, taking a step back.

He frowned. "Cynthia…do I have to?" Dean asked the siren, not taking his eyes off of Julie.

"If you want to be happy with me," the siren said softly, coaxingly.

Dean gave in, her expression growing hard once more. He pulled out the First Blade and stepped towards Julie.

Before she could do more than panic, though, someone stepped in front of her. Sam. He shielded her with his body, glaring at his brother, or rather the siren controlling him.

"Dean, this isn't you," Sam said darkly. "You love Julie way too much to ever hurt her, let alone try to _kill _her. But if you try it again, I _will _stop you."

"You can't, Sam," Dean sighed. "Not when I have the Blade. I'm stronger than you."

"But you don't want to hurt me, or Julie," Sam insisted. "You can fight this bitch, and you can stop her from controlling you. You won't kill me, or Julie."

"Let's see who's right," Cynthia smirked, and Dean lunged forward.

Sam was ready. He dodged Dean's first swipe with the First Blade. It was far sloppier than any attempt to kill someone Dean would ever make, and for a moment Sam was filled with hope. There was a part of Dean trying to fight the siren controlling him, and if Sam could just reach that part…

But that part wasn't doing so hot. Because Dean lunged forward again, and this swipe came dangerously close to Sam's head. The younger brother barely dodged the Blade and then grabbed Dean's arm, trying to wrestle the powerful weapon out of Dean's hands.

"Get out of the way, Sam," Dean growled.

"No," Sam growled back. "Dean, just stop. Fight this!"

"Dean, sweetheart, think about us," Cynthia said softly, her voice carrying easily to Dean.

Filled with a new fury, Dean slugged Sam hard in the jaw and they broke apart. Sam shook his head to clear it and pulled out a bronze knife. Dean lunged forward again, but his strike was once again slower than normal, allowing Sam to block it and try to force his brother back.

"Just let me kill that bitch, and she can't control you, Dean!" Sam cried desperately, when Dean stood his ground. Dean obviously was using all of his remaining willpower not to kill Sam, but he still seemed bent on killing Julie, and Sam knew he couldn't beat his brother when he was hopped up on the Blade and the Mark. He'd have to get through to him somehow.

"You won't lay a hand on her," Dean growled protectively.

Sam was desperate. He couldn't hurt Dean, but there was no way he was going to be able to get to the siren and kill her as long as Dean was here protecting her…

Dean suddenly lunged forward again, throwing Sam to the side. Instinctively, Sam lashed out, and his blade nicked Dean's forearm, getting the tip wet with his brother's blood. Sam hit the ground hard, but Dean ignored his brother, clearly not wanting to kill him. Instead, he advanced on Julie.

She took a couple steps back, trembling. "Dean, please," she whispered. "Don't do this. I don't want to have to fight you…"

Dean said nothing, but marched towards her, face hard. Julie had rarely been more terrified than she was now, and she drew her knife with a shaking hand. She couldn't hurt him, but if she didn't defend herself, Dean would kill her.

"Dean-" Julie tried again desperately.

"Shut up," he growled, lashing out with the First Blade.

Julie deflected his first swipe, but within a couple of seconds, Dean struck again. Over and over he swung the First Blade at her, and while he wasn't quite up to his normal fighting caliber, Julie knew he was stronger and a better fighter than her. She was going to lose.

Sure enough, Dean suddenly performed a clever move with the Blade and disarmed Julie. His fist shot out and he struck her on the cheek. Julie stumbled back into the wall of the barn, but there was nowhere to go, and he was closing in, and he was going to kill her…

"Dean, please," Julie begged him softly, tears in her eyes. "Don't do this. Come back to me."

Dean hesitated, and for a second there was something familiar in his eyes. Then Cynthia cried, "Don't listen to her, Dean! She's just manipulating you! Take care of her now, so that you can be with me forever, like you want to be."

Dean's jaw twitched, and he looked slightly conflicted, but then his face hardened and he raised the First Blade. Julie knew she should scream or try to run or fight, but she couldn't. She could only watch as the man she loved swung his Blade to kill her.

And then Sam drove a bronze knife covered in the blood of someone under her spell, the only thing that could kill a siren, into the monster's back.

Cynthia wailed in agony and then slumped to the ground, dead. Dean froze, and suddenly life came back to his green eyes. He looked around, confused, at his brother, who had just killed the monster, to Julie, who was backed up against the wall, staring up at Dean with terror in her eyes.

And then Dean slowly realized what had happened. He realized what that bitch siren had done to him, what he had done to Sammy, what he had been about to do to Jules…

No siren should have been able to push him to that. There was only one explanation for the siren having that much power over him.

It was the Blade in his hands. The one that gave him awful nightmares each night, the one that filled him with such power and evil, the one he could not force his hand to release.

The one that, even now, with the spell broken, was still screaming for Dean to drive it into Julie's heart and kill the woman he loved.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

The whole drive back to the motel, Sam watched Dean out of the corner of his eye through the rearview mirror. His brother sat in stunned silence, hunched up as if wishing he could disappear. It had been a long time since he had seen Dean look this guilty and shocked, since the night that Julie died, actually.

Dean hadn't spoken since Sam killed Cynthia and freed his brother from her spell. There had been a long, tense moment right after Dean snapped out of it, when he stood there in front of Julie and he wouldn't drop the Blade. Finally, Sam simply said his brother's name, and Dean released the First Blade. Sam had quickly picked it up, and he had waited for Julie to rush to Dean and put her arms around him and comfort him like she always did.

But instead, she just stood there and stared at Dean, still looking a little afraid of him. And who could blame her? That man had just attempted to kill her. Twice. But…it was _Dean_. She loved him, and he loved her. They would be okay. Sam kept telling himself that as he burned the siren's corpse and gently guided Julie and Dean to the car. Neither one had spoken in almost half an hour, and Sam was starting to get really concerned.

Julie rode in silence in the passenger seat next to Sam. She was pale, but she at least seemed to be recovering from what had just happened. By the time they got back to the motel, Julie stopped Dean in the doorway and said gently, "Dean, look, can we talk about-?"

"I can't," he whispered, unable to meet her eyes. "Please, I just…I can't right now." Julie looked a little hurt, but mostly concerned. "I'm sorry," Dean added in a whisper, and then he stepped into his motel room and closed the door.

Julie stood there, feeling a little lost. That was her room too, but it was clear Dean needed to be alone. She wasn't sure what to do, and then Sam put a large hand on her shoulder. "You can stay in my room tonight, if you want," he offered.

And so Julie slept in a separate bed from Dean once again. This time felt different than the last time they had slept apart, when they were fighting. This was a one time thing. Dean just needed to fix things with himself. That was all. It had better be.

Sam insisted Julie take the bed, so he stretched out on a slightly battered couch in the motel room and attempted to drift off. He couldn't sleep though, and he doubted Julie was doing so well either.

Sure enough, after maybe thirty minutes of attempting to sleep, Julie's voice asked softly, "Sam?"

"Hmm?"

"Dean…what the siren made him do…that was all her, right? All her and not…"

Sam tensed up at the concern and fear in Julie's voice. "That was all the siren's doing," he assured Julie. "Well…her and the Blade and the Mark. But Dean…he would never-"

"I know!" Julie said quickly. "I know he would never try to hurt me. I just…I don't know. I'm worried about him."

Sam smirked bitterly. "If you weren't, _I_ would be worried. I wish so badly that we could help him. I wish I could do this instead of him. But it's got to be his battle, and if he won't let us help him…"

"We'll make him," Julie muttered defiantly, and Sam smiled slightly in the dark. God, how had Dean survived without this woman? Dean was a ball of guilt and grief and anger and pain held together by duct tape and Sam, and the Mark of Cain and the First Blade were threatening to undo him. Without Julie to put him back together before and to try and hold him together now, Dean would crash and burn.

Sam was reminded suddenly of another young, sweet, beautiful blond woman. Jessica Moore, the woman who had represented happiness and safety and a normal life to him. He had loved her so much, and lost her, and it would have destroyed him if it weren't for Dean. Now he wanted to be able to help save Dean, but if his brother wouldn't let him…

Sam pushed those thoughts away and tried to sleep. Things would be better in the morning, or at least he really hoped they would.

* * *

The next morning, Sam checked to make sure Dean was still here, and that he hadn't run off, and then he stepped outside and dialed a familiar number. Castiel picked up on the third ring and asked, "Sam? Is everything alright?"

Sam laughed bitterly. "Uh, no. Look, Cas…I'm worried about Dean. He's not doing so hot with this whole Blade thing."

"What exactly is wrong with him?" Cas asked, concerned.

"Last night…well, last night, a siren found us and put Dean under her spell. Then she forced him to fight me and attempt to kill Julie. And he's really messed up about it. And he's having nightmares too, and I just don't know what to do…"

"I am not sure what to do either, Sam," Cas admitted. "I've never seen anything like this. Nobody has, not since Cain."

"I know, Cas," Sam sighed. "I just thought you should know since he's your…" What even was Dean to Cas? He wanted to say friend, but it almost seemed like something more. Cas was the one who pulled Dean out of hell, the one he spent a year with in Purgatory. Sam supposed they were best friends, but there was a deeper bond between them than that. They were connected, and Sam knew what it would do to the angel if he had to watch Dean go dark and eventually "put him down."

Castiel sighed. "I wish…I wish I could go to him. But the angels…we are in turmoil. Metatron is keeping us busy, sending his angel and demon minions alike after us to keep up from doing much in the way of helping you. It's all I can do to keep my brothers and sisters together as is."

Sam sighed. Everything was falling to pieces. He couldn't ask anything of Cas, not when he had an angel war to fight. And Crowley…he didn't trust that demon well enough to bring him in on this.

It looked like it was just Sam, Dean, and Julie.

Sam said goodbye to Cas and stepped into his motel room. Julie had gone out to get some food before they hit the road and headed back to the bunker. Sam had to assume that Dean was still in his motel room.

Sam wandered over to the dresser and found himself staring at the bundle of brown cloth in front of him. He knew what was in there, and for a moment he wanted nothing more than to smash it to pieces or burn it or throw it into the ocean for what it was doing to his brother. But if they ever wanted to kill another Knight, they would need it.

"Keep it," a hoarse voice said behind him, and Sam whirled around to see Dean standing in his room. He must have opened the adjoining door, and Sam hadn't even noticed. Dean looked pale and tired and worn, and he was purposefully looking anywhere but at the weapon sitting on the dresser.

"Dean-" Sam started.

"Keep the Blade, Sam," Dean said firmly. "Keep it and make sure I don't even touch that thing until I'm face to face with a Knight."

"But, Dean-" the younger Winchester tried again.

"Keep it away from me, Sammy!" Dean pleaded. "Please, I…I can't let it do that to me again. Because no siren, I don't care how powerful, could make me do that to you and Jules. It's going to turn me into something I don't want to be, and if I hurt either of you…"

Dean looked down, ashamed, as tears welled up in his eyes. "Okay, Dean," Sam assured his brother. "I'll keep it away from you. But…you know that if you don't kill with the Blade, you'll start to…to…"

"To die?" his brother smirked bitterly. "Oh, well. Let's just hope I find those Knights first."

Sam swallowed. "Dean, I can't just let you die, because that's what will happen if you don't use it! What if you just use it on monsters?"

"Don't you get it, Sammy?" Dean snapped. "Every time I kill something with that Blade, a part of me dies. If I keep killing, the human part of me is going to die, and then I could very well end up killing you and Julie, and I can't let that happen."

"Dean…" Sam stopped, knowing that as much as he hated to admit it, his brother was right. He sighed. "Alright. Fine. But we're going to find the Knights and we're going to kill them before we ever have to worry about something happening to you. You got it?"

Dean smirked, but his eyes were hollow and tired. "Okay, Sammy," he whispered, looking about a thousand years old.

Dean knew he wouldn't last long enough to find and kill every one of those Knights. But whatever kept his baby brother happy…that was what was important.

* * *

The next week seemed to stretch on for months to Julie. Part of it, she was sure, was how boring it was, digging through books of lore and going through every death or weird occurrence in all of the country that could possibly be the doing of a Knight of Hell. The only breaks she ever got from the research was to eat, sleep, or call Castiel. She and Sam were trying to do their best to keep the angel updated on everything that was happening so he wouldn't feel so bad about not being with his best friend in such a rough time.

But Julie wasn't sure how much having Cas around would really help Dean. He was doing his best to shut everyone out, surely to keep them safe after what had happened with that siren, but it was killing Julie.

Every day, Dean would look slightly paler. The circles under his eyes were slowly but surely getting darker. At one point, Julie walked into the room to find Dean clutching the wall for support. Once he knew she was there, he pretended he was fine, but she knew what she had seen.

Dean hadn't killed anything in three weeks, since that hunt with the vampires. Julie wasn't sure how long the Blade and Mark would allow him to go without killing, but judging by the way he was slowly deteriorating, she would guess not very much longer.

Julie wanted more than anything to try to help him, but Dean was avoiding her as much as possible. And it wasn't because of anything she had done. He just couldn't look at her without his eyes suddenly filling with guilt and pain. Every time he looked at Julie, he saw the fear in her eyes right before he tried to kill her, felt his hands closing around her throat. What he had done was inexcusable no matter what sort of spell he was under, and there was no way Julie could forgive him.

Except that she had. Julie had forgiven Dean the day after he tried to kill her, and she had told him so. He hadn't replied, just looked down and flinched ever-so-slightly when she touched his arm. That night, they had slept in the same bed, but Dean had kept his distance from her. Julie had been upset, but the distance between them didn't feel like it had a few months ago, right before she died. Julie didn't doubt that Dean loved her; in fact, somehow this guilt and pain he was filled with that was keeping him away from her somehow proved he loved her even more.

But Julie was getting tired of it. So a week after returning to the bunker, Julie walked into the room where Dean sat at a wooden table, reading a book of lore he had read twice before, carrying a plate with a couple of sandwiches on it, on a mission.

"Eat," Julie ordered Dean, sitting down next to him and pushing the plate in front of him.

Dean hesitated. "You haven't eaten anything all day," she snapped. "Now eat the food I made before I feed it to you like you're two."

The shadow of a smirk twitched across Dean's mouth, and he picked up one of the sandwiches. He took a bite and nodded. "Thanks," he muttered once he had swallowed.

For a moment, his green eyes met her blue ones, and the space between them was charged with all the things they hadn't been saying for a week.

"I'm sorry-" Dean blurted suddenly.

"Stop it," Julie snapped, and he blinked, startled. "That's about the only thing you've said to me for the past week. 'I'm sorry.' Well, I forgive you, Dean. I did a week ago."

"But I haven't forgiven myself," Dean muttered, looking down again.

"Big surprise," Julie said sarcastically, and Dean looked up once again, surprised by the amount of attitude she was giving him right now. "Dean Winchester is struggling with guilt, and he can't forgive himself, and he's blaming himself for everything little thing that's ever gone wrong. What else is new?"

"It _was_ my fault," he muttered darkly. "_I _was the one who tried to kill you and the one who fought Sam."

"Under the influence of a monster and the First Blade," Julie shot back. "The real you would never have laid a finger on either of us."

"But it still happened, and it's inexcusable!" he snapped, unable to understand how Julie wasn't angry about what he had tried to do to her.

"Funny, because I'm excusing it," she said. "Now, you need to do the same and move on. I'm fine. Sam's fine. The only one we're worried about is you."

"I'm fine," Dean muttered, looking down, and Julie laughed bitterly.

"Funny, because it seems like the only time you ever say that is when you're on the verge of falling apart."

"Which for me is always," Dean said sarcastically to cover up the truth of those words. "I don't even know why you're still here, Julie. Why do you put up with me? Why didn't you just get out when you had the chance? Why don't you now?"

Julie's face softened as she realized he was honestly asking. Julie reached out and touched Dean's arm, and for the first time in a week, he let her. "Dean…I honestly don't know why I stayed at first, when I first met you. I must just have a thing for really dangerous guys. I would have been a lot safer if I had just left…but now I'm in this. I'm a part of this as much as you and Sam, and shutting us out isn't going to keep us safe. Leaving us won't keep us safe. The Knights will just find us and use us as bait. And pushing us away will just make you lose yourself faster. Please, just let us help you!"

Dean swallowed. He looked very conflicted, but then suddenly he lifted his head and looked Julie right in the eye and said, "Okay."

Julie blinked, surprised that had worked. "Really?"

"Yeah. I…I need help. I don't want to become what I almost did last time and…I need help, Jules. I can't do this without you and Sammy and Cas…"

"I know," Julie said, her heart breaking at the pain and fear in his eyes. She moved closer and put her arms around Dean, letting him lean into her and take comfort in her touch. "It's okay, Dean. We're going to help you. You'll be okay."

For a long time, they just held each other. Eventually, Dean composed himself and pulled away, back to his tough hunter self. He closed the book or lore on the table and said, "You know what? I am sick and tired of sitting around all day, reading books."

"I know," Julie sighed. "Thankfully, Sam and I, in all of our digging around, have found a case."

"Really?" Dean asked, slightly surprised.

"Yep," Julie said. "There's a town four or so hours east of here, and they've got this huge corn maze. It's a big deal to the locals, and it's supposed to be super complicated or whatever. But in this past week alone, three teenagers went in there and two of them disappeared, and the third one came out screaming and sobbing. They found out later she had just gone insane, and no one could get out of her what happened in there. They closed the place, and when these two cops went in to search the maze, they never came out. No one's going in anymore, but we think it sounds like a case."

"Huh," Dean said. "I haven't heard of any monster like that."

"Sam hadn't either," Julie said. "Looks like we've found the only type of monster on the planet that Sam and Dean haven't ganked yet."

Dean smirked slightly and stood up. "Where are you going?" Julie snapped.

Dean frowned. "To get ready for that hunt."

"Not until you finish your food, you're not."

Dean smirked. "You're joking." He took in Julie's expression and quickly amended, "You're not joking."

"I made that food, and you are going to sit your ass down and eat it and you are going to like it!" Julie ordered him.

All of the sudden, Dean grinned and as he sat back down, he leaned over and kissed Julie for a brief moment. "I love you," he admitted.

Julie grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him closer to kiss him back. After a long kiss, Dean pulled away and smirked, "What about eating?"

"God, Dean, it's just food," Julie muttered. "You can eat later." And they both grinned as they leaned in again and kissed, and for one single, shining moment, things felt normal and happy once again.

* * *

Sam and Dean closed their car doors in unison and walked over to the entrance to this infamous corn maze. A few cops stood outside the maze, talking in low, concerned voices.

As the two brothers and Julie approached the policemen, they pulled their badges out of their jackets and casually held them open. "Is there a problem here?" Dean asked the officers.

The oldest man, who looked to be in his late forties with a bushy moustache and beard, asked suspiciously, "If there was, why would you care, agent? Don't the feds have bigger problems than this?"

"Than four disappearances in one week?" Sam asked sharply. "Seems pretty serious to me."

"Five, actually," a young officer muttered.

All three hunters turned to face him. "What?" Dean snapped. "Did you let someone else go in there?"

"It's not our fault!" the young officer snapped. "Some kid sneaked past us when we weren't looking and he ran inside."

"How long has he been in there?" Julie snapped.

"A couple of hours," one of the officers admitted. Sam, Dean, and Julie exchanged concerned glances. They had better get in there fast to save the kid, if he wasn't dead already.

Another officer walked over to them, comforting a thin, pale woman who looked maybe thirty. She was sobbing, and Dean instantly felt sorry for her.

"The mother?" he guessed, nodding towards the sobbing woman.

"Melanie Wolfe," the oldest officer said. "Her son, Johnny, is still in there."

"Not for long," Dean muttered. He started towards the entrance, but one of the police officers moved to block him.

"The hell do you think you're doing?" the officer snapped.

"I'm going to go save that kid instead of sitting on my ass like the rest of you," Dean snapped, and even Sam and Julie were a little surprised by the anger in his voice.

"I don't really like your tone-" the officer started.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I hope I didn't hurt your feelings. Now get out of my way before I make you."

"De…Agent Combs, maybe we should stop and think about this," Sam said carefully, touching his brother's arm.

"There's a kid in there, and who knows what could be happening to him, and I think it is our duty to try to save him," Dean said.

"Everyone who has gone in there in the past week hasn't come out," the youngest officer warned them.

"We'll be okay," Julie said, more to Sam than to the officers. "We know what we're doing."

Dean nodded, and Sam sighed and gave in. The cops gave in and let the three "FBI agents" into the maze.

It was dark out, and there was a pretty strong wind blowing. The corn around the three hunters rustled noisily as the wind blew through it, making it near impossible to hear something sneak up on them. Dean kept his hand near his waist, fingering the gun tucked under the waistband of his dark slacks. Julie checked on the various silver, iron, and bronze blades she kept tucked inside her jacket, and Sam gripped a small canteen of holy water as they walked. They had no idea what to expect, so the hunters had come equipped with every weapon at their disposal, except one.

Dean felt himself wishing that he had the First Blade. There was so much uncertainty in the air, and Dean knew he would feel much more confident if he had the weapon that could kill nearly every creature in existence.

But more importantly, he wouldn't feel so damn weak. Exhaustion was making his limbs heavy, even though he had been sleeping six or seven hours most nights, which was a record for him. He couldn't eat anywhere near his normal amount of food, or else he would just puke it back up. He coughed often, but insisted to Sam and Julie it was just a cold. He tried to hide how truly awful his condition was, but he doubted he was really fooling them.

He was dying. He knew it, and he knew deep down they probably knew it, too. But Dean tried to ignore that fact and pretend it was just another case.

They had been wandering through the vast maze in silence for maybe ten minutes when they heard the first scream.

It was a child's desperate wail, and Julie instinctively grabbed Dean's arm at the sound of a young boy in such fear and pain. The three hunters turned to the west, where the scream had come from, and they were about to take off running when another scream came from the east.

This one was a woman, and she sounded as if she was sobbing, too. They hesitated, unsure what to do.

"Split up," Julie said, knowing how foolish that was in a case like this. But they had no choice. If they saved one victim, but another died because of their refusal to split up, they would never forgive themselves.

The brothers hesitated for a moment, but they knew she was right. "Julie, you go with Dean and save that kid," Sam ordered. "I'll find the woman."

Julie nodded and took off, Dean at her side. They ran through the corn until they came to a fork in the path. Unsure which way led to the child, they froze.

"Which way…?" Dean asked uncertainly.

Julie was torn. Part of her was certain the boy had sounded a little to the south of here, while the other knew he had been only a few yards to the north of here. She didn't want to do this, but she knew she had to.

"You've got you phone, right?" she asked Dean. He pulled his out. "And Sam's got his. So we can reach each other if we have to."

"Right," Dean agreed, obviously understanding what she meant. "I'll go left, you go right?"

"Sure," Julie sighed. She hesitated for half a second and whispered, "Be safe," before taking off down the opposite path.

Julie ran for a while, until her feet were sore and she was out of breath. She was about to give up, certain Dean's path had been the right one, when a small, dirty boy of about seven or eight stumbled onto her path.

Julie dropped to her knees in front of the small, shaking child. He stared at her with big, teary, brown eyes. "Hey, you're okay," Julie assured the young boy. "You're fine. I'm going to get you out of here and back to your mom, okay?"

"He's still in here," the boy whispered.

"What? Who?"

"The…the doctor," he said, sounding terrified. "The one with the big needle, and he said he was going to…to kill me with the big needle!"

The child started sobbing again, and Julie pulled him in for a hug. Once the child had calmed down a bit, she asked, "Johnny—it is Johnny, right?" He nodded, wiping at his nose. "Well, Johnny, where did this doctor go?"

With a small, trembling hand, the boy pointed to the east. The direction that Sam had gone, alone.

Julie pulled out her phone and quickly dialed Sam's number. But she had no service out here, and her phone was useless. She put her phone away, trying to keep her fear and frustration under control. She had to focus on getting this kid out of here safely. Then she could try to find Sam before it was too late.

* * *

Sam wasn't sure how long he'd been running, but it felt like a long time. He was slightly out of breath when he paused briefly. He should have found the woman by now. Of course, he could've taken a wrong turn at any of the forks in the path he had found, but he had just been trying to follow his natural instinct. It had guided him well on many cases, and he hoped it would this time.

The wind changed directions and Sam froze, the cool wind blowing his hair and jacket back. There was something ominous about that wind, about this whole maze mess. Sam had never been on a hunt like this, and something felt very off about it.

Suddenly, a woman's scream came again, and not too far away. He took off running, trying to pinpoint the location before he lost the sound again. It didn't take Sam long at all to find the place where the woman's voice had come from.

However, when he got to the small clearing where the woman's voice had come from, he found it abandoned.

Sam hesitated. He was certain that the scream had come from here, and yet there was no woman in sight. The wind shifted again, and he tensed up, reaching for his gun.

He couldn't explain it, but he could somehow sense that whatever they were hunting was near.

Sam cocked his gun and waited, tense and ready. But nothing happened, and he was beginning to doubt himself when the woman screamed just a couple feet behind him.

He whirled around, but there was no one there. He found himself staring at nothing but corn.

And then a horrifyingly familiar voice laughed lightly and said, "Oh, come _on_, Sam. You really fell for that? That's like the oldest trick in the book! I thought I taught you better than that."

Sam whirled around and pointed his gun at the figure in front of him. Sam wanted to look tough and intimidating, but his hands were shaking slightly, and he was sure he looked as terrified as he felt. There was only one thing in all of creation that could change him from feeling like a hardened hunter to a trembling, terrified kid. And that thing was standing right in front of him.

The tall, attractive, sandy-haired man waved his hand lazily, and Sam's gun flew out of his hands and disappeared into the thick walls of corn. Sam found himself standing terrified and helpless in front of the most evil creature in existence.

That evil creature grinned at him. "Heya, Sammy," Lucifer chuckled. "Did you miss me?"


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

Dean tensed as he heard footsteps approaching. He cocked his gun and waited, ready to fire, as something came running through the maze towards him.

But it was only Julie. Dean lowered his gun as his beautiful girlfriend appeared, her blond hair wild and windswept. She was holding the hand of a small, dirty little boy. He stared up at Dean with the shell-shocked look of someone who had just experienced true terror.

"Are you guys okay?" he asked them.

"Yeah," Julie said. "Johnny's okay, at least physically."

"What happened?" Dean asked the little boy, kneeling to talk to him at his level.

"The scary doctor with the needle tried to kill me," the boy whispered, clinging to Julie's leg.

Dean glanced up at Julie, confused. She shook her head slightly. "I don't know what's going on, Dean," she said softly as he stood up. "From what Johnny's told me, his biggest fear is going to the doctor to get a shot. I don't know if that means that whatever's in here manifests into your worst fear or what, but I do know we've got to get the kid out of here."

"We've got to find Sam, too," Dean said. "Can't even imagine what it would do to him if he got jumped by evil clowns."

Julie frowned. "Was that a joke?"

"No, the guy's deathly afraid of clowns," Dean said, smirking ever-so-slightly. But deep down, he knew that clowns couldn't really be Sam's worst fear. He had lost his parents and his big brother countless times, watched the woman he loved die, and suffered in the pit of hell with the devil himself for an unimaginable amount of time. Sam had much bigger problems than _clowns_.

"I'll go find him," Julie sighed. "You get Johnny back to his mom."

"What? No! Jules, I'm not leaving you in here," Dean snapped. "I'll go find Sammy, and you can get the kid out of here."

"Dean, you and I both know you're not doing so well," Julie said quietly but intensely. "The last thing you need is to have to fight whatever your worst nightmare would be."

"But, Julie-"

"I'll be fine, Dean! I'll find Sam and we'll both get out just fine."

Dean hesitated, but he knew Julie was right, as usual. She gently pried Johnny off of her leg and said, "Johnny, I'm going to send you with my friend Dean. He's a nice guy. He's going to get you out of here, okay?"

Johnny nodded a couple times and then stared up at Dean with wide, scared eyes. Dean softened a little, seeing this poor, scared kid. He bent a little to talk to Johnny and said, "Hey, it'll be okay. Your mom's right outside this maze, and when I get you out, she'll be right there. You'll be okay. No scary doctors are going to get you, kid. I promise."

Despite the dire situation, Julie stopped to smile at Dean. As much as he tried to deny it, Dean was naturally a good man. Even with the evil of the Mark of Cain and the First Blade in him, he was still so kind and gentle with this scared little boy. Julie wanted to stop and really appreciate how good the man she loved was, but Sam could be in trouble, and he surely needed her help.

"Alright, let's go, kid," Dean said, straightening up. He met Julie's eyes and he suddenly looked very sad. "Jules, stay safe, okay?"

"I will," she whispered, and they took off running in opposite directions.

It took Dean maybe ten minutes to find the way out. He was pretty good with directions, and he had been trying to mark the path he had taken so he could retrace his steps. At one point, Johnny Wolfe stumbled on a rock and fell down. Dean carried the small boy the rest of the way until he finally found his way back to the entrance of the maze.

Johnny's mother shrieked in joy and relief as Dean appeared, carrying her little boy. Dean handed the young boy off to his sobbing mother and nodded at the officers who were all eying him with respect and gratitude.

As much as he wanted to enjoy this small moment of actually feeling like he'd done something right, Dean knew his work wasn't over.

Just as he was about to turn around and go back into the maze, he heard one of the most horrible sounds in the world: his little brother crying out in pain. It was far away, but Dean was certain that was Sam's agonized cry.

Without even a word to the people standing around the entrance, Dean ran back in.

* * *

"You're not real," Sam whispered, digging his thumb into his palm like he had once had to do to fight off the hallucinations of Lucifer that plagued him. But the cut on his hand had healed a long time ago, and besides, this wasn't a hallucination.

"I don't know, Sam," Lucifer shrugged. "I feel pretty real to me. What do you think?"

He raised his hand to hit Sam, and the hunter flinched. The devil slowly shook his head and chuckled as he lowered his hand. "Wow, Sam. All these years later, and you're still terrified of me."

The man began to circle him as he talked. "You never really answered my question though, Sammy boy. Did you miss me? Because I sure missed you, old friend. Things got so boring in the pit without you. While you were running around up here with your brother, saving the world and all that jazz, I was downstairs, having to put up with _my _annoying brother for all eternity. We didn't even have you to play with. It was quite dull."

"How did you get out?" Sam asked, trying to sound cold, but coming off as more curious and nervous.

"I had a backup plan, of course, in case you somehow overpowered me," Lucifer explained. "Sooner or later, the demons would get dissatisfied with their leader, Crowley. He would go soft because of you boys, and the rebellious demons would raise their true leaders, my children, the Knights of Hell. Then Abbadon nearly ruined my plans with her own little campaign, but thankfully your brother took care of that mess. How is Dean, by the way?"

Sam glared at the devil. "Not so well, huh? Well, what else would you expect? He bears the Mark of Cain and the First Blade. Soon enough, he'll go full dark side, and you'll have to kill him, or else he'll kill you and make the demon that gave him the Mark so proud. Good old Cain…I missed him, too. I'll have to pay the father of murder a visit some time, after I've had my fun with you."

"You still didn't explain to me how you got out," Sam said, trying to keep the devil talking until he could figure a way out of this mess.

"Oh, right. Well, you see, Sam, the Knights are my most loyal followers. They are part of the very few demons I will actually allow to live once I rule the earth. And they know this, and so my pride and joy, Beelzebub, has always known that should I be returned to the pit, he must free me again. And I must say, he did a very fine job."

Lucifer stretched his arms luxuriously. "Of course, this body will eventually give out, and I'll have to find a new one. Unless you just want to say yes right now, and save us a lot of trouble?"

"No," Sam growled, stepping away from him. "Never."

"You already did once, and you will again," the devil smirked. "But this time, big brother won't be there to save you. You know why? Because pretty soon, your beloved Dean is going to be so far gone you won't even recognize him."

"You're wrong," Sam said. "Dean will fight the Blade and the Mark, and he'll win."

Lucifer laughed. "You're lying to _yourself_, Sam! You and I both know Dean's going to lose. He'll start out just killing monsters and demons. At one point, he'll slip up and kill his pet demon, Crowley, but that'll be excusable. Next it'll be angels, and not just the bad ones. He'll kill precious Castiel, and he'll enjoy it. And then he'll rip pretty little Juliet's heart out."

"He would never do any of that," Sam snarled. "Nothing could ever make him do that."

"You know that's a lie, Sam. And you know how it's going to end, too." The devil stepped closer to Sam, and he had nowhere to go. "One day, you're going to turn around and see big brother with black eyes. And then he's going to kill you too, Sam. Unless you say yes to me. Then nothing could ever hurt you again."

"Get away from me," Sam growled. "Dean's never going to do any of that, and I'm never going to say yes!"

"We'll see about that," Lucifer snarled, and then he pulled a long, curved blade off of his belt and stabbed it into Sam's shoulder.

Sam roared in pain. Trying and failing to ignore the agonizing pain in his left shoulder, he swung his fist and it collided with Lucifer's head. But the devil just straightened up, pulled his knife out, and struck Sam hard across the face. Sam stumbled, and then a boot collided with his back, sending him sprawling onto the ground.

Lucifer knelt down in front of him and lifted his chin with the bloody tip of his blade. "Let's try that again," he sighed. "Now, Sam, will you allow me to possess you and control you so that I can take over the earth and whatever else I could possibly want?"

"No," Sam said through gritted teeth.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. "Come on, Sam. I mean, yes, I've been dying to take you apart again, see what new ways there are to make you scream, but wouldn't it be easier just to say yes now? For both of us?"

"No," Sam said again. "All I'm ever going to say is no."

Lucifer forced him onto his back and jabbed his thumb into the stab wound in Sam's shoulder. Sam screamed through gritted teeth, and Lucifer chuckled. "I see that still hurts. What about fire, huh?" He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small flamethrower. "Does it still hurt when I melt the flesh off your bones? Why don't we give it a shot?"

"Get away from him!" a woman cried in anger and horror.

Lucifer looked up and saw Julie standing there, her gun pointed at him, but her eyes on Sam. stood up and brushed the dirt off his hands. "And here she is now, the lovely Juliet," he smirked. He glanced down at Sam, who was staring up at him with pain in his eyes. "We'll finish this later, Sam."

With no warning, he suddenly kicked Sam so hard in the head that the man went unconscious. Julie cocked her gun and pointed it at the heart of this sadistic man. She had no idea who he was, but the way he had been torturing Sam was more than enough reason for her to blow him away. But before she could fire, the man suddenly vanished.

Julie looked around, but there was no sign of him anywhere. Julie rushed to Sam's side and checked on his condition. He was bleeding pretty heavily from a deep stab wound in his shoulder, and Julie carefully peeled his suit jacket off of him to get a better look at it.

She pulled off her own jacket and used it to put pressure on the wound, hoping to stop the bleeding. Even unconscious, Sam looked slightly pained, and Julie was beginning to really worry about him when she heard footsteps.

She looked up and sighed in relief when she saw that it was just Dean. "Dean!" she cried. "Quick, get over here! We need to get Sam out of here so I can actually do something to stop the bleeding."

Dean didn't rush over to her side like she expected, but casually strolled over to them. He studied his brother on the ground, and then shrugged. "I don't know, looks okay to me. I think he'll survive."

Julie stopped fretting over Sam to stare up at Dean. "What?" she snapped. "Dean, what's wrong with you? Sam's _hurt_!"

"Oh, he's fine," Dean sighed dramatically. "I'll deal with him soon enough. But right now, I need to take care of you."

He advanced towards Julie as she straightened up, and she found herself backing away, really and truly scared. There was something wrong with Dean. He was…_different _somehow. His eyes were colder, and the corners of his mouth were turned up in a cruel sort of smile.

"Where are you going, Julie?" he laughed. "You can't escape here. You can't escape _me_."

"You're not Dean," Julie finally got out, glaring at whatever this was in front of her.

"Give the lady a prize," he smirked. "No, I'm not your boyfriend. But I'm even _better. _I'm what he's really like on the inside. I'm what Dean is going to _become._"

Julie found the knife tucked into her waistband and gripped it tightly. "No, you're not," she growled at the monster circling her. "You're just some pathetic monster who has no idea what he's up against."

Dean, or rather the monster posing as him, cocked his head and grinned a smug sort of grin that was very Dean-like. It was the one Dean wore when he knew he had the winning hand in a poker game, or the smug smirk he gave a despicable monster before he killed them.

"I don't, do I?" he smirked. "Let's see. Juliet Carters, an only child to two parents, both killed by vampires. You've been to hell and back, and you are quite the hunter. You love the Beatles, for some reason you get turned on when it's raining, your best friend in the world is lying there bleeding at your feet…need I say more?"

"How do you know all that?" Julie growled.

"I told you," Not-Dean smirked. He spread his arms wide so she could take in his tall, muscular body, which still looked so damn good in a suit. "I'm Dean Winchester. And another thing I know about you? You are desperately in love with me."

"Not. You," Julie spit through gritted teeth. "You are _not_ him."

"Not the Dean of _today_, you mean," he said, stuffing his hand in his pockets. He was still circling her slowly, like a lion stalking its prey, but there was something so familiar and truly Dean about even the way he walked, that she was finding it hard to convince herself this wasn't really the man she loved. "I'm Dean a few weeks, _maybe _months from now. Your Dean, the _old _me…he's as desperate and delusional as you, sweetheart. He really believes things can get better, that he can control the Mark of the Cain and the First Blade. I really believed that. But time passed, and the Mark got stronger, and for all my bravado, I couldn't fight it. Suddenly, your love wasn't enough anymore, and even Sam couldn't convince me that it was worth it to fight. So one day, I just quit. And now…" He gestured grandly to himself. "I'm me."

"You're not real," Julie said quietly, trying to convince herself.

"There's something nice about this new me," this monstrous version of Dean continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Life is simpler now. I don't have to carry all that guilt and pain I did before. I'm free now. I'm happy now. Isn't that what you wanted for me, anyway? If you really loved me, you would want me to be happy, right?" His smile was syrupy sweet, and his eyes were mocking her. Julie found herself irrationally terrified, staring at this twisted shadow of what had once been her Dean. This was her worst nightmare, come to life.

As Julie had backed away from this monstrous Dean, she had ended up a couple feet away from Sam. All of the sudden, he groaned slightly and his eyes fluttered open. Julie wanted to run to Sam, but Dean, or whatever else this was, was closer to him than she was.

Sam's eyes landed on this version of Dean, and for a second, Julie could swear she saw that same attractive, sandy-haired man who had tortured Sam. Then the monster was back to Dean, and his face was twisted into an angry snarl. Before Julie could stop him, Dean stalked over to Sam and kicked him in the head, hard, knocking him out again.

"Stay down, Sammy," he growled. "This isn't your nightmare."

"That's it," Julie gasped suddenly, and Not-Dean looked up to glare at her. "That's what you are. You're some kind of shifter, one that turns into people's worst nightmares. For Johnny, you were a doctor, because he's terrified of needles. And for Sam, you would have been…" Her eyes widened. "Lucifer." For surely nothing could be worse to Sam than the devil himself, who had spent an unimaginable amount of time torturing Sam, after possessing him and forcing him to kill Bobby Singer, Castiel, and nearly kill Dean. After that, a dark version of Dean didn't seem so bad.

But as this Dean just grinned and slowly circled closer to her, it was hard to imagine anything worse than this. She would have expected that Asmodeus or Beelzebub be her worst nightmare after everything they'd done to her, but this was somehow worse.

"What does it matter?" he said. "So, this hasn't happened to me yet. But it will, and we both know it. And you know what? I'll be happier. I won't have to take care of my pain-in-the-ass baby brother anymore." Julie had heard Dean call Sam that before, but it had always been said with such affection, and now it was said with contempt. "And I won't have to take care of you, the hopelessly-in-love, desperate, pathetic _bitch_." Julie flinched as he spat the word at her. Dean had never called her bitch. Never.

Dean's eyes were cold as he moved dangerously close to her. "You and Sammy? You were just holding me back, tying me to my old mistakes. I'm a new man without you two and that baggage. I'm a better man."

"You're not real," Julie whispered. She tried to sound defiant, but her voice shook. This was far too real…

Suddenly, Dean lashed out and hit her across the face. Julie clutched her stinging cheek and stared up at him in horror and surprise. "I don't know," he chuckled. "That felt pretty real to me."

Julie raised her knife to stab this thing, because it just _couldn't _be Dean. But he raised his own knife, thankfully not the First Blade, and blocked her first strike easily. Julie tried to kick his legs out from underneath him, but he easily side-stepped and got a good punch in the jaw in while her guard was down.

Julie stumbled back and then tried to straighten up to fight. But this monster was just as strong and fast as Dean, and he had already reached her. His blade flicked out and sliced her right arm open. It wasn't a deep cut, but it hurt like hell, and Julie dropped her knife.

The next second, Dean grabbed her left arm and twisted it at a horrible angle. There was a pop in Julie's shoulder, and then she screamed in pain as her left shoulder was dislocated.

For a second, she thought she heard Dean's voice from far away, crying her name. But then it came right in her ear. "I bet that felt real, too."

He threw her to the ground and Julie lay on her stomach for a moment, not caring about the fact that her face was pressed into the dirt ground, or that her blood was dripping onto her once nice white shirt. She was shaking, and not just in pain, but also in fear of this monster that was once the man she loved. Because this could so easily be Dean, if he was not somehow saved.

Dean knelt down and forced Julie to roll onto her back. He straddled her, and she found herself staring up at the monster. This was definitely not the first time they had been in this position, but it was definitely the first time he was holding a knife. He ran the tip of his knife teasingly along her cheekbone and then her jaw as he spoke.

"You want to know something else, Julie? It took some perspective, but I've finally realized the truth about how I _really _felt about you." His hands slipped lower and he undid a couple buttons of her shirt. Julie tried to throw the monster off, but he was every bit as strong and heavy as Dean, and she knew she had no hope of ever beating him. Not-Dean traced his knife down her neck to her heaving chest as he continued to speak.

"Well, it's like this. I mean, you're pretty and all, and you're pretty good in bed, I'll give you that, and you were _there _and all…but there was nothing special about you." Julie hated to admit it, but those words really stung. This monstrous Dean smirked slightly at the pain in her eyes. "I'm sure you were so proud of yourself, the woman who finally conquered Dean Winchester. But do you want to know the real truth? You were just a distraction, a good ally to have, and you made me feel pretty good about myself, seeing how desperately in love with me you were. But, Julie, sweetheart…I never really loved you. Sorry, but it's true. I'm not sure I've ever really loved any woman. There was Lisa Braeden, she was pretty good, definitely better than you. Second place isn't too shabby, though." Dean was grinning, and Julie could feel tears welling up in her eyes despite herself.

"You're lying," she said in a hoarse whisper. "This isn't Dean talking."

"No?" he smirked. "Come on, Julie. You know it's true. You were never going to be enough for me, the great Dean Winchester. I'm a legend, and you're a pathetic, lovesick bitch."

"Don't you say that to me, Dean," she whispered, blinking back tears.

Dean laughed cruelly. "I don't need you now, and I never needed you. You've served your purpose, Juliet. Now die with at least _some _self-respect." He moved his blade to rest over her heart. "I have to admit, I'm going to enjoy this. And you can watch me kill you, see what you turned me into. Because you and I both know, if I hadn't needed to take up the First Blade again to save your sorry ass, I wouldn't have become…_this_!"

And his green eyes flashed pure black.

Dean pulled his knife back to drive into her heart, and a single tear trickled down her cheek.

"_Hey_!" Dean growled, but not the one about to stab her. That monstrous Dean looked up and grinned. He stood up and walked away from Julie, forgetting her as a much more interesting victim appeared.

The real Dean stood over his fallen brother, pointing his gun at this monstrous version of himself. And despite himself, Dean's arms were trembling slightly.

"Interesting," Not-Dean smirked, slowly approaching the real Dean. "I'm not changing. That means that your worst nightmare, Dean Winchester, is me. Or rather, _you_."

Dean glared with green eyes at the black-eyed version of himself. That monster smiled wider. "Funny, because there are so many other things that I would think would scare you. Perhaps Alastair, the demon who tortured you for decades in hell?"

And suddenly the other Dean was another man with black eyes. From Julie's position on the ground, she couldn't get a good look at him, but she did see the unmistakable fear in Dean's eyes as he recognized this demon.

"Or perhaps Sammy gone dark side?" Alastair guessed, and the next second he was Dean's little brother with eyes black as night, demon blood smeared around his mouth.

"But no, not this one either," Sam sighed. Then his expression went even more malicious. "Ooh! I know. How about…Daddy?"

The monster suddenly took on the form of John Winchester, complete with dark, angry eyes and his mouth turned down in a disapproving frown. "You're pathetic, Dean," he spat, and Dean flinched. "You're a weak, disgusting excuse for a human, and you don't deserve to be my son."

There was a lot of pain in Dean's eyes, even as the monster shifted back into the twisted version of himself. Not-Dean laughed. "Damn, Dean. You're a mess. Or rather, _we_ are. You've got so much to be afraid of, and yet your worst fear is _yourself_?! Well, makes sense, I guess. You've known your whole life this is how your story was going to end. You'll kill Crowley and your beloved angel, and then you'll kill this pathetic bitch, and then you'll kill Sammy. After that, then you'll finally be what you always knew you were destined to be: me."

Dean stared at the monster in front of him, stared at himself, and there was true fear in his eyes. "You fight this so hard, Dean," the monster sighed. "You've been fighting your whole life, but all you do is mess up. Trust me, it's a lot easier just to give in. Here, I've got an idea. I'll get you your Blade, and you can kill Juliet and Sammy boy here, and then I'll help you. It'll all go away, Dean. You don't have to suffer anymore. You can-"

But Dean would never know what he could do, because a gunshot went off and the monster fell to the ground, a silver bullet through its heart.

Dean found himself staring at Julie. She had hauled herself to an upright position, even with her bleeding arm and dislocated shoulder, and she had shot the monster with a silver bullet. It must have been some kind of shifter, or at least an offshoot of the species, because the silver bullet had effectively killed it.

Dean stared at Julie, and she stared back at him, both of them wide-eyed and breathing heavily. Neither of them could think of a single thing to say. They had both just faced their worst nightmare, and it was the same thing.

Dean. Granted, it was Dean gone full-demon, but…it was _Dean_. That thing had walked and talked like Dean, and even if he wasn't real, it had _felt_ real.

Sam stirred slightly, groggily opening his eyes. He stared up at Dean, confused, and then a little scared. "You're not going to kick me again, are you?" he muttered, and Dean frowned, confused.

Julie tried to get to her feet, but she staggered a little to the side. Dean rushed forward and caught her waist, afraid to grab her arms, since both were hurt. He helped her stand, but then he looked away, unable to meet her eyes after what they had just seen.

Without speaking, the two of them went to Sam's side, and Dean helped his little brother sit up. He pressed Julie's suit jacket to the stab wound again, slowing the bleeding. "We need to get you out of here and patch you up," Dean said. "Julie too."

"What happened?" Sam asked, confused, as Dean helped him get to his feet. "I was…there wasn't any woman, and then…Lucifer…"

"Lucifer?!" Dean cried. "He was _here_?"

"Not really," Julie said quietly. "That thing was some kind of shape shifter. Except it was psychic or something, because it could read your mind, see your worst nightmare, and become it."

Sam nodded shakily. "Good. As long as that bastard stays in the pit, there's at least a small chance of us actually surviving this mess."

Then Sam frowned again. "But then, when I woke up again, Dean kicked me and knocked me out. Why would you do that?"

"I didn't," Dean said quietly, staring at the ground.

"Then what…?" Sam stopped, realizing what must have happened.

"That was my nightmare," Julie admitted softly. "Dean as a demon, basically."

"Oh." Sam swallowed. There was a long, tense silence, and then he finally spoke. "Well, we'd better get out of here then. You did find the kid, I'm assuming?"

"Yeah, he's safe," Dean said. "At least one thing went right today."

Dean led them out of the maze, and as Julie walked behind him, watching him, she tried to convince herself that monster had been just that: a monster. Not Dean. There was no way Dean would ever turn into that _thing_.

…Right?

* * *

"So…Lucifer, huh?" Julie asked carefully, trying to distract Sam as she patched up his wound. She had already made him strip down to a white undershirt, given him painkillers, spread disinfectant on the nasty wound, and now she was trying to distract him as she stitched the hole shut as best she could with nothing more than a first aid kit to work with.

Sam gritted his teeth, and not just because of the pain. He shifted to a different part of the hood of the Impala, uncomfortable with the topic. "You don't have to talk about it," Julie said quickly, sensing how tense and painful a subject it was.

"No, I…it would probably be good if you knew what happened," Sam admitted. "And it might actually help me to talk about it. I don't think anybody knows what happened besides Cas, and that's because he took the memories from me to save me."

"Not even Dean?" she asked, confused.

Sam's eyes met hers. "I'm his little brother, the one he's spent his whole life trying to protect. Do you really think telling him how Lucifer tortured me in the pit and drove me insane is really going to be good for him?"

Julie bit her lip. "Right. Wow. God, Sam, I'm so…" She stopped and sighed, knowing that there was nothing she could say to make what happened go away.

Julie regretted picking this subject, because now she was more focused on what Sam was saying than the gaping hole in his flesh. "Dean said you used to have hallucinations?" she asked, going back to her work.

"Yeah," Sam sighed. "It drove me crazy. Literally. He was always there, even when I was with Dean. It was easier then, when I had him to help remind me what was real, but…it was still bad."

"Did he…?" Julie started, and then stopped.

"Torture me?" Sam asked drily. His shoulder tensed up under her touch and she stopped, waiting until he relaxed slightly to continue stitching him up. After a moment, Sam took a deep breath and relaxed enough for her to go back to work. "Yeah. Not that often. Usually just when Dean wasn't there and I was alone. It was never quite as bad as when he was actually there, though."

Julie stopped probing him. She really did _not _want to know what her friend had suffered through in that pit. Sure, she had been at the mercy of hell's two greatest torturers, but they were only apprentices to the true master, who had Sam at his mercy for much longer than she was down in hell.

"So…Dean, huh?" Sam asked her after a long moment.

Julie had to stop, even though she was almost done, because her hand was trembling. "Yeah," she said softly after a long time, getting her emotions under control. "Dean."

Sam hesitated. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Okay."

A few seconds later, Julie turned back to the first aid kit and pulled out a sterile white bandage. She wrapped Sam's shoulder in it and stepped back. "There. You're all done."

Sam hopped off the Impala and patted the hood. "Alright. Your turn."

Julie raised her eyebrows. "You're not exactly a trained medical professional," she pointed out.

"No, but I'm sure I've got more experience than half of them," he shot back.

Julie hopped up on the Impala. Sam had helped her reset her shoulder before they had even left the maze. They had gotten away from the crowd of cops as quickly as they could, after making sure Johnny Wolfe was alright, and Dean drove them to the nearest gas station. He was inside buying some supplies as Sam and Julie patched each other up.

The bleeding from the cut on Julie's arm wasn't serious enough that she had been too worried about it. Still, Sam insisted on disinfecting it and wrapping it in a bandage. He finished in a couple of minutes, and Julie thanked him.

With no warning, Sam suddenly pulled Julie in for a hug. She didn't hesitate to hug him back, although she had to do it gingerly, because both of her arms were hurt. "It'll be okay, Julie," Sam muttered into her hair. "He'll be okay."

Julie nodded about a dozen times, trying to blink away the tears that were welling up in her eyes. Sam was right. Of course he was. He'd known Dean literally all of his life, watched Dean grow and change and suffer for almost thirty-three years. Sam knew Dean better than anyone, and if he said Dean would be okay, he would be. Sam and Julie would make sure of it.

"Ready to go?" Dean asked. They pulled apart and turned to see him standing nearby. Maybe it was just the dim lighting of a gas station parking lot at midnight, but he looked almost sickly pale. He was holding a coffee in his right hand, and Julie could swear it was sloshing around because of his trembling hand.

For a second, Julie could swear he was about to collapse. He looked weak, sick to the point that it bordered on dangerously unhealthy. Deadly.

Then he forced a grim smile and said, "Don't worry, this is just coffee. No alcohol. As the only non-wounded person here, I am unfortunately the designated driver."

"That's probably best," Sam admitted, wincing as he tried to move his injured shoulder.

The three hunters piled into the Impala, Sam and Dean in the front, and Julie in the backseat. They rode in an exhausted silence, and Julie was having a hard time keeping her eyes open.

Unfortunately, so was Dean.

It wasn't even a thirty minute drive to the motel they had reserved for the night, but Dean's body didn't seem to care. For weeks, his body had been giving out. He had been trying to ignore it, but he needed to kill to survive. And now, after the amount of strength it had taken to run around that maze and to face his worst nightmare…Dean was falling apart.

It came suddenly, and without warning. If Dean had felt it coming, he would have pulled the Impala over and stopped on the side of the ride. The two people he loved most in the world were sitting in the car with him!

But there was no warning. Suddenly, something in Dean decided to just quit working, and against his will, Dean's eyes suddenly rolled back into his head and he collapsed, falling forward onto the wheel.

Sam had been drifting off, but he woke up just in time to hear Julie scream as the Impala careened off the road and straight into a tree.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty**

Julie woke up first, and immediately regretted it.

Everything hurt. Her head was throbbing, and there was a large bump on her forehead from where it had collided with the back of Sam's seat. The inside of her mouth tasted metallic, and when she coughed, she spat up blood.

She started to notice other injuries. Her dislocated shoulder was back, the impact having knocked it out of place. That pain was bad enough, and when you paired it with her awful, splitting headache and the large gash across her cheek and the several smaller cuts on her arm from broken glass, she had a hard time staying conscious.

The car was a mess. The windshield was shattered, and bits of bloody, broken glass were littered across the seats and floor of the car. There were a couple tree branches poking through the gaping hole in the front of the car, and the front of Dean's Baby had crumpled around the trunk of the sturdy oak. The airbags were out in the front seats, so it was difficult for Julie to tell through her spotty vision how bad Sam and Dean were, but she knew they needed a hospital as badly as she did, if not more.

Julie had done few tasks in her life more difficult than this attempt at dialing nine-one-one. Every movement was painful, and she could barely move her right arm due to the many cuts and bruises on it. Her left arm was immobile. Still, by some small miracle, she managed to fish her phone out, which thankfully was still working, and she dialed the emergency hotline.

She put the call on speaker and waited, trying to keep her breathing steady, as the phone rang, once, twice, three times. Her vision was a bit spotty, and she knew she didn't have long before the pain overwhelmed her.

Halfway through the fourth ring, a man picked up the phone. "Hello?" he asked.

Julie tried to speak, but instead started coughing and choking on her blood again.

"Hello? Is someone there? Are you alright? Can you breathe?" The man sounded too panicked to have been doing this long. Great. She got a newbie.

"I've been in a wreck," Julie finally got out in a hoarse voice so weak she was a little surprised he heard her.

"Are you alright, ma'am? Are there any other passengers?"

"My…my husband and his brother." Once they got to the hospital, she'd be grateful for that little lie, because family got privileges that just plain girlfriends didn't. "They're unconscious, and they've sustained pretty serious injuries. I can't…I can't get a good look at them, but my guess is…they're worse than me."

"How severe are your injuries, ma'am?"

"Pretty serious head wound, possible concussion…dislocated shoulder… bleeding in several places…possibly internally." She tried to take a deep breath, and it hurt. "Possible bruised ribs, maybe even broken."

"Those are some pretty serious injuries, ma'am," the man said nervously. "Usually you're diagnosed by a medical professional. Are you sure-?"

"Yes!" she snapped. The pain was threatening to overwhelm her. She quickly told him the name of the interstate they were on, and he promised to have help there in ten minutes or sooner.

She hung up and sat with her cheek resting on the back of Sam's seat, which was wet with her own blood. With the last of her energy, she moved forward slightly and reached out to find Dean's arm in the mess of deflated airbag and broken glass and jumbled limbs that was the front seat of his beloved Impala.

Julie finally found Dean's right arm and she felt around for his wrist, trying to ignore the way she was getting her hand wet with his blood.

With the very last bit of strength in her, Julie found his wrist and she held it for a moment. Slow horror filled her, even as she began to slip back into unconsciousness.

Perhaps it was because she was fading out of consciousness. She hoped it was because she was fading out of consciousness. But Julie could not feel any pulse in Dean at all.

* * *

"My lord, your three o'clock is here," the gorgeous black woman standing in the doorway announced.

Beelzebub smirked slightly. His sister, despite her many flaws, was quite entertaining, if nothing else. She got bored easily, and after playing around with her new sexy body and seeing how many men she could get to sell their souls for a night with her, she would move on to the next poor, gorgeous woman she could find. Apollyon was going through a punk phase, and today she was riding a tall, curvy, athletic black woman with choppy, short hair and a diamond stud in her nose.

"What is my three o'clock again, Polly?" Beelzebub asked her, using a toothpick to pick the olives out of his martini. He too was experimenting, with the many different ways humans drank alcohol now.

"That would be the demon, Crowley," she sighed, shooting the dark-haired, bearded man a cold look as he sauntered into the room.

Beelzebub had to admit, the demon had style. Very few demons, especially ones that he had threatened to kill, would have the nerve to stroll so casually into hell's throne room. Granted, this had once been Crowley's throne room, but there was no hint or anger of jealousy on his calm face as the demon approached Beelzebub's throne.

"My lord," Crowley said, bowing his head slightly.

Beelzebub smirked. "Wow. It must really be hard for you to be saying that instead of hearing it, and here of all places!" He gestured to the grand room that had once been Crowley's.

The demon shrugged. "If all goes according to plan, I'll get it back soon enough. Anyway, doesn't matter how I feel. I'm not stupid enough to challenge you."

"And that is why I let you live!" the king of the Knights of Hell smirked. In the back of the room, Apollyon rolled her eyes.

"Now, what news have you of the Winchesters and Juliet?" Beelzebub asked, sitting forward in his chair eagerly.

"They're trying to keep me out of the loop, which is a wise move by them, but I've got some leads," Crowley admitted. "Dean Winchester isn't using the Blade at all. He's hoping if he goes cold turkey he won't go dark."

"Fool," Apollyon smirked. "Nothing can save him now!"

Beelzebub shot her a look. "_My_ throne room. _I_ talk. Am I clear?"

She rolled her eyes, but didn't dare speak again.

"Anyway, what she said," Beelzebub sighed. "That might slow things down a bit, though. How can we speed them up?"

"Well, a week ago, your siren found them," Crowley said. "She put Dean under, and he nearly killed his girlfriend, but Sam killed the siren before Dean killed her in his typical heroic way."

Beelzebub sighed. "Yes, Cynthia failed me, what else is new. What about that strange new shifter I found? Have they discovered him yet?"

"Oh, that toy? They found him yesterday," Crowley smirked.

"And?"

"Well, they all survived. Juliet and Sam were wounded, but the girl managed to take out the shifter."

"That's my girl," Beelzebub chuckled. "Tough as nails, that one, and pretty as a picture. I do rather miss having her around. Once we get Dean under control, then we can worry about getting her back, and Sam as well. I'd love to see how long it will take me to break that one."

Crowley looked down for a second until he could get his face back into that carefully calm, controlled expression he kept around the Knights of Hell, and forced himself not to imagine the Winchesters and that girl at the hands of this demon. If he could just get through this meeting…

"I do have one other lead, though," Crowley said. "It appears Dean is deteriorating very rapidly now that he's no longer killing with the Blade. Soon, he'll be in danger for his life. I think I should be able to persuade his brother and girlfriend to help convince him to start killing again, once they see how much trouble he's in. And they won't suspect a thing."

"I have to admit, you're really beginning to grow on me, Crowley," Beelzebub said after a moment. "Go. Do what you have to. And don't even think of betraying me. I think we both know how that will end."

Crowley turned and walked out, pausing to smirk at Apollyon. She bared her teeth and hissed at him, and he just smirked wider as he walked past her. She could act tough, but there was nothing she could do to him as long as he was on Beelzebub's good side.

He had better find a way to stay there, though.

* * *

"_Dean? Dean, honey, can you hear me?"_

"_I don't think he can, Julie."_

"_The doctors said he should be better by now, Sam!"_

"_What do they know? They think he's got cancer or something. They can't figure out why his body's just…quit."_

"_Well, cancer makes more sense than the Mark of Cain and the First Blade demanding that he kill or die, doesn't it?"_

"…_Julie…"_

"_He'll be okay. Won't he? He'll be okay. We'll find a way to make him okay."_

"_We can try."_

"_Sam-"_

"_No, you're right. We _will."

"…_Should we call Cas?"_

"_Yes. No. I don't know, maybe. He's got his own problems to worry about, but… he'd want to be here."_

"_I know."_

"…_Hey, Julie, it's okay. He'll be okay. I promise. Dean's gotten through worse than this. He'll be okay. Promise."_

* * *

"_Dean? I, uh…can you hear me?...Of course, even if you _could _hear me, you couldn't talk. Anyway, uh…man, I feel stupid. Could you at least like twitch if you can hear me? Isn't that what they do in movies or whatever?_

"…_Okay. So you didn't twitch. Not sure if that means you really can't hear me of if that twitching stuff is bullshit. Well, I'm just going to keep talking anyway, on the small chance that you actually are listening. So, the doctors say you should be fine. Your arm isn't too bad. It's just sprained and not broken, which is a small miracle in itself. Only bruised ribs, no broken ones, which was another big surprise. You suffered some head trauma and blood loss, but still, you're not anywhere near as messed up as you could be. And then there's the whole issue of your organs failing, but…that's not much to do with the car crash…_

"_Look, Dean, I'm sorry. I should have seen what was happening to you. I shouldn't have let you drive. I should have made you keep the Blade, made you kill that shifter or whatever that was so this wouldn't be happening. If you never wake up again, it'll be on me…_

"_Dammit, I told myself I was not going to cry. I'm a mess, Dean. What am I even supposed to do without my bitchy big brother to boss me around? Julie and I…we're losing it. She's okay, physically at least. Just sits in here all the time, watching you and crying…the doctors don't have the heart to tell her you're probably not going to wake up…_

"_Great, and I'm crying again. Dammit. _Dammit!_ Dean, just _wake up_, dammit! We need you! I _need _you! Please, Dean, it can't end like this…you're my brother…I can't lose you…"_

* * *

Dean opened his eyes and blinked several times. Sunlight wafted into the hospital room through cheery white blinds, making the clean, harshly white surfaces a bit softer.

Dean tried to shift into a sitting position, and realized he was wearing only a hospital gown. Great. That was totally not humiliating. He tried to lift his hand to his face, and found that there was an IV tapped into his wrist, limiting his range of movement.

He glanced around his hospital room and softened. One of the stiff hospital chairs was pulled as close to his bed as it could be, and Julie was sitting in it, her arms resting on the edge of the bed, her head buried in her arms. Her face was turned to the side, and Dean studied the soft curves of her face, her long, dark lashes, the thin cut along her cheek. He lifted his free hand and gently brushed a couple curls out of her face, but she didn't stir.

"She won't wake up," a familiar voice said, and Dean practically jumped out of the hospital bed.

"The hell are _you _doing here?!" he cried as he looked up to see a familiar, pale, odd-looking man in a dark suit.

"You're sitting in a hospital. The last thing you remember was your body giving out on you and you crashing your car into a tree. What do you think I'm doing here?"

"No," Dean slowly. "I can't…I'm not…I'm not dead."

"Not yet," Death admitted, using his cane to tap on one of the machines hooked up to Dean. "These are making sure of that."

"Then I repeat my earlier question: the hell are _you _doing here?!"

Death himself shook his head, smiling slightly. "I have to admit, Dean Winchester, I have rather missed coming to collect you. It's been a whole six months, give or take, since the last time you died, I believe. I was beginning to wonder if you were actually going to live a normal life and quit dying so often."

"Like that would ever happen," Dean muttered. "Okay, so I get it. You're here for old time's sake. You want to say goodbye to me before you have to take me downstairs, is that it?"

Death studied him for a long moment. "So odd," the Horseman said suddenly. "In all of my time collecting souls, very few people have actually believed they deserved hell, especially when they knew exactly what it entailed. It's quite impressive how low your opinion of yourself is, especially when you've got people like her so desperate to prove you wrong."

Death approached Julie's sleeping form, and Dean tensed up seeing him so close. Dean knew this being could kill the woman he loved with just a touch, so when the Horseman brushed his cold, pale, wrinkled hand across her head, it took all Dean had not to lunge at Death and try to fight him, even though he knew he would lose terribly.

"Juliet Carters," Death sighed, studying her sleeping face. Dean gritted his teeth. Surely Death would not take Julie's life for no reason. He had no grudge against her, and he wouldn't take her unless it was her time. But he still couldn't relax until that powerful, extremely deadly being stepped away from the woman he loved.

"I really regretted taking her, as much as I can regret doing my job," Death sighed. "She was very good. And not just to you, but to everyone. She was a good person, and I usually regret taking them. I regret taking newborn babes from mothers. I regret taking innocent little girls from loving fathers, or mothers from poor little boys." At this, his cold, dark eyes seemed to burn into Dean, and for a moment he was back at that horrific night thirty-two years ago, when his mother had burned on the ceiling and his life had gone to hell. Literally. Surely Death himself had been present to take Mary Winchester's soul, since her death was so important to the plans of both heaven and hell.

Dean pulled his thoughts away from the death of his mother to the death of the woman he loved. "Why did you take her, then? Why did you let that son of a bitch drag her to hell? She didn't deserve that! No one deserves that, but especially not her."

"I do my job, Dean Winchester," Death said coldly. "Do not ask me to bend the laws of nature for your pretty little girlfriend."

Dean glared at him. "Fine. You don't want to apologize for letting her die and go to hell, fine. Just tell me why you're here or get the hell out."

"You should be a lot more respectful to someone who could just take your life, as well as hers and Sam's as well," the Horseman warned him.

"You won't," Dean growled. "It's not following the 'laws of nature' or whatever that bullshit was."

"Technically, all three of you should not be walking this earth. It's not natural, and I've every right to put you back in the ground. But you're right, I won't take them. But I _should_ take you. In fact, you're due in a couple of days. But I'm bending the rules for you yet again, Dean Winchester. You're supposed to sit in that coma you've been in the past four days for two more, and then you'll give up entirely, and I'll come for you." Dean blinked, surprised and a little scared. "But I came here and woke you up, because this isn't really your time. Not quite. Soon, but not yet."

"What are you saying?" Dean asked slowly.

"I'm saying this isn't the path you're meant to take. It is another path you could take, should you choose. But I consider it only fair to give you all the options."

"Alright," Dean said, trying to look as tough as he could in nothing but a hospital gown. "Let's hear my options."

"One option would be to just give up now and die, and I'll take you to your final resting place," Death said gravely. "I won't tell you which place it is, since that's not playing by the rules, but I promise you've been there before."

Dean blinked. "Did you just make a joke? Did _Death_ just make a _joke _about the ridiculous amount of times I've died and how I've gone to both heaven and hell?!"

"Clearly I will be making no more jokes," Death sighed. "Your other option would be to take up the First Blade and begin killing again."

"What? No!" Dean cried, all amusement gone.

"Those are your only options," the Horseman told him. "You are dying because you refuse to kill with that First Blade. And this time there will be no quitting. Before, you were able to stop because there were no Knights of Hell on the earth. But now they roam free, and as long as they are out there, the Mark of Cain and the First Blade will demand you kill them or be killed."

"But…you know what it will do to me," Dean whispered, not even bothering to hide his fear from Death. Death knew him a lot better than many of the people he had called friends, actually, and had seen Dean at his weakest points. He had nothing to hide from the Horseman.

"I cannot change the choices you have made, Dean Winchester," Death said flatly. "You must live with them. And perhaps you will not succumb as quickly as you think. You are strong, Dean. Perhaps you can kill all of the Knights of Hell before the Mark of Cain and the First Blade make you into something as evil as any of them."

"And what if I can't?" Dean asked darkly.

"Perhaps Juliet or Sam will be strong enough to kill you," Death shrugged. "I highly doubt it. There is a chance that Castiel will have the strength and care enough about you to stop you, but he too has a soft spot for you. Your best bet is probably the demon Crowley. While he does have a soft spot for you as well, when worst comes to worst, he'll pull the trigger. He's not as weak as your other friends."

"Whoever said Crowley was my friend?" Dean muttered.

"We'll see soon enough, won't we, who his allegiances truly lie with," Death said, more to himself to Dean.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, confused.

"No matter," Death said quickly. "You have other problems. I'm going to give you the next two days, Dean. Instead of being in a coma, you will be awake. You can talk to your brother and kiss your girlfriend and say goodbye to your friend Castiel, because in two days, I will still come for you. Unless you take up that Blade again and kill. Otherwise, I _will _have to take you with me."

"Sounds fair," Dean said, eying Julie's sleeping face. Two days left with her. Two days to somehow find all four remaining Knights of Hell and kill them. Two days to somehow say everything he needed to say to Sammy and Jules and Cas and even Crowley…there was no way he could do it.

"I hope you choose well, Dean," Death said coolly, and then he disappeared.

Julie's blue eyes suddenly flew wide open and she sat up, confused. She saw Dean, eyes open and alert, and she shrieked, before suddenly throwing her arms around Dean. He winced slightly and sucked in a pained breath through gritted teeth as she crushed him in a desperate hug. He patted her back with his good arm and whispered, "Jules, I'm still a bit sore…"

She released him and laughed nervously, wiping at her eyes. "God. Sorry. I just…I thought you were…"

She started to cry even more, wiping furiously at her eyes. With his good hand, Dean reached out and brushed a tear off her cheek, and Julie leaned into his hand.

"God, I thought you were going to die before I said I was sorry," she sobbed.

"What are you sorry for, honey?" Dean frowned.

"My nightmare," she choked out. "It wasn't you. You know that, right? I'm not scared of you, and I would never want you to think that. I just-"

"Shh, I know, it's okay," Dean said gently. He shifted over on the hospital bed and guided her up onto the bed so she could settle in next to him. She carefully found a way to curl up next to him without hurting him, and Dean stroked her hair as he spoke. "I know, Jules. It's okay. That was my nightmare, too, remember?"

Dean tried not to think about that dark version of himself. That shape shifter, or whatever it was, had assumed the form of so many things he feared. The demon, Alastair, one of the most feared demons and most skilled torturers in all of creation, who had taken Dean apart in a million different ways for thirty years on his rack, finding new ways to break Dean, to make him scream and cry and beg for death. There was no one Dean should fear more than him. Then Sam, his beloved little brother gone fully demonic. His father, disappointed and disgusted with him.

And yet none of those had scared Dean like looking at himself had, an evil, demonic version of himself.

"How's my baby?" Dean asked to distract himself.

Julie frowned slightly, confused. "Um…I'm okay. Better off than you definitely. Sam and I are both mostly recovered."

Dean laughed a little. "That's good," he said with a smirk. "Really, I'm glad you two are okay. But…I was actually talking about the car."

"Of course you were," she muttered, but she couldn't stay annoyed with him, as he brushed her hair away from her eyes so he could get a better look at her. Julie gave Dean an apologetic look. "Dean…I know this is going to be hard for you, but…she's _not_ doing so good. She got towed to a lot near here, and Sam and I made sure they won't trash her. Once you get better, you can fix her up."

Dean glanced down, silently apologizing to his beloved car. He wouldn't actually have the time to get better and fix her up because in two days, he would be…

"I should let Sam know you're here!" Julie cried suddenly, snapping Dean out of his dark thoughts. "He's been worried sick about you. I think he went to get Cas, since we didn't know if you'd…if you were going to get better. He wanted Cas to get to say goodbye."

"Cas has his own problems," Dean frowned. "He doesn't need to come here!"

"He'll want to," Julie said gently. "He'll want to see you."

Dean hesitated, but she was already calling Sam. She barely even had to say that Dean was awake before the phone went dead, and Dean was sure it would be mere seconds before Sam came running into the room.

Julie turned back to Dean and stared at him for a long time. "What? Do I look that bad?" he smirked.

"No, you look…" The corner of her mouth twitched up in a smirk, and she brushed a finger along one of the stitched up cuts on his forehead. He looked a lot better than the bloody mess they had cut out of the wrecked Impala four days ago. They had performed two surgeries on him, and he'd been on life support for four days, but none of the doctors could quite figure out what was wrong with him. He had a badly sprained arm, four bruised ribs, some serious head trauma and quite a bit of blood loss from his many cuts and bruises, but he should have woken up two days ago. There was just so much internal damage, though. His organs were failing, and the doctors had told her and Sam yesterday that Dean was probably never going to wake up.

Well, they were wrong. Dean was back, and soon he'd be as good as new, and they would get through this somehow. Julie would never have to lose him, at least not until they had lived long, happy, full lives.

Julie tucked her hair behind her ear so it wasn't in her way as she bent to kiss Dean. She had to be careful, because his lip was split open on one side, but it was healing quickly. Dean started to kiss her back, wrapping his good arm around her waist, but then he suddenly pulled away.

"What's wrong?" she asked, confused.

"Sorry, it's just, uh…well, maybe we can continue this another time when I have more clothes on?" he said carefully, smirking a little.

"Right, because I've never seen you naked before," she shot back.

"But I don't think Sammy has, at least not anytime recently, and Cas sure as hell better not have."

Julie turned in the hospital bed and saw Sam and Cas standing in the doorway. Sam was pale, like he was seeing a ghost, but he was grinning, too.

Julie quickly got up and let Sam rush to his brother's side. "You're okay!" the younger Winchester cried as he reached Dean.

"Miracles really do happen," Dean shrugged.

Cas smiled slightly. He hadn't quite had time to adjust to the fact that Dean was dying yet, because Sam had just called him not even ten minutes ago, and then suddenly he was alright again. But he was still relieved for his best friend, and for his two other friends who had been so worried about him these past four days.

"Thank you so much for being here, Cas," Julie said, approaching the angel.

"Of course," Castiel said gravely. "If Dean or any of you are ever in trouble, don't hesitate to call me. Please, I want to help."

"I know you do, Cas, but you've got your own problems to worry about," Julie pointed out.

"I think Dean has saved the angels enough times that they can hold off their fighting for a day to make sure that he's alright," the angel said.

Julie hugged her friend tightly, and he awkwardly hugged her back until he found that he actually was comfortable hugging this woman now. Dean gave him a grateful smile over her shoulder, and Cas nodded gravely at his friend.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Sam asked Dean nervously.

Dean thought for a second about telling these three people he cared so deeply about that he had forty-eight hours left to live, or go back to the Blade. But he found them staring at him so hopefully, still high on the relief of him no longer in a coma, that he found he just couldn't do that to them. Not yet.

The time came soon enough though. After a couple hours of catching up and planning, Cas and Julie stepped out to get a meal for the three humans who actually required food. Sam stayed to talk with his brother, and for a few minutes they joked and talked about normal things, or at least normal for hunters.

But Sam could tell there was something wrong with him. There was something heavy and resigned and awfully familiar about the way he talked and the sad smiles he gave Sam. The fond way he had teased Cas, or the way his eyes had lingered on Julie as if trying to burn her image into his memory forever…

Sam was reminded of those last few horrible days before Dean's year ran out and hellhounds dragged him to hell. Everything about Dean screamed of a man who knew his time was running out, and was oddly okay with it.

So when Dean finally told Sam that they needed to talk and told him about his conversation with Death, Sam wasn't nearly as surprised as he should have been.

"This…this is good though, isn't it?" Sam said after absorbing the information.

"What? Sammy, did you miss the part where your big brother's going to _die _in two days?" Dean cried. "I mean, I know I'm a pain in the ass sometimes, but I at least thought you'd _pretend _to be sad-"

"But you don't have to die, Dean!" Sam cried. "Death said it wasn't your time! He gave you another chance to live, and all we have to do is find a monster or demon for you to kill, get the Blade, and you're fine again!"

"Sam, are you missing the part about using the Blade?" Dean cried. "That's not an option!"

"Well, neither is you dying!" Sam snapped. "Besides, Death said you can fight it. We'll help you, and you'll overcome it and kill these sons of bitches and we'll find a cure…"

Sam stopped, because his older brother was laughing drily. Dean stopped when he saw the hurt and anger in Sam's eyes. "Look, Sammy…I'm sorry. I know this is hard for you. It's hard for me to have to leave you and Julie and Cas. I really don't want to die again, but that's our only choice here. You and I both know I'm not going to win. That Blade is going to take me over and it's going to turn me into that monster we saw in the maze, and I'd rather die than become that _thing-_"

"So, you won't!" Sam snapped. "Julie and I, we'll be there for you. Cas, too. Hell, I bet Crowley would help you, too. Jody, Jasper, even Taylor…I'll get ahold of Charlie and get her back from Oz if that'll help. We'll work together, we'll keep you human, Dean. We can do this, together."

Sam was begging him. He was trying to be confident, but he was really begging Dean to say that this could work, that they could help him.

"I wish we could, Sammy," Dean said gently, wishing more than anything that he didn't have to let his little brother down. Again. "But it's not about _us_. This fight is all me, and I'm not strong enough anymore. I take up that Blade again, and I'm going to lose."

"Well, with that mindset you are-"

"No, Sam. I'm going to lose. I can't fight any longer. I'm so tired, and I'm weak. I want to be strong, for you and Jules and Cas and everybody else who died to save my pathetic hide, but I can't do it anymore." Dean stared up at the ceiling until the tears passed, and then he choked out, "Sammy, just…just let me go. Don't make me do this. You make me use that Blade and I'll just turn into that_ thing_, and I can't do that."

"Dean…" Sam choked out, eyes shiny as well.

"I'm sorry, Sammy," Dean said softly. "I wish I was strong enough for this, but I'm not. I'll lose. Trust me, it's kinder just to let me die."

"I can't!"

"But you have to," Sam's big brother said, and he smiled weakly at him from his hospital bed. Sam closed his eyes, unable to look at the defeat and pain and guilt and somehow peace in his brother's expression. He was at peace with his death, even if Sam could never be.

"Just let me go, Sammy."


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty-One**

When Dean woke up the next morning, he felt weary. Exhausted. Every part of him felt heavy and impossible to lift, and he just wanted to sleep forever.

But he couldn't. Judging by that clock, he had about thirty hours left with his loved ones before his time ran out. He had to stay strong and awake, and make these last few hours count.

"Mr. Rivers?" Dean looked up to see a nurse standing nearby with a tray of food. It was a pitifully small amount, but Dean wanted to eat. He wanted to pretend things were normal, and that he wasn't a dead man walking once again. Or rather, a dead man lying in a hospital bed.

She set down the tray and asked him how he was doing. He quickly answered all the preliminary doctor questions, eying the green apple she had brought him hungrily.

"Do you need anything?" she asked him for the third time.

"I'm fine, really," he assured her.

The nurse's expression softened as she stared at something behind him. Dean turned around and saw Julie back in that uncomfortable hospital chair, asleep again. Her brow was furrowed even in sleep, and Dean knew Sam must have told her.

"Your wife sure loves you a lot," the nurse said kindly, and Dean was confused for a second before he remembered they were pretending to be married. Not too far a stretch for them, really.

"Yeah?" Dean said uncertainly. He had thought she would hate him after the decision he had made last night.

"She's spent the past five days in here, almost never leaving your side," she chuckled. "Kept telling the doctors how to best help you, seeing as she's a nurse. Really annoyed them, but…it was sweet."

Dean nodded gratefully at the kind nurse, and she smiled once again at him before leaving the room.

"She'd love you a lot more if you weren't so intent on killing yourself," Julie muttered, and Dean smirked. Of course she hadn't been sleeping. His girlfriend's eyes flew open and he found himself staring down icy blue eyes. He had forgotten how intimidating she could be, when she'd been so gentle and caring with him lately.

Dean sighed. "Listen, Julie-"

"No, _you_ listen, Dean!" Julie snapped. "Let's say it was me in that hospital bed. Let's say I was the one with the Mark, and _I _was the one who had to choose between the Blade and dying. And I told you I'd rather die. Would you let _me_?"

"That's different-"

"No, it's not-"

"Yes, it _is_, Julie!" Dean snapped suddenly, surprising Julie into silence. She saw the pain and guilt and grief in his eyes and stopped arguing to let him say what he needed to say. Then she could disagree with him.

Dean took a deep breath. "You're wonderful, Julie. You are. You're so good, even now after ten years of hell, and you wouldn't give into the Mark of Cain. At least not for a very long time. But I've been fighting this for a long time, Jules, and I'm not as good as you."

"Dean-"

"I'm _not_," he growled. "I'm a mess. All I do is let people down. And I'm tired of it. I'm tired of fighting, I'm tired of losing, and…" Dean swallowed, and his green eyes were shiny. He couldn't look at her as he admitted, "I'm scared, Jules."

"Anyone would be, Dean," Julie said gently, moving her chair closer to be near him. "Death is terrifying, even for you, who's died so many times it's not even funny." She reached out and put a hand on Dean's arm, trying to comfort him. "But you don't have to die-"

"No," Dean said, and she stopped again, surprised. But this time it wasn't by the ferocity of his voice, but by the gentleness of it. He put his hand over hers and said sadly, "That's not what I'm afraid of."

"Then what…?" She searched his eyes and found the answer.

"Julie, please. I need you to understand. I know you can understand more than Sam. I mean…you saw that thing…you saw _me-_"

"It wasn't you," Julie snapped. "Dean, that monster was just messing with you, and with me. That could never be you."

Dean looked down and shook his head. "It couldn't!" she insisted.

He looked up, and Julie saw absolute certainty in his green eyes as he spoke. "If I keep using that Blade that will be me. The only way that won't happen is if you or Sam or Cas or somebody puts me down. Can you look me in the eye and promise me that you could kill me if you had to?"

Julie stared at him for a long time. She tried to imagine this man in front of her, this brave, kind, tough, funny, wonderful man becoming a monster. If he became evil, could she really put a bullet through his brain? Could Sam, or Cas?

Dean felt his heart break as tears welled up in Julie's eyes. "No," she whispered. "I couldn't."

Dean did his best to pull her into an embrace, which was a bit awkward from his position on the hospital bed. Julie grabbed a fistful of his hospital gown (he really needed to get some actual clothing), and buried her face in his shoulder, one of the only parts of him that wasn't still healing. When he felt a sob shake her body, he had to blink back tears himself.

"It'll be okay," Dean told her, although he was lying through his teeth.

"What about the Knights?" Julie asked sharply after she had composed herself slightly. "What about Metatron? What are we supposed to do? We can't kill the Knights if you're dead, and then they'll eventually get their hands on Sam and Cas and I and torture and kill us. Are you really going to let that happen?"

"That's not fair," Dean snapped.

She looked down. "I know," she whispered. "I know it's not, but Dean…there's no way we're going to win without a way to kill them. And there's no way we can keep going without you!"

"Jules, I'm so sorry," he said, his heart breaking. How could he leave them, with so much work left to do? There was no way they could win! His little brother and girlfriend and best friend would all die, along with the entire planet. Who cared about his humanity? He had known this was going to happen all those weeks ago, when he took up the Blade again. He should have been ready for this.

But why did it have to be him? Why did he have to be the one to suffer and become a monster? He shouldn't have to!

Neither Dean nor Julie had anything left to say, so eventually Julie got up and left, making some excuse about talking to Sam. Dean watched her go feeling cold and empty. He had little over a day left, and the two people he loved most couldn't bear to even look at him. Soon, he'd never see them again, and they couldn't stand to be near him for what little time he had left.

Dean called for a nurse and asked if he could get some actual clothes. He was healing enough that they had taken him off the IV, and she said if he was very careful with his injuries, he could put on a fresh pair of jeans and a dark t-shirt that Julie had brought from the car for him, knowing he'd want actual clothes. The nurse, who was actually a really pretty, petite brunette, offered to help him change, but for one thing, that would be beyond humiliating, and then there was Julie. He was sure she would be pretty angry if she walked in on this pretty nurse dressing her boyfriend.

So Dean got dressed himself. It was quite a struggle, and took about four times longer than it should have, because every part of him ached. He was weak as well, and his muscles shook a little when he had to stand on his own. Death had given him the strength to make it two more days, but not an ounce more.

After Dean was back in normal clothes, he considered calling for Sam and Julie. Even if they fought, it was still better than not seeing them again for his last day. But just as he was about to attempt to call them, Cas appeared suddenly at the foot of his bed.

Dean jumped. "Dammit, Cas!" he snapped. "You have got to quit scaring me like that!"

Castiel gave him the smallest of smiles. And then he frowned. "I hear you plan to let Death take you in a little over twenty-four hours."

Great. Straight to the point. "Yes, that's the plan, Cas, and please don't try to change my mind."

"I know you better than to try that, Dean," the angel sighed, walking over to sit in the chair next to his bed. Dean turned in the bed so his feet were hanging off the side, and so he could face his old friend better. He was going to miss this angel a lot, once he was gone.

"You'll watch out for the two of them, won't you?" Dean asked nervously. "I know you've got the issue of Metatron, and I sure as hell wish I got to live to see that son of a bitch dead, but maybe you could let them help you…just so you've got help and you can make sure that the Knights don't get them."

Cas sighed and put his head in his hands. "What?" Dean asked, confused.

"You can't really expect us to just sit by and let you do this, Dean!" he snapped.

"That's exactly what I expect, and I'd appreciate it if I didn't have to argue with another person about this," Dean snapped.

"Fine," Cas said coldly. "But then you certainly can't expect Sam and Julie to keep fighting. You really think once you're dead, they'll be in any kind of shape to help me stop Metatron? They're not going to keep fighting if you refuse to yourself."

"They'll move on," Dean muttered, looking down. "They'll have to."

"You know as well as I do those two are never going to recover from this," Cas said sharply. "And in all honesty, I probably will not, either." Dean felt a wave of guilt and grief go through him, seeing how upset his friend was. Then a small bit of hope lit up Cas's eyes. "Perhaps I can reason with Death, convince him that you can't die yet, not with the Knights and Metatron still…"

He stopped talking when he met Dean's eyes and saw what he already knew reflected there. There was no point. Death would not waver, and neither would Dean.

"I'm sorry, Cas," Dean sighed after a long time. "I really am. But it's got to be this way."

"Dammit, Dean!" Cas growled suddenly, standing up. "How can you do this? You know you could keep fighting, but you're giving up! You've done a lot of things, Dean, but you don't give up."

Dean's gaze was steely and almost cold as he said, "Well, Cas, welcome to the new me. I'm not going to change my mind."

"Then there's no reason for me to still be here," the angel said coldly, and he vanished.

As soon as he was gone, Dean's cold composure broke and he put his head in his hands. Dammit! He'd lost all three of them over this! At least maybe this way, if they all hated him when he died, they wouldn't grieve nearly as much. Maybe they could move on. _Maybe_ they could survive.

But Dean really doubted it.

* * *

Cas appeared next to the vending machine, where Sam and Julie waited in a tense silence. The angel resisted the urge to blow up the machine in front of him in his frustration and grief, and instead growled, "He's not changing his mind. Dean is set on dying."

The two humans who loved Dean so sighed, what little fight was left in them going out. "I knew he wasn't going to change his mind," Sam muttered. "But I really hoped you two could get through to him when I couldn't."

"Sam, if you can't get through to Dean, then there's no one who can," Julie pointed out. "Still…it was worth a shot."

Julie looked so tired and defeated that Sam wanted to comfort her, but the only thing that could possible make her feel any better was if Dean somehow wasn't about to die. And it looked like that would never happen.

"So…what do we do now?" Sam asked uncertainly. "We can't just let Dean die!"

"Oh, don't worry about him," a fourth voice said calmly, and a familiar figure stepped forward out of nowhere and walked up to the vending machine. He calmly bought himself a soda and took a sip of it before frowning.

"Wow. I really can only tolerate beer," Crowley admitted before tossing the almost entirely full can into the trash.

"What are _you _doing here?" Castiel asked suspiciously, fingering the angel blade tucked away in his sleeve.

The demon rolled his eyes. "Isn't it obvious, boys?" He stopped and spared a wink for Julie, adding, "And you too, Juliet, darling. I'm here to support my dear friend Dean in his time of trouble."

"Yeah right," Sam growled. "You haven't so much as showed your face since you got him to start using the Blade again. You don't care about Dean, so don't pretend to."

"You'd be surprised, Moose," Crowley said coolly. "I really am here to help save Dean from his own stupidity. But if you don't want my help, and you'd rather big brother die-"

"We want your help," Julie said quickly. Sam and Cas shot her a look. "What? We do! Anything that can help Dean, we'll take it."

"Smart girl," the demon smirked. "Nice to see _someone _here still cares about Dean."

"Shut up," Sam snapped. "Look, Crowley, if you can help, fine. But get to the point. He doesn't have a lot of time left."

"Well, we all agree Dean can't die today, right?" Crowley asked them. They nodded with varying levels of enthusiasm. "I mean, even if you all weren't crazy about the man, we'd still need him to take out these Knights of Hell. And we know what will save him, and I believe you, Sam, know where it is."

"Actually, I gave it to Cas," Sam admitted.

"I can retrieve the First Blade easily, if that is needed," the angel said coolly, still eying the demon distrustfully. "But I want to know how you know what's going on, Crowley. We didn't let you know-"

"Like I need that," Crowley smirked. "I've been keeping tabs on you hunters, making sure you're not getting yourself killed. And then when Dean decided to pull this whole dying early shit, I decided you needed some help."

"Wait," Julie said suddenly. "Even if we get the Blade for him, he's got to kill something to not die."

"I'll get you a Knight-loyalist demon, easy," Crowley smirked. "I've got about eight lined up."

Julie didn't bother asking about that, but instead pointed out, "But even then… _Dean's _got to kill the demon. He has to make the choice, and he won't."

"Let me worry about that," the demon smirked. "Let's just get to work, shall we?"

* * *

Dean gritted his teeth and tried to stretch his arm. The stitches in his right arm and chest burned as he tried to move, and his sprained arm screamed in protest. Dean stopped trying to move his arm and shook his head. God, he was useless!

He wanted to go find Sam and Julie and Cas, to force them to sit down and look him in the eye and listen to him. If they really loved him, and he knew they did, they would understand if they would just _listen_. He knew it was hard, of course it was hard! He wasn't ready to say goodbye to any of them. He needed more time to tease Cas and get him caught up on all the great movies and references he was missing out on. He needed another few days to sit on a couch, watching shitty TV with his little brother, or to just drive and talk and laugh in his car for hours. He needed another dozen nights with Julie, to hold her and kiss her and make sure that he would remember every little thing about her through whatever came after this. He had to thank Cas for everything and tell Jules how much he loved her and somehow find a way to let Sammy go, after nearly thirty-three years of hanging on too tightly.

He couldn't do this. Who was he kidding? Maybe he should just use the Blade so he wouldn't have to say goodbye just yet.

But if he did that, then when he did have to say goodbye to the people he loved…he wouldn't love them. This was how he wanted his brother and his best friend and the woman he loved to remember him. Flawed and hurting, but human. Green eyes, not black.

"They really shouldn't let you drive," a familiar voice commented, and Dean almost jumped out of bed. Then he rolled his eyes when he saw that it was just the former king of hell sitting in the chair next to him, watching the crappy daytime TV on his television. It had been almost four hours since Cas left his room, four hours of being alone, and he was relieved to see someone familiar, even if it was Crowley…

"What?" Dean snapped, confused and irritated. You could insult Dean's character or motives or just about anything, and he'd agree with you, but you could _not _insult his driving.

"This is the second time you've crashed that car within the past few months, and if I were dear old Sammy or Juliet, I wouldn't let Dean drive anymore. Just saying."

"The hell are you doing here, Crowley?" Dean said coldly.

"I'm here to grieve the death of my dear friend," the demon said in a falsely-sweet voice. Dean shot him a cold look, and Crowley sighed. "Fine. I'm here to bust you out, Dean. I'm doing you a favor, and you should be grateful."

"Bust me out?" Dean repeated.

"You've got one day left to live, right? I just assumed you wouldn't want to spend it cooped up in a boring hospital room."

"I'm not exactly able to just walk out of here," Dean pointed out.

"That's why I'm here," Crowley said, standing up. "I've already talked to the nurses, and by talked to them, I mean put them under a spell." Dean frowned, and the demon said quickly, "Don't _worry_! I didn't hurt them, I promise. They're just going to let you walk out of here without a second thought is all. They'll go back to normal as soon as you're gone."

"Why do you care?" Dean asked suspiciously. He had learned the hard way not to assume this demon's motives were pure, ever.

"Well, I had hoped I could convince you not to get yourself killed, but your little friends have assured me you're stuck in that," Crowley said darkly. "Oh, and about that…you're an idiot. You know death won't save you, Dean. You know where you're going, and there's nothing on this earth worse than that."

There must have been some small part of Dean that had hoped he would end up in heaven, because as soon as Crowley said that, he felt something in him die. So he really was about to go back to hell. He supposed he deserved it, but that didn't make it any easier! Dean knew better than to just believe everything Crowley said, but this was something he had already known.

"At least they'll be safe from me," Dean muttered.

Crowley rolled his eyes. "You're a fool, Dean Winchester. Don't know why they stick around you. But I'm just supposed to get you out of here. Your friends will be waiting for you, and then you all can sit around crying until Death comes to take you home. Whatever. Not my problem."

"You're right, it's not," Dean snapped, getting shakily to his feet. "Let's just get out of here."

Dean would have loved to walk out of that hospital with his head held high, but he wasn't strong enough. His legs shook dangerously underneath his weight, and a couple times he had to cling to the wall for support. At one point, he stumbled and fell, and Crowley had to grab his arm and haul him upright. As humiliating as it was, Dean found himself leaning on the demon for support as he walked shakily out of the hospital and into the sunny parking lot.

For some reason, Crowley led him into a patch of woods nearby. Dean began to get suspicious of the demon the farther into the trees he was led, and with his free hand that wasn't leaning on Crowley, he reached into the waistband of his jeans and pulled out an angel blade.

Suddenly, Crowley stopped and stepped away from Dean. He managed to stand on his own. "What the hell, Crowley?" Dean snapped. "There's nothing here."

Suddenly, three figures stepped out of the shadows of the woods, one of them dragging another wriggling figure. Dean relaxed when he saw Sam, Julie, and Cas, and then stiffened again when he saw the stony cold expressions on their face.

"What's going on?" he asked the demon, angel, and two hunters standing in front of him.

Cas pulled the hood off of the person he was dragging with him, revealing a thin man with stringy hair and wild eyes. Cas threw the man forward and the man turned and hissed at the angel, his eyes flashing pure black.

Dean's stomach dropped out of him, and at the same time the Mark of Cain on his arm began to throb painfully.

"Alright, you've had your fun, angel," the demon snarled at Castiel. "Just kill me already."

"Oh, he's not going to kill you," Crowley said calmly, and the demon whirled around.

"Crowley?" the demon cried. "What are you doing here? With the _Winchesters_?" Then the demon suddenly grinned maliciously. "Oh no…you wouldn't. You're not that stupid."

"What are you talking about?" Sam snapped at the demon.

"Nothing much, Winchester," the demon cackled. "Just that this demon's been playing you is all. He doesn't work for you boys anymore. Unless he's trying to join this side again, in which case he'll end up dead. I think he knows what happens to those who betray our lord Beelzebub."

"What?" Julie snapped, her cold composure breaking. "Crowley…are you working with Beelzebub?"

"An issue for a later time," the demon said carefully.

"No, I'd say that's an issue for now," Sam growled, raising his demon-killing knife. "Have you been selling us out?!"

"No!" Crowley snapped. "I'm here, aren't I? I'm helping you hunters, when I probably shouldn't. We can talk more about this later, once this sniveling coward is dead and your Dean's back to full health."

"What?" Dean asked slowly. "Are you guys…did you do this?" His eyes searched first Sam, then Julie, then Cas, and found guilt in all or them. "You were trying to get me to kill this demon? After I told you what my choice was?!"

"Dean, we cannot let you die," Cas said as calmly as he could. "That is not an option."

"Neither is this!" Dean cried. "I can't believe you would do this to me!"

"Oh, calm down," Crowley sighed. "It wasn't their idea, you idiot. It was me. I just convinced them. Now kill the demon so we can get on with it."

"No," Dean growled. "I won't."

Crowley rolled his eyes. "Oh, quit being such a drama queen and kill him!"

"Dean, please…" Julie pleaded.

Dean closed his eyes for a moment and steadied himself. "No. One of you can kill that thing. I've made my choice."

"That's it," Crowley snapped, and then he waved his arm. Dean was slammed backwards into a tree, and his angel blade disappeared into the shadows several feet away.

"Dean!" Julie shrieked, just as Sam yelled, "What are you doing?"

The demon turned and tried to run, and Crowley snarled, "Castiel, stop that demon, but do not kill it, or your precious Dean is going to die."

Cas hesitated for half a second, and then put out his hand. The demon flew backwards and landed on its back in the center of the group. It lay there, breathing quickly, terrified, as the two hunters and angel stared at Dean and Crowley.

The former king of hell walked calmly up to Dean as he struggled against the invisible force pinning him to the tree. "The hell are you doing?" Dean growled as the demon approached him.

In answer, Crowley reached inside his jacket and pulled out the First Blade.

Dean's breaths quickened and his eyes widened. The Mark of Cain was burning his arm now, screaming for him to take that Blade and kill that demon on the ground with it. It took all of his willpower to get out, "No. No, please, _don't_!"

Crowley advanced on Dean, his face cold and expressionless. Dean knew he wouldn't get through to the demon, but surely his brother or Julie or Cas would break. "Please!" he begged them. "Don't do this to me!"

Julie looked like she was about to cry, and Sam looked like it was taking every ounce of self-control he had not to run over there and push Crowley off of Dean. Cas looked conflicted, but in the end, none of them moved to help Dean.

Crowley grabbed Dean's right arm and forced his hand open. Dean didn't even have the strength to resist him. He was dying, for God's sake! "Wait!" Dean cried, just as Crowley forced the First Blade into Dean's hand.

His fist closed around the Blade without him telling it to. Instantly, a rush of energy and strength shot through Dean. The force pinning him to the tree suddenly disappeared, and his arm shot out, throwing Crowley backwards. Dean stood there, feeling new power slowly filling him. His wounds still hurt a bit, but nowhere near as badly as they had before. He flexed his arms, appreciating the strength in them once again, and then his eyes landed on the demon lying on the ground.

Dean slowly walked over to the pathetic demon. It sniveled and begged him to have mercy, shrieking and screaming. Dean knew he shouldn't kill it, but he couldn't remember why. All he knew was this thing was evil, and the Blade was screaming at him to kill it.

And so, with no more than a few seconds hesitation, Dean lopped the demon's head off.

Oh god, why hadn't he killed before? This feeling was so sweet, this strength and power and new life…Dean was on a high like he hadn't experienced in weeks. He stretched his arms, his injuries all but forgotten, and grinned fiercely.

Julie found herself fighting the urge to cower behind Sam as she watched new life return to Dean. His skin became flushed instead of pale, and he stood up straighter and stronger. There was new life in his eyes, but also a new darkness.

He was saved…but he wasn't. Not really. And although she knew she should be happy he wasn't about to die, all Julie wanted to do was cry.

* * *

"God, you three look like you were just at a funeral. You know he's not actually going to die anymore, right?" Crowley sighed as he studied the three people before him. Sam and Julie sat very close to each other at the table in the bunker, trying to take comfort in each other's presence. Both of them looked like they hadn't slept in a week, and Julie's eyes were still a little red from crying. Castiel sat with his head in his hands.

"I don't want to talk about it," Julie muttered. "You know what I do want to talk about? That stuff the demon said, about you working with Beelzebub?"

"Yeah, that's right," Sam growled. "So…what? Are you betraying us? Should we go ahead and kill you, too?"

Crowley rolled his eyes. "If I was really betraying you, I wouldn't have risked everything to help you."

"Except that Beelzebub wants Dean to be using the Blade," Julie pointed out. "So, really, you could have been working for him this whole time."

"You're right," Crowley said. "Beelzebub sent me to find Dean and make sure he start using the First Blade again."

"What?" Sam snapped. "So…you _did _sell us out?" He suddenly stood up, shaking the table as he slammed his fist down on it in anger. "That was all a trick? What did you do to my brother?"

"I saved his bloody life!" Crowley growled. "It was clear none of you were going to do it. You should be thanking me, because otherwise he would have died two hours ago."

Julie glanced down, trying not to imagine that. But Sam was still pissed. "You should have told us that Beelzebub wanted this to happen!" he snapped.

"You still would have done it though, wouldn't you?" the demon smirked, and none of them spoke. "So who's really working with Beelzebub, then?"

"That does not matter," Cas said, lifting his head out of his hands. "What matters is whether or not you will continue to go behind out backs with the Knight of Hell."

"I will still be reporting back to him," Crowley shrugged. "But I'll keep doing the same thing I was before. I'll feed him enough of the truth to keep him happy and trusting me without endangering you people. You should be _grateful _to me!"

"So…you're saying you're like a double agent?" Julie asked slowly.

"Precisely," Crowley smirked. "I still want the Knights dead as much as I did before. But I figured an easier way to get rid of them was from the inside."

"If he's telling the truth, that was a smart move," Julie admitted.

"I'm still not sure I believe him," Sam muttered suspiciously.

"Of course you're not," Crowley said, rolling his eyes. "How do I prove to you I'm on your side, Moose?"

Sam hesitated and thought about it. "Keep in touch with us," he said slowly. "Keep us updated on what his plans are, especially for Dean. And if you ever find out that one of the Knights is alone, tell us where, and we'll get Dean there and start taking them out, one by one."

"Brilliant plan," Crowley smirked. "Too bad I thought of it weeks ago."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Just know that if we find out you're playing us and not them…we _will _kill you."

"Ooh, scary," the demon muttered. "I should be getting back before Beelzebub gets suspicious." He looked at Julie. "Make sure your boyfriend doesn't try to kill himself again, darling. We need him alive."

With that, the demon was gone. Julie put her head in her arms again, not wanting to think or feel. If she thought about what they had done today, she would just feel even worse about what she'd done to Dean. She had seen the betrayal in his eyes, followed by the darkness in them after he killed the demon.

That was on her. She had listened to Crowley, and she hadn't stopped him. Yes, Dean was alive, but he wouldn't be Dean much longer…

"I should return to my brothers and sisters," Castiel said after a long moment.

"Right," Sam sighed. "Wow. I forgot about that whole Metatron mess with everything else going on."

Cas sighed. "Keep me updated on Dean. Let me know if he gets any better…or worse."

"Or if he actually talks to us ever again?" Sam finished darkly.

As soon as Cas had gotten the Blade away from Dean and healed his remaining wounds, the man hadn't spoken a word to any of them. Cas had transported them all back to the bunker, and Dean had slept for a couple of hours. Then he had spoken his only words, a simple request for Cas to bring what was left of his Impala to the bunker's garage. Cas had done so, and Dean had disappeared into the garage almost four hours ago and not come out. They were beginning to wonder if he ever would.

And Julie couldn't really blame him. He had told them what he wanted, what he had decided, and they went behind his back with a demon and tricked him into doing the one thing he refused to do.

Cas left for heaven, and Sam went to get some rest himself. Julie sat alone at the table for a while, before finally deciding to risk it.

She made her way to the bunker's garage and stepped inside. It was a huge, wide-open space, and one of Dean's favorite rooms in the entire place. It was lined with classic cars, and in one corner was a crumpled mess of a 1967 Chevy Impala. Julie felt her stomach flip seeing the crumpled front half of Dean's Baby and remembering the horror of seeing all of the blood and glass and broken bodies in the front seat right after they crashed.

Angry classic rock was blaring from a speaker near the car, and Julie edged nearer, looking around for Dean. She finally noticed his legs sticking out from under the car. As she got closer, he wheeled himself out from underneath the car. Dean was wearing a black muscle shirt and a very old, ripped, oil-stained pair of jeans. He noticed her and wiped the oil off of his hands and face before turning the music off.

Julie waited for Dean to speak, but he didn't. He didn't even look at her, just tossed the oil rag over his shoulder and turned back to his car. He picked up a couple tools Julie didn't recognize (she knew about a lot of things, but she did not know how to fix a car), and went to work on the crumpled hood.

She watched him for a while, trying to focus on the way his powerful muscles moved as he worked on the car and not the inflamed Mark of Cain on his arm made all too apparent by his lack of sleeves. Finally, she couldn't bear the silence anymore, and she asked, "Dean?"

He grunted in response, although that could have just been him grunting as he tried to strip the crumpled metal off the frame of the car. He'd have to build a lot of the car back from scratch.

Julie hesitated, and then said, "Look, Dean, I'm…I'm really sorry about what happened. I wish there had been another way, any other way…"

She waited for him to argue with her, or yell and cuss and rage at her. She wouldn't care. She deserved it.

But Dean didn't say a word.

"I'm sorry," she repeated, and he didn't speak. "Dean, please talk to me!" she snapped suddenly.

To her surprise, he turned to face her. "What do you want me to say?" he asked flatly.

"I…I don't know," she said, lost. "Yell at me, get pissed for what we did, tell me you hate me, I don't care, just…talk to me."

"You did what you thought was right," Dean said flatly. "And it worked. I'm not dead. So, good job. Glad things went the way you and Crowley planned."

He turned back around and went back to work. Julie stood there for a couple more minutes in silence. She wasn't sure what she had wanted, but it wasn't that. She wanted him to yell at her until he got everything off his chest. Then she could explain her reasoning, and then he could confide in her how he was losing it, and she could hold him while he broke down until he got everything out, and then they could work together to put him together again. They had done it before, and they could do it again. He just had to understand why she had let that happen to him, and how she couldn't lose him, and they could find a way to make this work together.

"Dean, I'm sorry," she whispered after a long silence. "But I couldn't lose you."

Julie turned and left. Dean waited until he was sure she was gone, and then he dropped his wrench and fell to his knees. He leaned back against the buckled bed of his beloved car and held his arm, staring at the Mark until the tears faded.

He closed his eyes, hoping to find some relief, and instead found himself staring into his own face. He was grinning, and there was blood spattered on his face. Dean smirked cockily and said, "See, Dean? There's no point in fighting. No matter what happens, this is how it ends. You're going to become…_me_."

And his eyes flashed pure black.


	32. Chapter 32

**Author's Note: A quick word about this chapter-first off, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I'm excited for the next one. The reason why: Cain. I had always planned on bringing Cain into this story about this time, if it got this far (thanks for that by the way, guys!), because I love that character and his relationship with Dean and his importance to the story. He needed to come back at least once, in my opinion. After seeing the most recent Supernatural episode featuring Cain, I was inspired to write him in now. If you see any similarities between that episode and the way the next couple of chapters go, it's because I think that they wrote Cain and Dean's next interaction exactly how it had to go. I hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

Dean forgave them. It took a few days, but his anger and betrayal slowly melted and faded away.

It started in little things. The next day after returning to the bunker, Sam came into the garage with a plate of burgers he had grilled for lunch. Dean took a couple and ate them and made a joke about how the burgers he made were always better. Encouraged by that, Julie came by later that day with dinner. She sat there with him while he ate and told him about how Crowley was working as a double agent. Dean said he didn't trust the demon, but then again none of them really did.

He didn't come to bed that night, but Julie hadn't expected that.

The next day, Dean was in the kitchen, making himself breakfast when Sam and Julie got up. They greeted him, and he nodded at them before returning to his work. That afternoon, Sam and Julie risked going down to the garage and saw that he was making a lot of progress on the Impala. They talked with Dean for a little bit, talking only about the car, and he seemed friendly enough. He worked on the car until about eight or nine, and then he came into the living room, where Julie and Sam were watching TV, grabbed a beer, and sat in a separate chair and watched with them. He didn't say much, but he was there, and that was something.

After a couple hours, they got up and got ready for bed. Julie noticed Dean hesitating, unsure of where to go, and she asked him gently to come to bed with her. He gave in and they slept in the same bed. He was still a bit cold and stiff towards her, but it was a big step forwards.

The next day, Dean let Sam come into the garage with him and help him work on the car. It was coming along very well, and they decided to take a break for lunch. Dean sat next to Julie and was downright friendly. She too came into the garage with them after lunch and noticed that things seemed to be almost back to normal between Sam and Dean. After a while, Sam ducked out of the garage, leaving the two of them alone, and Julie sat and watched Dean finish up the engine. Cas had also brought him all the parts he needed to fix the car, and things were going very quickly. He _had _rebuilt the car from scratch before, after all.

Julie and Dean talked for a while, keeping the topics friendly and light-hearted. When Dean was pretty much done with the car, he sat down with Julie and actually talked to her instead of the car. She noticed the way he was trying and failing not to touch the inflamed Mark on his arm.

Finally, she threw all pretenses away. "How are you doing, Dean?" she asked, nodding towards his arm.

He looked down. "I'm…not so good."

She sighed. "This is my fault," she muttered.

"It's actually Crowley's."

"It's mine as much as Crowley's," she snapped. "I let him do this to you."

"Actually, if we're being technical, this is all my fault," Dean pointed out. "I'm the one who chose to get this Mark in the first place."

"Can we not put everything on you for once?" Julie sighed.

Dean sighed. "Fine. But just because I'm still mad at you."

She frowned. "Really? I'm so sorry, Dean! What can I do to make it up to you?"

But to her surprise, Dean just laughed. And not a mean laugh, an honestly amused laugh. "I was joking," he admitted.

"Oh." She blinked. "So…you're not mad at us anymore?"

"I guess not," he sighed. "I understand why you did what you did. Honestly…I probably would have done the same for you or Sammy…"

"It still doesn't make it right, what we did," Julie said.

"No," Dean sighed. "But I can't exactly get mad at you guys for messing up when that's all I do."

"Dean-" Julie protested, but he surprised her by kissing her briefly, just to shut her up.

When he pulled away, he smiled slightly, and she smiled back. "By the way, you should know you're really freaking hot when you're working on that car," Julie said, smirking slightly.

"Good to know," Dean grinned, leaning in and kissing her again.

He soon made his peace with Sam and called up Cas and made up with him as well. While their trick really had hurt, and he was constantly reminded of it by the evil urges he constantly had to fight against, Dean knew he probably didn't have long left with the people he loved before he went dark, and he didn't want to waste it fighting. So, for the next week as they sat around the bunker doing research and waiting for a lead on the Knights or a way to help Dean, the three of them were almost back to their normal, happy, easy relationship.

One night, after a long day of doing a lot of research and making zero progress, Dean was ready for a break. He was ready to have some fun. When he came into his bedroom, Julie was lying on her side on top of the covers, still fully clothed, reading a book. He couldn't explain it, but she looked so beautiful just lying there in the same jeans and tank top she wore all the time, her hair loose and wild. It was getting longer now than it had been when he first met her, and all of the sudden he wanted to run his hands through her hair and kiss her like he hadn't in a long time.

Julie looked up, surprised, as Dean plopped down on the bed next to her and swiped her book. He tossed it onto the nightstand, and she raised an eyebrow. "You better have noticed what page I was on before you shut that," she smirked.

Dean didn't reply, either because he hadn't noticed, or he was really only focused on one thing right now. Probably that second one. He had that look in his eyes, the one that meant he was really friggin' horny, and nothing else mattered. Julie wasn't going to fight him though, since it had been a long time since they had just been together with no drama or unspoken emotions between them. If Dean just wanted to have a lot of sex, she wasn't really going to complain.

He pulled her closer to him and kissed her for a long time. Julie ran one hand through his hair, and another over the muscles in his arm. Dean ran his fingers through her hair, pressed his hand against the small of her back, causing pressure to build in her, and then his hands slid to her jeans. He started to unbutton her jeans, and Julie went with it. She grabbed the hem of his dark grey t-shirt and started to slide it up over his head.

Dean was kissing Julie's neck, and she had nearly gotten his shirt off, when all of the sudden someone cleared their throat.

Julie's eyes flew open and she froze, shocked and a little embarrassed, at least until she saw it was just Cas. He looked a lot more mortified than either Dean or Julie, and she was glad he had shown up before things got a lot more…_intimate_. She was close with the angel, and Dean was even closer, but Julie was sure none of the three of them actually wanted Cas to see the two of them naked.

Dean sighed and buttoned Julie's jeans back up before rolling onto his back, his arms still around her. "Cas, there had better be a reason you're in our bedroom at ten o'clock, especially when we're…_busy_."

"Glad to see you're back to normal," the angel said, smirking slightly.

Dean smirked back. "I know, we all missed the old me. That dying, suicidal one…what a buzzkill."

Julie glanced down, trying to ignore the casual way he talked about how close he had come to dying. As if sensing her pain, Dean rubbed her bare shoulder with his thumb, trying to give her some sort of comfort.

"And you really are okay, Dean?" Castiel asked uncertainly, shifting awkwardly. He really wished they would sit up and pretend they weren't just about to have sex, but it didn't seem to bother either of them the way it embarrassed him. Of course, it was _Dean_. The man had taken him to strip clubs on several occasions, tried to get Cas to sleep with women even when he was an angel, and Cas had quickly gotten used to the many women that came and went in Dean Winchester's sex life. If he was being honest with himself, he liked this Dean better, the one who was faithful to one wonderful woman.

Dean glanced around the room, realized it was just two people he loved and could confide in, and sighed. "Nope," he shrugged. "But I'm dealing." He brushed his hand across Julie's hair. "I've got her and Sammy looking out for me, and apparently you too, Cas. Plus, Jasper and Jody have both been calling every other day, trying to pretend they're not checking up on me. Anyway, point is, I'll be okay. I'll stay human until we can find those Knights."

Dean suddenly sat up. Julie did the same. "Wait. Did you find one? Or all of them? Is that why you're here?" Dean tried to sound eager, but Julie and Cas both heard the fear under his words.

"No," Cas said gravely. "But a couple of days ago, Crowley contacted me and said the Knights of Hell are looking for Cain. He is still the oldest and strongest of the Knights of Hell, and they obviously want him dead before he can try to put them back in that pit, but first…Beelzebub apparently believes Cain can tell him how to make you succumb to the First Blade and the Mark of Cain once and for all, Dean."

Julie couldn't help it. She gasped and clutched onto Dean's arm, careful not to brush against the Mark on his forearm. "But…he can't do that, right? He can't do that, can he, Cas?"

"I don't know," the angel said gravely. "After Crowley gave me that warning, I left the angels to search for Cain."

"What?" Dean snapped. "Cas, how could you do that? You have to put the angels first, not me!"

"Hannah has become quite the warrior, and she has some good angels underneath her," Cas sighed. "They can take care of themselves, and she leads them while I am away. Besides, Metatron's numbers are dwindling. The more evils he forces them to commit, the more followers he loses. Perhaps there is still hope."

"God, I hope so," Julie said. "You said he's losing followers?"

"Yes. In fact, he's no longer attacking us. My angels are usually the ones leading the attacks now, so there may be hope. We avoid killing at all costs, while he murders ruthlessly, which is against an angel's nature. His followers are beginning to realize that he is wrong. Perhaps we can get rid of that monster once and for all."

"I sure as hell hope so," Dean muttered. "I'm glad that's going well, but what about this whole Cain issue?"

"That's why I'm here," the angel said. "Like I said, I've been searching for Cain for two days, and it turns out…I think he wanted me to find him, Dean."

"Wait. You found him?" Dean asked nervously.

"Yes," Cas said. "Or, rather, _he_ found _me_ earlier today. I was searching a small town where he had been known to reside before, and he approached me. He wanted to see you, Dean, and he made me promise to bring you to the house where you first met him at midnight tonight."

"Are you serious?" Dean asked, standing up.

"Why would I joke about this?"

Dean sighed. "Well, that's…wow." He ran a hand through his hair. Julie got up too and stood near him, unsure whether or not she should be trying to comfort him or excited for him. Perhaps this demon who started this whole mess could help Dean fix it.

Julie touched Dean's shoulder just to remind him he wasn't alone. "That's soon," she commented. "I assume this demon isn't stupid enough to think we'll just send Dean there alone?"

"Jules, it's not safe for you to be there," Dean said firmly. "Whatever happens between me and Cain, it probably won't end well, and it'll be dangerous for anyone to be there."

"That sucks, doesn't it, since I _will _be there," she said firmly. "You are not going to be alone with the father of murder, the one who gave you that Mark. Not an option."

"Try telling him that," Dean muttered.

"Gladly. That demon thinks he's telling me what to do, then he is very, very mistaken."

Dean shook his head, smiling slightly. "Does Sam know what's going on?" Dean asked Cas suddenly.

"Not yet," the angel admitted. "I figured you'd want to tell him yourself."

Dean nodded. "Alright. I'll go get Sam caught up. We'll have to get ready pretty quickly, though. We've got what…an hour and a half?"

Castiel nodded. Dean took a deep breath and walked out of the room to find his little brother, leaving Julie and Cas to talk. Once he was out of their sight, though, he leaned against the wall and gripped his arm tightly, and realized the Mark was throbbing at the same rate as his heart. Just the mere thought of the true owner of this Mark sent his control flying out the window.

However this encounter with Cain went, it wasn't going to end well for his self-control, that was for sure.

* * *

Cain looked up as someone knocked on his door. For a moment, he closed his eyes and sucked in a slow breath, trying to focus. He felt the burning in his arm begin to grow, and sighed. So the angel had brought the boy, then. Well, he would have been a fool not to. To disobey Cain meant death to just about any creature in all of creation.

Cain stood up and strode over to his front door. He calmly unlocked the door and opened it wide. It was raining slightly, and he saw four slightly damp people on his porch. It was hard to quite make them out in the dark, but he recognized the angel's trench coat blowing in the wind, the tall, long-haired outline of the younger brother, and he could tell from the way the Mark was burning that the tall, athletic man in front of him was indeed Dean Winchester. He didn't know the other figure, but it didn't matter. Only the boy would be staying.

"You came," he said calmly.

"Well, we weren't going to ignore a request from someone who could kill us as easily as you," the brother, Sam, said.

Cain stepped aside to let them in. Dean hesitated, so Sam stepped forward. And Cain put out his arm to stop him.

"What are you-?" Sam asked, surprised and startled.

"You are not staying," he said flatly.

"The hell I'm not!" the youngest Winchester snapped. He was closer to the door, so Cain could now make out his face. He had seen pictures of the younger Winchester, who was now nearing thirty-three. And even though this boy looked almost nothing like Cain's younger brother, Abel, it still hurt to see the little spark of hope and goodness in his eyes. Abel had carried that spark once, but that was long before Cain had finally killed him. Lucifer had twisted Cain's beloved brother and led him astray, and Cain knew that eventually, the devil had the same plans for this boy, if he was ever allowed to rise again.

Cain would be doing Sam Winchester a kindness if he just killed him now.

"I am doing this for your own good, boy," Cain said coldly. "You will not be staying here while I speak with your brother."

"Yes, I will, and if you try to stop me-"

"Sammy," Dean said gently, laying his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Just let it go. I'll be okay."

"Wise move, Dean Winchester," Cain said. "Believe me when I say it will be a lot safer for all of us, but him especially, if your brother stays clear of here."

Sam still didn't look like he agreed, but Dean stepped past him and into the house, and Cain let him. But before Cain could so much as put his arm out, the other figure stepped into the house right behind Dean, and Cain found himself staring at her.

She was odd. She didn't belong with these dark, dangerous men. Cain could see a bit of darkness and pain in her, but it was nothing compared to the two brothers. She stared up at him with big blue eyes, and instead of looking afraid like she should, she looked like she was challenging him to tell her to leave, too.

"Who is this?" he asked Dean darkly.

"My name is Julie Carters," the woman said. "I am a hunter, and I've been living and hunting with these men for about a year. I love Dean, and if you think you're confronting him without me here, you're dead wrong."

Dean held his breath, waiting for the demon to lose it and try to kill Julie. But instead, Cain just smiled slightly. "Alright. You can stay."

"What?" Sam snapped.

"If one of you insists on keeping an eye on your brother and I, believe me when I say she's a lot safer from Dean than you are where the Mark is involved," the father of murder said calmly, and Dean frowned. Both of them were safe from him! Well, actually…neither of them were.

"Castiel, take the boy and return to wherever you came from," Cain ordered. "I will contact you when I am done with Dean Winchester."

Sam gritted his teeth. He hated the way Cain said "done" with him, but what else could he do? This demon could kill him in half a second as soon as he got on his nerves.

Cas put a hand on Sam's shoulder, and they vanished. Cain shut the door and turned to the man and woman in front of him. He smirked slightly at their wary expressions and gestured to his couch. "Well. Take a seat."

Dean hesitated near the door, but Julie took his hand and half-dragged him to the couch. They sat down carefully, watching the demon as he went into the kitchen and returned a few moments later with a bottle of very strong alcohol and a few small glasses. Dean smirked slightly, recognizing the bottle as one of his personal favorites. Too much of the stuff could make you go blind, but just enough could wipe out the pain. Clearly, he and the father of murder liked to bury their past mistakes in alcohol.

"Anybody want a drink?" Cain asked coolly.

Dean started to reach for a glass, but Julie smacked his hand. "We should probably be sober for this," she said pointedly.

"When am I ever sober?" Dean muttered sullenly.

Cain raised his eyebrows, studying the two of them. There was something in the way they sat, so near to each other, their legs brushing against each other, and in the little glances they occasionally gave each other, as if checking to make sure the other was still there and alright…it was clear to Cain that Dean Winchester loved this woman fiercely, and that she loved him back. Cain found himself thinking of Colette… and instantly regretting it.

Julie tensed up as she realized Cain was glaring at the two of them with an intense sort of fury. Her hand slid slowly towards the canteen of holy water on her belt, but then the demon relaxed, and she wondered if she had been imagining it.

"So," Cain said carefully, pouring himself a glass and downing it easily. Dean really must be descended from this guy, if they could both drink like that. The demon's eyes darkened as they fell on Dean. "Did you bring the Blade?"

"I did," Julie said calmly, pulling a bundle out of her jacket. "Dean isn't using it at the moment. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, no one should be."

Cain chuckled and shook his head. "This girl you found, Dean…she's quite the tough one."

"Yes," Dean said, laying a hand on her leg. Cain didn't miss the protective way he'd done that, and the clear threat from this hunter that if he dared try to harm this woman, Dean wouldn't hesitate to kill Cain.

The Knight smirked slightly, leaning back in his seat. "Well, boy, I've been meaning to ask…how has my Mark been treating you?"

Dean tried to tone down the anger in his gaze as he looked at the demon. "Not so well, actually."

"Have you tried to kill your brother yet?" Cain smirked, and both Dean and Julie jumped. "Or perhaps this lovely girl?"

They both looked down, and Cain nodded. "So…it's begun. I'm surprised you've held out as long as you have, and I've heard you were able to give it up for a year. Quite impressive, son. So who held you accountable, then? Her?" He nodded at Julie. "Women do have a way of making a man gentler. I know Colette did."

Dean remembered Colette. When Cain had given his story in their last meeting, he had told Dean of a woman named Colette who he had fallen in love with, and who Abbadon had tricked him into killing. That meeting was a day he often replayed in his mind: fighting off those demons and proving his strength to Cain, getting the Mark of Cain from its namesake, listening to the wails of those demons as Cain massacred them and began to kill again. He remembered what the Knight of Hell had said before letting Dean and Crowley go; he had told Dean he would someday have to kill Cain. Dean knew this was probably that day, but he wasn't ready. Killing another Knight of Hell would speed him down the path of darkness so much, and he wanted to stay good with Julie and Sam and Cas. Was that too much to ask?

"Look, Cain," Dean sighed. "I've been fighting this Mark for a while. And I'm just here because I want to know if you've got some secret on how to fight it."

Cain laughed. "Boy, look at me! I'm a demon. I'm a Knight of Hell, the first. Do you really think there's a way to fight it, to stay human?"

"He's fought it this long," Julie said defensively.

"And how many times has he hurt you so far because of it?" the Knight asked. "How many times have you seen darkness in him? How many times have you feared him, girl? And how many more, before he's fully gone?"

"Stop it," she snapped. "If all you're going to do is threaten him and tell him he can't win, then I say we should just go now."

"You're not going anywhere," Cain said calmly.

"What?" Dean asked slowly and dangerously.

"I assumed she knew, when she came in here with you, she wasn't coming out." Cain frowned. "I thought she just wanted to make sure you didn't have to die alone."

"You're not killing him," Julie snapped, standing up.

"No, I'm not," Cain agreed. "I'm just holding you two here until Beelzebub or another one of my children get around to picking up their cargo."

"What?" Dean snarled, getting to his feet. "No! You're not with them. You're against them! You're the one who put them in the pit in the first place."

"I know what I did, boy," Cain snapped, standing as well. "But things have changed. Colette is gone, and when I had to save you and your pet demon from Abbadon's demons, the Mark grew strong again. I've given in to the killing once again, and when the Knights rose up again…well, I knew how this was going to end."

"Why would you help them?" Julie cried. "Dean tells me you're not as evil as any of them. Why would you possibly side with monsters like them?!"

"My other option would be to go on their rack and be tortured by the very beings I taught to torture," Cain said coldly. "And if that's not reason enough…Beelzebub has made me a promise. Once he rules, he will bring back Colette and set a place aside for both of us."

"And you believe him?" Dean asked darkly. "Damn. I never pegged you for an idiot, Cain."

"Hasn't he promised you the same for this girl and your brother and the angel, too?" the father of murder asked him coolly.

"Yes, and I ignored him, because he's obviously lying," Dean said. "Once he has us on his side, he's got no reason to keep his promise."

"You think I don't know that?" Cain growled. "Why do you think I'm only giving you two over and not myself? As long as I'm still free, he'll have to keep his promise."

"But you _know _these Knights are monsters!" Julie cried, still standing protectively near Dean. "How can you just give us over to them, when you know what they'll do to us? To Dean? He's a descendent of yours. How can you do this to him?"

"First of all, don't you ever expect a demon, especially a Knight of Hell, to do the right thing," Cain said darkly. "And as for him being a descendent of mine, that is not a good thing for him. My children were born out of death and darkness, and that is all that their lives will be. My line is cursed, and they're all murderers, like me. Look at your Dean and his brother. They've killed more than just about anyone, and they're still fighting on the good side. Can you even imagine once Dean joins the Knights?"

"He won't," Julie growled. "He won't give in. And I won't let you give him to them."

Cain shook his head. "There's nothing you can do, girl. If you would like, I will let you go. You and Sam Winchester and Castiel can go on with your lives. Why do you think I made sure your brother did not stay, Dean? I was trying to spare him, and I will spare this girl too, if she wishes. Only you have to stay."

"No!" Julie snapped, while Dean said at the same time, "Go."

"What?" Julie cried. "Dean, I'm not leaving you!"

"If Cain is willing to let you go and let you be safe, I'm not going to try to change his mind," the hunter said gravely. "I'm sorry, Jules. But at least you'll be safe."

"No," she said just as firmly as before. "I'm not leaving you."

Cain shook his head. Foolish girl. Willing to suffer and die at the hands of the Knights of Hell so her boyfriend wouldn't have to be alone. It was stupid, and sweet.

Suddenly, Julie reached onto her belt and splashed something on Cain. He hissed in pain as holy water splashed onto his face and arm, burning him for a moment. When his vision cleared, Julie was at the door, with Dean a couple steps behind her. She opened the door, but she was too late.

Dean cried out as Julie went flying through the air away from the door. She slammed into the wall and lay there, stunned, for a moment. He took a step towards her, and the door slammed shut behind him. Before he could take more than a couple steps towards Julie, her body was lifted up by an invisible force and pushed into one of the heavy oak chairs sitting at the dinner table. Ropes uncoiled themselves and bound her ankles and wrists tightly to the chair, and by the time she was fully recovered from being thrown into the wall, she was hopelessly trapped.

Dean turned on Cain, who was glaring at him, breathing heavily. "You're a fool, girl," the demon spat at Julie. "Both of you. There is no escaping here."

The Blade was still sitting in its bundle on the couch, but that was behind Cain. Dean wasn't getting to that any time soon, so he had to improvise. He pulled the angel blade off of his belt and squared his shoulders, shifting into a fighting position.

Cain chuckled, shifting into a nearly identical position. "You really wish to fight _me_, Dean Winchester?" he laughed. "You may have killed hundreds, but I _invented _murder. You can't win, boy."

"Gotta try, though," Dean muttered, and he lunged forward.

The demon easily deflected his first strike, but Dean was quick, and he was out of Cain's range before he could make a counterattack. Dean sized the Knight up, trying to plan a better attack, and was instead distracted by the changes in the demon.

Cain looked different than the last time Dean had seen him, over a year ago. His silver hair was longer, falling almost to his shoulders in gentle silver curls. His face was harsher somehow, but he also looked healthier than he had last time. Clearly, returning to killing had hardened the Knight of Hell, who had seemed almost compassionate the last time Dean had seen him, but he did seem to be thriving now that he was taking lives again. Dean wondered if this would soon be him. But no, most likely he was going to die fighting this near invincible demon before that could ever happen.

Dean lunged forward again, and this strike was stronger and cleverer than the last one. But Cain brought out his own knife and blocked Dean's strike. For a moment, the two men grappled with each other, but Cain was stronger, and he threw Dean back. The hunter stumbled slightly before he got his footing.

Julie strained at the ropes tying her to the chair as she realized how uneven this fight was. The father of murder stood there calmly, eying her boyfriend almost smugly as Dean tried to find a weakness in the demon's defenses. She hated how useless she was, especially since, as a trained fighter, she could easily tell what was about to happen. Everything about Cain from the way he stood to the cold glint in his eyes spoke of a predator who knew he was superior. And everything about Dean from the defensive crouch he stood in, even though he was the one on the attack, to the desperation in his eyes told her that Dean knew he couldn't win.

Dean lunged forward again anyway, making a clever feint. Any normal opponent would have tried to block his false strike and found a knife in their throat, but Cain seemed to know what Dean was doing before he did, even. Cain's blade was there to block Dean's, and the demon performed a clever twist of his knife, sending Dean's flying out of his hand and sliding across the floor to stop several feet out of the hunter's reach.

Dean was now inside the demon's reach, and he knew the Knight of Hell should flick that knife out and stab him, but instead Cain just smirked. "You were a fool, Dean Winchester. You should have just had the girl leave safely and gone along with Beelzebub. Otherwise, this wouldn't have to happen."

Cain backhanded Dean, hard, and the man stumbled a couple feet back. Somehow, Cain was there, though, and he drove his fist into Dean's gut, causing the younger man to double over in pain. Julie shrieked Dean's name, but the demon ignored her, hitting Dean twice more in the stomach.

Dean tried to straighten up and fight back, and Cain slugged him hard in the jaw. Dean stumbled sideways into a dresser and used it to straighten up. Then he lunged forward and punched Cain across the jaw. The demon rolled with the hit, and he caught Dean's left fist as he tried to hit him again. Cain slowly twisted Dean's arm farther and farther, and Dean couldn't pull free of his grip.

Julie screamed for Cain to stop as there was a sharp pop in Dean's arm and the man howled in pain. Cain dropped Dean, and he fell to his knees. The Knight of Hell kicked the hunter in the back, hard, and he went sprawling onto the rug.

"Stay down until Beelzebub or one of his underlings gets here, or I'll have to do worse than that," Cain said coldly, and then he walked away from Dean to go pour himself another glass of that alcohol.

Julie tried everything in her power to get free, but she was completely trapped. Her heart broke seeing Dean lying there on the ground at her feet, his shoulder dislocated, and a couple bruises already forming on his face. She wanted to talk to him and make sure he was alright, but she needed to deal with the more pressing matter.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked Cain softly.

He turned to face her, his eyes cold. "I told you. The Knights of Hell-"

"Don't scare you, so don't pretend you're afraid of them," she snapped. "You defeated them once before, and you could do it again."

"They'll give me back my Colette," Cain said after a brief pause, and for one the first times in her life, she saw an honest emotion from a demon, not just hatred or anger. The demon looked so pitifully sad, and there was so much longing in his voice as he spoke of this Colette.

"They won't," Dean said darkly, and Julie and Cain both looked to see that he had rolled onto his back and propped himself up slightly with his good arm. He made no move to get up all the way, though, so Cain didn't attack again. He gave the demon an icy look and said, "You know that. They'll give you back some twisted shell of her, or they won't give her back to you at all. Or, worst of all, they'll give her back to you the way she was when she died, and she'll be so horrified by this monster you've become she won't want to be with you."

Cain glowered at the hunter and stalked over to Julie. "What if it was her, boy?" the demon growled, touching the side of Julie's face. She suppressed a shudder. "What if _you _were in my shoes, and you had to choose between handing me over to them or never seeing her again?"

Dean gulped. He knew what choice he would make. How could he argue with Cain if he was no better than him?

Cain smirked bitterly. "See, Dean. You're no different from me."

"He's better than you," Julie snarled. "He would never work with them, no matter what."

Cain shook his head and studied Julie. "She really believes in you, doesn't she?" he asked Dean. Julie didn't like the way his cold, dark eyes seemed to see into every part of her. "She's very…_good_. Not often you meet someone this good in this line of work, especially after time in hell." Julie blinked, and the demon smirked slightly. "Yes, I can see the mark your time there has left on you. And if I hand you over to those demons, they'll only put you through even more." He fingered the knife that he had put back on his belt and studied Julie sadly. "It would be kinder just to kill you now."

"Try it and you're dead," Dean snarled. There was an edge to his voice that Julie hadn't heard in about a week, and sure enough, when she and Cain looked up, they saw that Cain had made a fatal mistake. He had gotten distracted, and Dean had somehow gotten up and to the coffee table without Cain noticing.

Because there, in his hands, was the First Blade.

"This is about to get interesting," Cain chuckled, stepping away from Julie. She held her breath as the two men, the two bearers of the Mark of Cain, circled each other. She was worried by how amused Cain was, since he should be afraid. Dean could now kill him, and yet the Knight only seemed intrigued.

Dean lunged forward again, and the demon tried to dodge, but with the Blade, Dean was now faster and stronger. Cain ended up having to block the Blade with his own silver one. Instead of backing away, Dean attacked again. But for every powerful strike he made, Cain countered easily. The demon began to frown as he matched Dean every step of the way.

"This is wrong," the Knight of Hell said suddenly. "You should be stronger with the Blade. Unless…" Cain smirked slightly. "You're holding back, aren't you, son? You really believe if you don't give into the Blade and use it to its full potential, you'll be saved? _Nothing _can save you, Dean Winchester."

Dean's expression darkened, and he suddenly tried to stab Cain in the stomach. But the demon had anticipated this, and he dodged. He brought his own knife down and swiped a three inch cut down Dean's wrist to his hand. Dean winced as his skin sliced open, and against his will, his injured hand released the First Blade.

Cain swept it out of Dean's reach with his foot, and he swung his knife again. A strike that could have sliced Dean's throat open missed as he dodged and instead made a gash on his cheek. Dean tried to throw up his hands to catch Cain's wrist and wrestle the knife away from him, but the Knight of Hell suddenly grabbed Dean's already-dislocated shoulder and twisted it at a horribly wrong angle.

Dean groaned in pain, and Julie screamed his name, struggling pathetically against these ropes holding her down. Cain elbowed Dean in the head, and he stumbled away, but the demon wasn't done. He punched Dean in the head again and again until his right eye was swollen shut and his lip was split, dripping blood down his face along with the cut on his cheek. Dean was doubled over against the wall, and he could tell from the agony in his stomach and the way every breath hurt that all of the demon's beating had bruised if not broken a couple ribs, and severely damaged his stomach.

Julie screamed horrible words at Cain as he grabbed Dean by the hair and threw him roughly to the ground. Dean lay on his side, coughing weakly, as Cain walked calmly over and retrieved the First Blade. Julie felt a wave of horror and fear pass through her as the Knight of Hell grinned, his eyes suddenly going all black. The father of murder reunited with the most powerful, evil weapon at his disposal, and the man she loved lying hurting and defenseless at his feet.

Cain walked smugly over to Dean and rolled him onto his back with the toe of his boot. The Knight planted a boot on Dean's chest, holding him down, and the hunter glared weakly up at the demon with his good eye.

"At first I thought you were a fool for coming here and fighting me, Dean," Cain said slowly. "But now I realize…perhaps it was wise. If you keep fighting and killing, you'll eventually end up becoming like me, and that's a horrible thought for you. And if my fellow Knights ever get their hands on you, you'll wish you were never born. So perhaps it really was wise to come to me."

"What are you talking about? What are you going to do to him?" Julie cried.

Cain lowered the First Blade to hold it to Dean's throat, and his good eye widened slightly. "I'm going to do the kindest thing I can for him. I'm going to kill him."


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

"Wait!" Julie half-sobbed as the demon pulled back the First Blade to drive into the heart of the man she loved. "Please, don't!"

For some reason, Cain hesitated slightly. Maybe because of the pure desperation in her voice. Maybe just to make it hurt more when he killed Dean. "And why not, girl?" he snapped.

"Please…he doesn't deserve this," she whispered, trying and failing not to cry. "Don't kill him, please…I _love _him…"

That shouldn't change anything. He was a demon. A Knight of Hell, for Christ's sake, and one under the influence of the Mark of Cain and the First Blade! He should just laugh and murder Dean, but the demon hesitated.

Cain looked down, shaking his head. "Why is it that the best women always seem to fall for the pathetic mistakes like us?" the Knight asked Dean, and Julie was shocked. Dean had said things along the lines of that so many times she had sworn she would hit him if he ever said something like that again. And here was a Knight of Hell who felt the same way…

"You don't have to do this," Julie whispered. "Please…don't hurt him. He doesn't deserve this."

"You're right, I'm sure he doesn't," Cain sighed. "No one deserves this Mark. But you, girl…you don't understand. I'm doing your Dean a kindness if I kill him now."

"What are you talking about?" she cried.

"I know how this works," Cain said coldly. "I've been down the same path as he is now. The Mark and the Blade…they will twist him, make him do things he would never have imagined possible. He'll start to kill more, mostly monsters, and then he'll start to just kill everything that gets in his way. Eventually, that pet demon of his, Crowley, will do something to get on his bad side and Dean will end him. He might feel a bit bad, but it was the right thing to do, wasn't it, Dean?"

Dean glared up at the demon, trying to pretend he hadn't thought down this path himself. And there were more deaths down this path, far more painful than Crowley's.

"And then one day, things will be going very poorly, and the angel, Castiel, will get in your way, and it'll happen so fast you don't even know you're doing it until the angel is dead, and his blood is staining your hands, boy," Cain spat, and his words were so vivid and his eyes so haunted, Dean knew he must be speaking from experience.

"You're wrong," Julie snapped. "He would never."

"Things will be bad after you've killed him," Cain said slowly, his eyes on Dean. "You'll feel so dirty, so evil…and it will _hurt_." Dean wondered what close friend Cain must have murdered to be speaking so personally about it. "And they'll just keep getting worse. You'll want to end your life, but if you do, you'll just come back, and worse than before. Trust me, boy, I know."

Cain's eyes were glassy and distant, and there was a growing pain in them. "And then one day, she'll get in your way. You'll try not to, you'll do everything you can not to, and it won't be enough. One little mistake, that's all it will take, and then she'll be dead, _her, _and you'll be the one who killed her."

Dean knew who the demon was speaking of now, but the thought of him doing to Julie what Cain had once done to Colette…it was horrible. He couldn't. Wouldn't.

"But nothing will hurt as bad as that one death," the father of murder said darkly, and Dean's heart sank. There was only one person left, only one person who mattered enough that their death could possibly hurt more than Julie's…

"The one kill that will destroy you. The one that will seal your fate as a monster forever. For me it was the first, but for you it will be the last. That's the plan for you, Dean, and if I don't kill you now, that's how it will end." The demon met his eyes as he said slowly and coldly, "You _will _kill your brother. Sam will die at your hands, the one thing you've always feared the most, and the one thing you've always known would happen."

"No," Dean choked out. "Never."

"Unless I save you now, that's how it ends, boy," Cain said coldly. "So what will it be? I'll let you choose, Dean. I can hand you and this girl to Beelzebub, and you can go down that path, or I can kill you now and spare you from that future."

"Stop it!" Julie cried. "Leave him alone! Just let us go, please-"

Cain's face twisted in anger as he removed his boot from Dean and whirled around. He waved his hand and a rag flew from his table to force itself into Julie's mouth, effectively gagging her. She struggled to get words out for a couple of seconds, and then she finally just gave up and glared at the demon.

He turned away from her and back to Dean Winchester and found the dangerous man somehow back on his feet, staring the Knight right in the eye.

Before Cain could even try to fight, Dean drove his angel blade, which he must have found on the ground, into Cain's heart. The demon wailed in agony, and Dean pulled his knife free and cut a huge gash in Cain's sword arm. Cain dropped the First Blade and Dean hit the demon across the head, knocking him to the ground.

Dean scooped up the First Blade and felt a surge of much-needed strength fill him, helping him forget his extensive injuries for a moment. He had barely had the strength to get up and stab Cain without the Blade. And now, with it…

Cain slowly pushed himself up off of the ground and onto his knees. The demon met Dean's eyes almost sadly. Gripping the First Blade tightly, Dean choked out, "Please, just stop. Just tell me you'll stop. Say you'll stop working with the Knights. Say you'll help us kill them. Please."

Cain just shook his head. "I was you, once, son. I hadn't killed them yet. The best friend, the lover, the brother. If I was still that man…perhaps I would help you. But it's too late for me. It's too late. Just kill me."

Dean fought back a wave of nausea. "No. Please. Don't make me do this. Say you'll _stop_. Don't make me…" He had to stop talking because his lips were trembling nearly as badly as his hands.

Cain shook his head a little, smiling sadly at Dean. "You promised me, boy. You promised me when I gave you that Mark that you would do this when the time came. Well, the time is now, Dean. It's me or you."

Dean shook his head. "If you had just left her out of it…"

"I know," Cain said, still smiling slightly. "If it had just been the two of us, you would have been happy to die, wouldn't you? It would have been easier. But this is how your story goes, isn't it? You'll kill me, and then the demon and the angel and then her and then-"

Cain stopped talking abruptly, which wasn't surprising considering he no longer had a head.

Julie stared at Dean in shock and, though she hated to admit it, horror. He stood there shakily, ignoring the bruises and cuts and the pain as he realized what he had done. This kill left him with a different sort of feeling. He felt the initial rush of strength and joy at the kill, but then he felt something sick and dark building in him, threatening to choke him. For a second, Dean was terrified the darkness was going to swallow him and obliterate him. It weighed him down, and for a moment everything was too much, and he thought he might pass out.

Julie felt tears come to her eyes at the absolute terror in Dean's eyes. She had no idea what must be going on inside him after killing the giver of the Mark, but it clearly wasn't good. She wanted nothing more to hold him…and to run from him.

Dean turned to face Julie and he stumbled over to her. Hand trembling, he put the First Blade down on Cain's table. Then he reached out and undid Julie's gag, trying to ignore the way she flinched when he reached for her.

Once the gag was out of her mouth, Julie wanted to speak, but there was nothing she could think to say. "Dean…" she whispered after a long, weighted moment.

He couldn't meet her eyes as he instead cut her ankles and wrists free. As soon as she was free, she stood up and put her arms around Dean, holding him as tightly as she could with his wounds. Dean closed his eyes and let out a long, shuddering breath, for once allowing his guard to come down and just enjoying her touch.

Dean instantly regretted letting his guard down as the tears came. He tried to fight them off, but Julie wasn't disgusted by him like he expected. She stroked the back of his head and sank to her knees with him when he couldn't stand anymore. She held him tightly, not speaking, until the fear and sorrow passed enough for him to at least stop the silent tears going down his face.

"Castiel," Julie whispered after a long time, and Dean was confused until she continued, "Cas, please, come back. We're alive but Dean needs healing."

Dean wished she hadn't said that, because not even ten seconds later, Sam was busting down the door of Cain's home, gun at the ready, prepared to kill whatever had hurt his brother. Cas was right behind him, angel blade out.

Both of them stopped when they saw the sight before them: a battered, beaten, bloody Dean leaning into Julie for comfort, and Cain's corpse only a couple feet away, his head completely separated from his body.

"Dean," Sam gasped, understanding what must have happened instantly. He rushed to his brother's side, and Julie let Dean go so that Sam could hold him as well.

Dean fell forward, knowing Sam would be there to catch him, and Sam quickly caught his brother and held him tightly, trying to ignore the fear in him. Dean was not okay. That was clear from the blood and bruises on him, but also the hollowness and fear in his eyes. And Sam wanted nothing more than to be able to take the pain and darkness from Dean, but he couldn't. All he could do was hold him.

Castiel eyed the corpse of the father of murder, trying to ignore what it was going to mean for Dean now that he had killed the demon who had given the Mark in the first place. He loved his friend dearly, and he believed in Dean more than he had ever believed in anyone, angel or human. But the darkness that was in him now, after killing Cain himself…that was going to be almost impossible to come back from.

Eventually, Sam released his brother and Cas stepped forward. He touched Dean's forehead tenderly, and when he removed his hand, the man no longer bore the signs of a beating.

In fact, you would never know what had happened if it weren't for the corpse nearby and the darkness and pain in Dean's eyes.

"We should get out of here," Julie said quickly as Sam helped Dean to his feet. "Beelzebub or another demon could be here any second."

Cas nodded and laid a hand on each of the Winchesters' shoulders. Julie took Dean's hand, and just like that, they were gone.

* * *

"Get him here," Beelzebub growled, trying to contain his anger.

The terrified demon standing next to him nodded quickly and vanished. Beelzebub let out his breath slowly, staring at the corpse at his feet. The blood coming from Cain's severed head was still warm, which meant they hadn't been gone along. Beelzebub had just missed finally getting his hands on Dean Winchester, and it was even more frustrating now that he was on the brink of succumbing to the Blade after this kill. It wouldn't have taken long to torture the man into submission and get him to finally fulfill Beelzebub's plans, but the angel, Castiel, must have somehow gotten here and saved the man just before Beelzebub got here.

The monstrous man in the kitchen nudged a chair with his toe, eying the sawed-through ropes scattered around it. "Wonder who Cain had tied up here?" he asked.

Beelzebub rolled his eyes. The hulking, dark-skinned, muscle-bound man that his fellow Knight was possessing pretty much summed him up: powerful, dangerous, intimidating, and thick-headed.

"My guess? Juliet," the king of the Knights sighed. "Cain was pretty clear when we spoke with him he would not be giving Sam to us as well, probably trying to make up for what he did to his own brother…but I'm sure Juliet wouldn't allow Dean to be alone with Cain."

"Juliet…the girl who went to hell for the one with the Mark?" the other Knight said slowly, turning to face him.

"Yes," Beelzebub sighed, irritated. "It's not hard, brother. Castiel is the angel, Sam the younger brother, Dean the one we want, and Juliet the pretty little toy I would really like to have back. You would like her, Behemoth. She's small, and you would think that would make her breakable, but she's very strong. You would enjoy seeing how long it takes to break her. If this works, then I think I'll let you have her for a bit."

The demon grinned, baring his teeth. "Sounds fun. But I think I'd prefer the one with the Mark. He sounds like he would be the hardest to break."

Beelzebub rolled his eyes. Asmodeus wouldn't have complained about being given a chance to have his way with Julie Carters. He would have been grateful, and enjoyed every second of it. But Behemoth always wanted more, and was never satisfied no matter how much Beelzebub rewarded him. Beelzebub didn't feel guilty about giving Asmodeus up to die, but he did sometimes regret not picking one of his other even more pathetic siblings. At least Asmodeus was fun to have around!

"I told you, if this plan works, you will not be fighting against Dean Winchester any longer!" the Knight of Hell snapped at his larger, dimmer brother.

"Do I at least get the brother?" Behemoth muttered moodily.

"I suppose you could," Beelzebub conceded. "At least for a while. You'd have to actually use the spells that keep them alive while you torture him, though. We'll need him for Lucifer when we reach that stage."

"Right," Behemoth chuckled. At least the two Knights had this one thing in common: they both worshipped their lord and master. Other Knights, like Abbadon and, to a lesser degree, Apollyon and Adramalech, feared and distrusted their lord. Asmodeus hadn't been a huge fan of the true master either, but Behemoth had no reason not to worship Lucifer. Lucifer had always been fond of his little pet disaster, and he had always enjoyed sending Behemoth into a town to wreak havoc and massacre God's pet humans. And Beelzebub was his most trusted servant, so both Knights had nothing to fear from bringing Lucifer back. And Beelzebub hoped that one day, and one day soon, he could raise his lord again.

But at the moment, he had other plans. And one of the most instrumental pieces in that plan appeared in the doorway of Cain's home, frowning.

"You called, my lord?" Crowley asked carefully, eying Behemoth. He hadn't met this Knight of Hell yet, and he was rumored to be volatile and dangerous. Crowley knew right away this was not the demon to piss off.

"There's been a change in plans," Beelzebub said darkly. "Cain did his job and found Dean Winchester."

Crowley noticed the corpse of the father of the murder on the ground, and his frown deepened. For one thing, he hadn't known that Cain was looking for Dean. He thought it was the other way around. Clearly, Beelzebub was being wise and wasn't telling Crowley everything. But Cain was very clearly dead, and the only thing that could kill a Knight of Hell, or rather the only person, was Dean, and if he had killed Cain, that was bad news for the man.

"Oh?" Crowley said carefully. "And how is that a change in plans?"

"It's what happened _after _he captured Dean Winchester that has derailed our plans slightly," Beelzebub sighed. "It was my plan to have Cain hand him over to me so that I could make sure he succumbs to the Blade and fulfills our plans. I'm not a patient demon, and I'm tired of waiting for him to grow weak. But Dean managed to escape, so that plan is out. However, it appears that our dear Mr. Winchester may have accidentally done our job for us."

Crowley tried to keep his voice and expression neutral as he asked, "And how is that? If he escaped, you can't control him."

"Killing Cain was the last straw," Beelzebub said confidently. "Dean will be so far gone now that we don't have to wait for him to give in. I say we end our plans a little early, take the choice away from him."

Crowley knew exactly what the demon was talking about, and while that was his final goal for Dean as well, he wasn't quite prepared for things to end this quickly. Oh well. Dean had to let go at some point. If it was the next day or the next year, what did it matter?

"How do you plan on doing this?" Crowley asked carefully.

Beelzebub glanced at Behemoth, who was grinning evilly. "That's where you come in, my friend…" the king of the Knights said darkly, and Crowley resisted the urge to gulp.

* * *

"Juliet?"

Julie sighed. "Julie," Jasper's voice corrected quickly. "I guess that means it's you and not Sam, then?"

"Yeah, it's me," Julie said softly, settling down onto the couch in the living room of the bunker. She resisted the urge to curl up into a ball and cry, just letting the comforting voice of her uncle wash over her. But no. She had to be strong. Sam was staying strong, and Dean was doing his very best to. If they could, she could too.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Jasper asked in such a gentle, fatherly tone that Julie had to dig her palm into her eyes to fight back tears. God, she was acting stupid. She was twenty-eight years old, and at the moment, all she wanted was to be back at home so her uncle could hold her in his arms and treat her like a little girl.

"I…" Julie stopped and tried to get her emotions under control. "Dean…"

"Oh god," he breathed. "Oh, sweetheart…what happened? Is he…?"

"No!" she said quickly. "No, he's not dead. He just…we've had a really rough past day or so."

"What happened?" Jasper repeated, concerned.

"Well…you know how things have been rough for Dean lately, with the Mark and the Blade and everything?"

"I'm aware."

"Well…last night, Cas took us to Cain."

"_What? _Cain as in…Cain and Abel? The Knight of Hell, father of murder…that guy?" Jasper sounded _pissed._

"That's the one," Julie sighed, ready to be scolded.

"Juliet, how could you do that? That's extremely dangerous! You could have gotten hurt, you could have gotten killed-"

"Almost did," she said flatly. "Cas and Sam were forced to leave Dean and I behind, and Cain tried to sell us out to Beelzebub." Her uncle tried to interrupt, but she plowed ahead. "Then Cain beat the shit out of Dean and tied me to a chair and was about to kill Dean when he got the upper hand. Dean ended up having to kill him, and now…"

Her voice broke. She could imagine Jasper shaking his head on the other end of the line. "Julie…god, I wish you would just come home. I wish I could just hide you, keep you safe. I should never have let you go."

"You couldn't have stopped me," Julie pointed out. "Besides, Dean needs me now more than I need to be safe. Hiding me isn't going to keep me safe, either. So don't worry about me, Uncle Jasper."

"Right, because that's going to happen," her uncle smirked bitterly. After a moment, he asked, "Is there any way I can help?"

"I don't think so," she confessed. "Look, Jasper…I love you, and I miss you, and I wish I could come see you and Tay. And I could use a break from this, but…I can't. Dean…he needs me right now. And things are only going to get worse. I'll call as much as I can, but…"

She stopped, and she and her uncle both sighed. "You take care of that man, you hear me? But don't let anything to happen to you or Sam, either."

"I won't," Julie sighed. She quickly changed the subject, and they talked about other things, mostly about Jasper and Taylor's lives. After a while, though, she knew Dean would be needing her. She sighed, "Look, Jasper…I should go."

"Alright. I'll talk to you later, then. And Juliet…" Julie let that one time go, because they were both so emotional at the moment. "I love you."

"Love you too," she whispered. "Bye, Uncle Jasper."

She hung up and put her head in her hands for a long time. She wanted nothing more than to sleep until she had the strength to face the hell her life was quickly becoming. Cas had to go hours ago, back to his angels, and Sam had been with Dean for two or three hours straight so that she could rest, and she was certain Sam was needing some rest now himself. It was already dark out, and she had spent the day worrying about Dean and trying to sleep off the horrors she had seen last night.

Sure enough, when she walked into Sam's bedroom and saw the two brothers watching TV, Sam looked mere seconds away from drifting off, while Dean's eyes were wide and haunted.

"Hey," she said casually, and Sam jumped, wide awake again. "Sorry, I just needed a little nap. I'm back now, and wide awake. Unlike you, Sam. You should get some rest." Sam hesitated and glanced at Dean, who looked a little uncertain as well. "Dean, why don't you and I hang out in our room, let Sam get some rest?"

Dean shrugged and got up. Sam nodded gratefully at Julie, and she did the same. Julie and Dean left the room, but as soon as Dean shut the door, he turned to face Julie.

"You guys don't have to babysit me," he said flatly. "I'll be okay. If you both just need to rest, I'll be fine on your own."

"I got my rest," Julie assured him. "And we don't _want _you to be alone. Now come on. I feel like we haven't just hung out the two of us for a while."

"Well, we have, but it's always been really hard because I'm about to lose control, go psycho, and kill you in your sleep," Dean muttered.

Julie sighed. "Come on," she said, taking Dean's hand and dragging him back to their bedroom. They lay down on the bed, too tired to get under the covers, and Julie settled in next to Dean, her head on his chest. He gave in and wrapped his arms around her, settling into the comfortable position they often lay in.

Julie rubbed the sore muscles in his upper arm, and he sighed. She was very careful to stay far away from the Mark of Cain, afraid to upset it, or its bearer. But she was concerned, and a bit curious.

"Jasper called," she said after a while.

"And?"

"He's worried about you, but what else is new. He told us to stay safe, told me to take care of you."

"I don't need to be taken care of!" Dean snapped.

"Well, I'm going to anyway," she said firmly. "Sam and I, and Cas when he's free, we're all going to help you, Dean. We _want _to."

"It's not safe," he said after a minute. "You heard Cain. He ended up killing everyone: his brother, his wife, apparently his best friend, too. You guys aren't safe around me."

"Who said he's right?" Julie countered.

"He had that mark for thousands of years, I've had it for two," Dean said flatly. "I've held out this long, and that's something, but pretty soon it's going to get too strong. I can just tell. And I don't want you three anywhere near me when that happens."

Julie had nothing to say to that. She wanted to ask how badly killing Cain had affected him for the past twenty-four hours, but she also didn't want to make things worse. So she decided on distracting him.

"Well, I've got some non-Mark related news," she said brightly. "You remember my ex-boyfriend, James?"

"That ray of sunshine? Hard to forget," Dean muttered.

"Well, he's hunting with Jasper and Taylor now."

"And is that good news of bad news?"

"Just news. They could use some extra muscle, and he's helping Taylor actually become a real hunter and not a half-ass one. Mostly, they hunt with him because their hunts have been getting more and more dangerous. Seems like the Knights have gotten evil excited, and monsters are getting a little kill-crazy. And there's more demons on earth than there have been in years. Apparently, Crowley's lost all of his followers, so every demon we come across will be trying to give us to Beelzebub."

"Good to know," Dean sighed. "Is that including Crowley?"

"I don't think so," Julie admitted. "I know it's really freaking stupid, but for some reason I kind of trust him not to hand us over to them. Mostly because he's missed several opportunities to already, but also because…he really seems to care about you, and Sam, at least a little bit. Enough to risk his own life playing the double agent to help us."

"I have a harder time trusting him than you do," Dean said darkly. "You've only known him when he was almost tolerable, but there have been times when he's tried to kill us or those close to us…times he's betrayed us…times Cas has betrayed us, too. And, now that I think about it, I've betrayed Sammy time and time again, and vice versa. So congrats, Jules! You're the only one of us who hasn't betrayed the others. Other than that little stunt with tricking me into using the Blade again, but that was mostly Crowley, so…"

Julie sighed. "I'm still not going to apologize for that," she said flatly. "I do wish it didn't have to come to that, but you couldn't die then. Or ever, as far as I'm concerned."

"You don't regret that? Not even after seeing what I'm going to become?"

"You're not going to become that," Julie said firmly. "Never."

Dean sighed. "Did I ever tell you the reason Cain killed his brother?"

"Well…no. But biblically, he was jealous and so he killed him, and then God cursed him-"

"Not exactly," Dean interrupted her. "If what Cain said is true, and as far as I know, he's never lied to me, then apparently Abel was talking with Lucifer and not God. Lucifer was tricking Abel and planned on turning him into his pet, basically, and Cain made a deal with the devil: his soul in hell for his brother's in heaven. Lucifer made him be the one who killed Abel and put him in heaven, though." Dean took a deep breath, steadying himself. "Sound familiar?"

"Dean, you sold your soul to bring Sam back to life, not to kill him and send him to heaven," Julie said carefully. "And Sam would never work with Lucifer, anyway."

Dean laughed bitterly. "Already has. Granted, he did it to save the world and stop the apocalypse, but he's said yes once, and he might again, if he has to. All I know is, while I was here on earth and my brother was down in the pit getting taken apart by Lucifer, I would have done anything to take his place." Dean's green eyes burned into her. "What about that makes me any different from Cain? And if, as a human, he was just like me, who's to say I won't end up the same as him?"

"Me," Julie said firmly. "And Sam, and Cas, and anyone who knows you. That could never be you. You would never kill people like him, good people."

Dean sighed tiredly. "I don't know, Jules. I just don't know anymore."

"_I_ do!" she said firmly, sitting up. "You're too good to ever become like that."

"Nice to know someone believes that," Dean muttered.

Julie felt so truly awful for Dean. He wouldn't believe any of the things she said about him being good, and she didn't know how to help him. The best she could do now was distract him.

Julie turned on the small, rather crappy television in their room and they sat and watched dumb TV shows, making fun of them, until exhaustion overwhelmed Dean and he finally fell asleep. Julie carefully got the covers out from underneath him and tucked him in. He stirred slightly but didn't wake. After all, he hadn't slept in over a day, and he hadn't since the ordeal with Cain. If Dean needed one thing, it was sleep.

Julie settled down next to him. She was afraid to close her eyes, knowing she would see the same nightmares of a black-eyed Dean tearing into Crowley, then Cas, and then finally her and Sam that had haunted her during her earlier nap. She pressed as close to Dean as she could, trying to soak up his warmth and solidness. But he wasn't as warm as usual. In fact he felt a little cold and clammy.

She tried not to worry, and after a while, Julie drifted off. She had a couple nightmares, but no more than usual. Just sleeping next to Dean was enough to fight off the worst of them. For the most part, she slept peacefully through the night.

But she woke in terror that morning as Dean began to twitch and moan in his sleep. His skin was soaked in a cold sweat, and the veins were sticking out of his throat as he strained against an invisible force. "Dean!" Julie cried, not bothering to be gentle as she shook him. "_Dean_!"

He jolted straight up in bed, eyes wide and scared. Julie stayed a respectful distance away from him until Dean slowly realized he wasn't in whatever nightmare he'd been trapped in before. Once he was calmer, she moved closer to him and gently leaned into him, putting her arms around him.

It took a long time for Dean to get his breaths steady and hug Julie back. "Sorry about that," he muttered after quite a while.

"Are you okay?" Julie asked him gently.

"Just a nightmare. I should be used to them by now." Of course, he didn't often have nightmares about stabbing an angel knife into Cas again and again until the angel couldn't cry out because he was past dead. His nightmares didn't usually contain him stalking a terrified Julie through the bunker until he cornered her and tied her to a chair and beat her to death. And they almost never had him driving the First Blade into Sammy's heart and then laughing as the light went out of his little brother's eyes.

Julie touched the side of his face, and he had to resist the urge to flinch away from her touch. How could she look at him with concern and love in those blue eyes? Didn't she know what he was going to end up doing to her if someone didn't kill him first?!

"Can I help?" she asked.

_You can run. You can take Sam and you can run as far away from this monster as you can get. You can forget about me and try to stay safe._

"Distract me," he whispered.

Julie smiled ever-so-slightly and got out from under the covers with Dean. She gently pushed him back against the head of the bed and kissed him. Sweetly, at first, and then more hungrily when he grabbed her hips and held her tightly. God, she was sexy, and he wanted her _bad_.

Her hands slid slowly from his face down his chest to the hem of his shirt. She started to pull it off, and an animal desire rose up in Dean. Julie laughed breathlessly as he rolled over, so she was the one with her back against the head of the bed.

_Well, that worked_, Julie thought with a self-satisfied smirk as Dean ran his hands over her, kissing her neck. He seemed _very _distracted.

Dean pulled her tank top and bra strap off of one of shoulders and kissed it, his hands sliding over her to the top of her jeans. Julie was starting to get really turned on, and he was too, clearly. She pulled at his t-shirt again, trying to get it over his head, as he started to unbutton her jeans.

Dean suddenly changed directions so quickly Julie though she might get whiplash. He forgot about unbuttoning her jeans and instead kissed her on the mouth until he was lightheaded. He wanted her _so bad_.

Julie was pleasantly surprised by this turn of events. She had feared that after what Cain had said, Dean would be afraid to be with her, afraid he would hurt her. But now it seemed like all he wanted was to be with her, to have her, and she sure as hell was not going to complain!

Julie pushed herself off of the head of the bed so she could kiss him back better. Dean gripped her shoulders tightly, clinging onto her, afraid to lose her.

She suddenly quit kissing him back. Why did she do that? What did it matter? All he wanted was her, and he didn't really care if she didn't really want him at the moment.

"Dean, stop," Julie said, and in some small corner in the back of his mind, he was confused. Then she winced and cried, "Dean, let me go! You're hurting me!"

But he wasn't listening anymore, couldn't listen. Julie struggled against Dean, trying to ignore the building panic in her. She had felt a lot of things in bed with Dean, but never fear. But right now, he was scaring her. He was gripping her shoulders so tightly that it _hurt_, and she was reminded of how dangerously strong he was. This had been fun a moment ago, but now she was getting scared, and he wouldn't _stop_.

"Dean, _stop!_" Julie cried, trying to pull free of him.

He couldn't even hear her though. Dean meant to press her up against the head of the bed and kiss her until she forgot her hesitations, but something was wrong with him. He was too strong, and he didn't realize it until it happened. He had only meant to press her back against the head of the bed—that was all! But instead, he practically slammed her backwards, and her head cracked loudly on the wood.

Julie cried out in pain and lay there, dazed. But her pained scream was enough to snap Dean out of whatever primal instinct had taken it over. For a moment, he was confused, and then he saw the bruises forming on Julie's bare shoulders and the dull pain in her eyes.

Oh, god. _Oh, god_. He _hurt _her!

Slowly, Julie's head cleared and she sat up, forcing herself not to wince. She stared at Dean for a moment and saw the guilt and horror in his eyes.

"Dean-" she started, but he got up and stumbled away.

"Oh, god, I'm…I'm so sorry…" he choked out, backing away.

Julie started to get up. "Dean, wait!" she cried, but it was too late.

He was gone.


	34. Chapter 34

**Author's Note: **Once again, thank you all for the support for this story! It's wonderful to see that people actually enjoy my writing. A word about these next couple chapters: the Mark of Cain storyline, which had been developing for a long time, will finally be coming to a climax. I'm very excited about where this is going and I hope you all are too. In the next couple of chapters you may see a few similarities with a previous Supernatural episode, but that is because I've thought a lot about how to resolve this storyline and I think this is the only and best way to do so. I hope you all enjoy and I promise I will definitely not just be following the show, but doing a lot of original things with this.

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

Julie tried not to wince as she studied the bruises his hands had left on her. He hadn't meant to. She kept telling herself that. Once Dean snapped out of it and she saw the horror in his eyes, it was clear Dean hadn't even realized he was hurting her.

She wasn't sure if that soothed her or scared her even more.

There were few things in life more unpleasant than going from pleasure to fear and pain as quickly as she had. While Julie had been worried a few times over the past few weeks that the First Blade may overwhelm Dean and he might attempt to hurt her, she had never thought even for a second that it would have happened at a time like that. She had always felt safe with Dean, always known there was no way he would ever hurt her…but if he kept losing control like that, she could end up with a whole lot worse than a few bruises and a lump on the back of her head.

Julie pushed those thoughts away. No, it wouldn't be like that. It was clear Dean felt awful for hurting her, and he would never do it again. They could work through this, she knew they could. She just had to find him.

Julie changed into fresh clothes, making sure to select a low-cut grey t-shirt that covered the bruises on her shoulders. Just to be safe, she found a dark green hunting jacket and pulled that on before going to find Dean.

It didn't take too long to find him. He hadn't gone far, just to the nearest bathroom. He had stood in there, staring at his own pale, haggard face in the mirror until he got everything under control. His hands finally quite trembling and he got his breaths even.

He had _hurt _her! That thought wouldn't leave his head, accompanied by the fear and pain in her eyes as she stared up at him. He hadn't even realized what he was doing to her until he heard that sharp crack and heard her scream. If he hadn't snapped out of it then…who knows what else he might have done to Julie?!

There was a soft knock on the bathroom door. Dean stiffened, knowing who it would be. Her. Always her, always so gentle and patient and kind and forgiving and loving. He didn't deserve that, didn't deserve her. Or Sam, with his constant support and his blind faith in his big brother. The way those two, and Cas as well, believed in him, still believed he was good after everything he'd done…how could anyone have so much faith in him? He was a mess, a monster, and they just kept forgiving him.

One of these days, it was going to get them killed. That was his worst fear.

"Dean?" Julie asked, concerned, and he realized he was clutching the counter tightly, his breaths coming in short spurts again. "Are you in there?"

Dean slowed his breathing, trying to slow the frantic pounding in his chest. "Dean, honey, are you…are you okay?"

_Honey_. God. He would never have let anyone call him that, except maybe Lisa. But he wasn't the type of guy you called honey and asked if he was okay. He was the kind of guy who marched into battle and came out hours later, the only survivor, caked in blood, dead inside. _That_ was Dean Winchester. Not some nice, good guy who could make her happy, that she could live a long, happy life with, calling each other honey and sleeping peacefully in the same bed. Why couldn't she see that, why couldn't she pick someone better?

"Dean, do you need help?"

_Yes._

"I'm fine," he got out, releasing the counter and straightening up.

Julie snorted. "No, you're not. Now would you quit trying to be a tough guy and talk to me?"

"I'm not trying to be a 'tough guy,'" he said through gritted teeth. "I'm trying to keep you safe."

Julie was silent for a moment. Then she said calmly, "Dean, open the door."

"Julie, you're not safe around me! What if I lose control, what if I do worse than just make you hit your head?"

But she just said in the same calm, firm tone, "Dean, open the door."

God, she was stupid. Stupid and stubborn, and she must have a death wish if she really wanted to be alone with him right now. But god, did he love her.

Dean unlocked the bathroom door, and Julie studied him for a moment. She took a step towards him, and when he didn't flinch away, she moved forward and wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly. Dean was afraid to hug her back and hurt her yet again.

"You're okay," Julie whispered into his chest.

"It's not me I'm worried about!" Dean snapped. "I'm not the one who got hurt."

Julie pulled away to look at him. "I'm fine, Dean. Really. That was _nothing_. You've got to try a lot harder than that to hurt _me_." Then she sobered. "Besides…I'm pretty sure that hurt you a lot more than it hurt me."

Dean shook his head. "Why aren't you scared of me?" he snapped. "Do you _want _to die?!"

"I'm not scared of you because I trust you, and I know you'd never hurt me on purpose," she said calmly. "And I do not want to die. And I'm not worried about you killing me because I know you won't."

"But Cain-"

"Didn't know you like I do," Julie said firmly. "Sam and Cas and I, we all believe in you. You can do this. You can get the Blade under control, and you can fight it. We'll just have to be more careful. But you're not killing anyone."

She was wrong, about everything she had just said, except for the blind, stupid faith she and his brother and best friend all had in him. But Dean nodded to make Julie happy and hugged her back gingerly, taking extra caution not to hurt her.

Dean returned to their bedroom and changed into fresh clothes, trying to ignore how prominent the Mark of Cain was on his arm. It was getting a little more raised and red every day as its hold on him increased, but he did his best to hide it under long-sleeved shirts so the others wouldn't worry.

Dean and Julie walked out of their bedroom and into the main hall of the bunker just in time to hear someone banging on the front door. They exchanged concerned looks, and then Sam blew past them.

"This asshole will not stop knocking!" he grumbled, climbing the stairs to the door to the bunker.

"I can hear you!" a familiar, surly voice snarled through the door.

Dean and Julie exchanged another look at the demon's voice.

"What do you want, Crowley?" Sam snapped.

"To not be stuck outside with this awkward angel of yours a second longer!" Crowley snapped back through the door.

"Cas?" Sam called.

"Sam, I would much appreciate being let in," the angel said carefully. "I have been stuck out here for nearly five minutes with Crowley and I'm not sure I can bear another moment alone with him without stabbing him."

Sam smirked slightly as he quickly undid the several locks on the enchanted bunker door. He barely got out of the way before a demon and an angel pushed past him and stepped into the bunker. Sam shut the door as they bickered.

"You could not stab me if you _wanted, _Castiel," the former king of hell said testily.

"I _do _want to, and I easily could."

"I'd kill you first."

"As promising as that fight sounds, I think we have more important issues at hand." The angel glanced over at Dean, who stood on the ground floor, staring up at him.

"You know, you standing there worrying about your boyfriend gets really annoying sometimes," Crowley snapped at the angel.

Castiel frowned. "Sam is not my boyfriend. And while I _am_ worried about Dean, he is Julie's boyfriend, not mine."

"I was _joking_, you absolute _moron_!"

"Someone's in an especially bad mood today," Sam muttered, carefully avoiding stepping within arm's reach of the testy demon. He led the demon and angel down the stairs to stand next to Dean and Julie.

Crowley shot Sam a look. "It's all your brother's fault, you know. You just _had _to kill Cain and ruin everything, didn't you?"

Dean looked at the ground, and Cas and Sam both bristled. "He didn't have a choice!" Sam snapped. "Cain would have killed him otherwise."

"No, Cain would have given him over to Beelzebub, although that wouldn't be in line with my plans, either," the demon grumbled. He straightened his tie and regained his composure. "But forget about that. We've got bigger problems."

"Bigger than the Mark and the Blade getting even stronger?" Julie asked incredulously, and Dean stiffened.

"Yes."

"How much bigger?" Sam asked nervously.

"Metatron-big," Crowley said darkly.

"How do you know about his plan to attack?" Cas asked suspiciously.

"Beelzebub himself told me about his plans," the demon said almost smugly. "You're not the only one with an inside scoop, angel boy."

"Just because you're pretending to be a servant of a Knight of Hell, and therefore getting inside information, that does not make you my superior," Cas said coldly.

"Would you two quit it with the pissing contest and just explain what's going on?" Julie snapped, tired of this. She just wanted to know what the problem was so they could fix it and then she could work on making sure Dean would be okay.

"Metatron and his angels have made camp on earth in an abandoned warehouse," Castiel explained. "My angels tracked him there, but there is warding around the place keeping angels out. The good news is that he and his angels can't leave without getting back out, but they don't plan to leave for another couple of days, when they plan to begin the attack."

"What attack?" Dean asked, the first thing he'd said this whole time.

"So he does talk," Crowley muttered. "Beelzebub wants Metatron to be the one to officially begin their campaign to conquer the earth. In a little less than forty-eight hours, Metatron and his angels are going to begin to sweep the country from the west coast, killing and conquering, and the demons will sweep the east coast soon enough."

"Why now?" Sam asked. "And what's the end game? What will they get out of wiping out innocent humans?"

"My angels were able to capture one angel who accidentally crossed the border, and he confessed that the angels have been promised a chance to restore the earth to its former glory." Cas sighed. "But, of course, Beelzebub is lying. And he told them that they would have to rid the earth of sinful humans to create their new heaven on earth."

"Great," Sam muttered. "But why now? This alliance has been around for a while."

"Him," Crowley said calmly, nodding at Dean.

Cas, Sam, and Julie all stiffened and tried and failed not to turn and stare at Dean. He continued to stare at the ground. "What about him?" Sam snapped.

"Castiel was _given_ that angel that 'accidentally' stepped over the border so that he could find out what was going on," Crowley recited. "Then, according to Beelzebub's plans which, mind you, turned about to be accurate, he would come running to you and share the plan, and you would all go charging in to stop Metatron. Of course, the angels would be ready, and they would capture you all and take you to Beelzebub to be taken apart. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't think that sounds like much fun to me, but I might just be crazy…"

Julie swallowed. "Okay. Okay, so…what? We know what they plan to do to us, but that doesn't change the fact that we've still got to stop them."

"Right," Sam sighed. "So we make a plan. We know they'll be expecting us, so we have to somehow surprise them."

"My angels will fight with us," Castiel said firmly. "We can provide a diversion, and someone can get in there and kill Metatron."

"Excellent plan," Crowley said, and Julie could not for the life of her tell if he was being sarcastic or not. "I suggest sending him," the demon said, nodding at Dean.

"Why Dean?" Sam snapped. "Any of us could kill Metatron!"

"Well, first of all, Dean is our strongest fighter," Crowley pointed out. "With the Blade, he's nearly unstoppable, and you're going to need that against Metatron. He's been taking grace from Castiel's dying angels and giving it to himself, pumping him so full of angel juice that anyone other than the great Dean Winchester will have a hard time even standing a chance."

Julie frowned. "But we're saving the Blade for Knight-killing only."

"Why? To stop it from controlling him and turning him into a monster?" The demon's eyes were cold and almost cruel as he said, "Oh, come now, Juliet. You and I both know that's already happening. Besides, I'd consider this threat as bad as any Knight of Hell."

Sam and Julie both opened their mouths to object, but Dean said, "No. He's right. I'll fight Metatron, and I'll kill the bastard. Whatever toll it takes on me will be worth it to put that son of a bitch down for good."

"There's the Dean we know and love!" Crowley smirked. "Any objections?" Cas, Sam, and Julie all opened their mouths, but the demon said quickly, "Nope? Good."

"He's not going alone," Sam snapped, daring someone to challenge him. "I'll go with Dean, watch his back, help him make sure Metatron goes down."

"It won't be safe for you there, Sam," Dean said darkly.

"Then it's not safe for you, and you're not going either!"

Dean rolled his eyes, knowing better than to try to argue with his little brother on this. Sam had lost Dean far too many times to let him walk into this fight alone. "Fine. Sam will go with me."

Julie looked like she wanted to go as well, but she knew the two Winchesters' would be enough, and that Sam would watch out for Dean better than anyone. "And I can help you with the diversion, Cas."

The angel nodded. "I should contact Hannah. We should attack as soon as possible, in case they decide to begin their attack early."

The three hunters agreed, and Crowley said brightly, "Sounds good. Well, my work here is done. Hope you all survive!"

He turned to leave, and Sam snapped, "Where do you think you're going?"

"I did more than my job in warning you," Crowley snapped. "I helped you by risking my neck yet again, and I'm sure as hell not risking it again to save pathetic humans. I may be helping you, but I'm still a _demon_." His eyes settled on Dean, and for a moment, Julie could swear Crowley looked almost…sad. "Call me if any of you survive this, okay?"

He started to leave again, and Sam made a move to stop him, but Julie touched his arm. "Let him go," she muttered. "It's easier that way."

Crowley nodded once at Dean as he walked out, and an unspoken communication passed between them. And then the demon was out the door.

There was a long moment of silence as the four thought about what they were about to do. Then Dean sighed and said, "Alright. No use in putting it off. Let's get to work."

* * *

Sam hated the way all of these angels were staring at him. Their eyes, which all had that spark of almost inhuman intelligence that Cas's had, followed him everywhere he went. He knew they were seeing a small remnant of Gadreel's grace in him, and they were curious about how that had happened. Most angels didn't know the story of how heaven's most wanted angel had escaped his prison, possessed Sam under the name of Ezekiel, and eventually joined Metatron, using Sam's body as a vessel to kill Kevin Tran and work for the evil angel until Cas, Dean, and Crowley were able to get Sam free. The angel had sort of redeemed himself in the end by helping them overthrow Metatron and killing himself to free Castiel from heaven's jail, but that didn't erase the memory of frying poor Kevin's brain from Sam's guilty conscience.

Julie could tell something was bothering Sam as they got ready for battle alongside a couple dozen of Cas's best warriors. She never said anything about it, but Sam knew that she was picking up on his discomfort, because she hovered near him, keeping him busy preparing for battle and talking about insignificant things to distract him.

He was so grateful. There was so much riding on today, so many ways this could go wrong, and the last thing he needed to do was get hung up on past guilt and mistakes and let them distract him now. He was already worried about keeping Dean safe in the battle to come, and he couldn't be thinking about all the ways he had already failed his big brother.

Castiel and Hannah were off scoping out the old warehouse where Metatron and his followers (about twenty in number, according to Cas) were hiding. That left Dean, Julie, and Sam to keep an eye on twenty-four angels for a couple of hours in the Men of Letters bunker.

The angels seemed more curious about than suspicious of Sam, and they seemed rather indifferent about Julie. Some actually seemed to genuinely like her. She was the only one of the three hunters who had actually sat down and talked to a few angels, including good old Jonah, the angel that had once captured and tortured her and Sam to get to Castiel, but had chosen to join Cas and apparently stayed loyal. All of the angels who spoke to Julie seemed fascinated with her, and Sam noticed that her natural charm and likableness applied to angels as well as humans. It was impossible not to like Julie.

But these angels had no trouble distrusting Dean. They steered clear of him, and some even glared at him with varying levels of hatred. It was clear they still didn't trust him for the things he'd done to make them distrust him during the first civil war against Metatron, and many of them blamed him for everything that was going on, although it was ridiculous. Dean was doing the best he could!

Julie confessed to Sam what had happened between them last night, and Sam tried to hide his concern from Julie and failed miserably. "Listen…he's got it in his head that he's a monster and he can't be saved," Julie said darkly when she had finished her story. "I wouldn't be surprised if he refuses to use the First Blade, even if it means Metatron killing him. So just…promise me you'll take care of him?"

"Of course," Sam assured Julie, and they hugged for a long time. And Julie knew that there was no way Sam would ever let anything happen to his big brother.

But she still wasn't satisfied. So, when Cas and Hannah finally returned with a game plan and all of the angels went off to discuss the attack with them, Julie finally got a chance to talk to Dean alone.

The two of them went into kitchen, one of the only parts of the bunker the angels hadn't gone into, not needing food like humans. Dean tried to put off the conversation as long as possible, digging around in the fridge for something to eat, even though he wasn't hungry, and finally just popping open a beer and taking his time drinking it.

"Alright, enough stalling," Julie finally snapped, growing tired of his attempts to avoid what was coming. "Can we just talk about this?"

"Talk about what?" Dean said innocently.

Julie rolled her eyes. "The fact that you're going into battle against quite possibly the most powerful, evil angel alive today, and you and Sam will be in a lot of danger."

"It's not like we haven't been in worse situations," Dean shrugged. "And you'll be in danger, too."

"Yes, but I'm not the one who has tried to let himself die before. I'm not the one who thinks that I deserve to die, and the one who is going to see this as a perfect opportunity to get killed, thinking that will somehow protect the people he cares about."

"Oh, come on, Julie!" Dean snapped. "You don't think I'm that stupid?"

Julie didn't say anything, but her face said it all. Dean smirked slightly. "So you _do _think I'm stupid?"

"No! Well, yes, sometimes, but that's not the point. The point is…is don't do that, Dean! Promise me you're going to go into that fight and do everything you can to win."

Dean set down his beer and gently held Julie's arms, looking her in the eye. "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure Sam stays safe and that son of a bitch gets what he deserves."

Julie frowned. "You didn't promise anything about making it out alive."

Dean sighed. "Jules…look, I know you guys need me to kill the Knights of Hell, but…you've seen more than anyone how bad it is, how I'm losing the fight. Don't you think it'd be easier for my story to just end today?"

"How can you say that?!" she cried, upset and angry and scared by that thought.

"If I keep going and fighting and killing, I'm still going to die," Dean said coldly. "It'll just be different. All the good things in me, all the things you love…they'll die. I'll turn into some monster, and if someone doesn't stop me, I'll kill you and Cas and Sammy, like Cain said. And don't tell me I won't, Jules, just _don't_! That's how this ends, and I can't…I can't let you see that happen to me. I don't want to watch you quit loving me. God, I just…I can't become that…that _thing_!"

He was breaking down, and Julie thought she might cry. But now, now while he was being vulnerable and honest…now was when she had to say it.

"Stop it. Just…just stop." Dean looked up surprised at the harshness in her voice. Julie stared Dean straight in the eye in the hard voice of someone who was done playing nice.

"First of all, there is _nothing _that could ever make quit loving you, and I mean that. Nothing. If you became that thing we saw in the maze and tried to kill me and Cas and Sam…well, first of all, that wouldn't be you anymore. But that's not going to happen, you hear me? It's not, because you're strong, stronger than anyone. You're strong and you're good and you can do this. I know it, and Sam knows it, and Cas, and everyone else who really knows you. If you would just believe in yourself like everyone else who loves you, you would know that you can beat this thing."

"It's not about me believing in myself-" Dean started to snap.

"I'm not finished," Julie said sharply. "And I know it's not. But we'll find a cure. Because there is one, I'm sure of it, and we'll do anything to get it. Okay? We're going to help you, Dean, and all you have to do is let us. Because there's something that I know you haven't believed since…since long before I met you, but it's true. Look at me, Dean! Please, just look at me, and actually listen to me when I say this, because I've never meant anything as much as I mean what I'm about to say."

Dean raised his eyes from the ground and met Julie's eyes, shiny with tears, but dead serious. "You are a good man, Dean Winchester. You are good, and I love you, and you deserve to be saved."

Dean stared at Julie for a long time, to the point where she began to worry about him. Then he bent and kissed her gently for a long, sweet, sad moment. When he pulled away, he touched her cheek and said softly, "Thank you. For everything. You're the best woman I've ever known, Jules, and I love you so goddamn much."

And then he walked away.

* * *

Metatron turned the silver angel blade in his hands, studying the sharp tip. These things were so interesting, possessing the ability to kill angels, demons, and, of course, humans. Oh, humans…they were so _breakable_. It was hard to find something that _didn't _kill them! Even humans like Dean Winchester, who didn't seem to be able to stay dead.

Speaking of Dean Winchester…he should be here soon. Beelzebub's plan had been near foolproof, with the only real variable being Castiel running to his precious Winchester's and telling them what was about to happen. Of course, that wasn't really a variable. The angel was far too dependent on those brothers, as desperately in love with them as he was with humanity.

One of these days, it was going to get him killed. For good.

Metatron imagined the look on Castiel's face when he realized that the heroic attack he was about to launch was straight into a trap. That stupidly selfless, heroic angel would hopefully get what was coming to him today, as well as his pet humans. To be honest, Metatron didn't really care about Beelzebub's promise of a new heaven on earth. He was willing to fight this battle just for revenge. He wanted revenge on the angel and the two brothers who were foolish enough to take his power and try to contain him. He was heaven's scribe, and he was not to be toyed with, as they would soon be learning.

The angel was starting to get a little tired of waiting for them to walk into his trap, though. His angels were all stationed outside the warehouse where he waited, hiding and waiting to ambush the foolish hunters and angels who tried to attack. If they ever did try to attack…

With no warning, there was suddenly an explosion of sound outside the warehouse. Metatron got up and rushed to the window as the roar of angry shouts and chaotic fighting only got louder.

He frowned as he looked outside and saw twice the number of angels sparring out there as there should have been. Over twenty of Castiel's angels had appeared out of nowhere and begun to attack his waiting angels. That shouldn't have been possible, because no angel could break the sigils warding angels away.

But then again, Sam and Dean Winchester weren't angels, were they?

Metatron resisted the urge to scream and rage as he realized that _he _was the one being surprised now. Somehow, Castiel and his angels must have known that Metatron and his followers would be expecting them, because they were ready.

Castiel's angels had attacked from opposite sides, drawing Metatron's angels out of hiding and causing two epic battles to break out on either side of the entrance to the warehouse. As Metatron observed the fighting, he saw the only reason his angels were standing a chance: Castiel's angels were trying not to kill their opponents. Disarm, wound, or subdue, yes, but not kill. He obviously wanted no more angel blood spilled, while Metatron didn't care anymore. Heaven had already failed, and the angels were a dying race. If they all died today, what did he care, as long as he survived?

Metatron began to grow suspicious as the angels continued to battle, but Castiel and his followers didn't even attempt to storm the warehouse where Metatron waited. Metatron got a glimpse of a familiar-looking blond woman sparring an angel and holding her own, and recognized her as Dean Winchester's little girlfriend that the demons had captured all that time ago. But neither brother was anywhere to be seen among the action.

Metatron finally realized what their game was. Castiel and his angels were just a diversion until Sam and Dean Winchester could get to Metatron through the huge opening they had created. Metatron knew he should be scared at the thought of the hunters coming to kill him, but instead he grinned.

Perhaps things were still going to end up going according to plan after all…

* * *

Sam looked around nervously as the fighting only continued. Cas and his angels had more than done their job, and there wasn't a single one of Metatron's angels still guarding the entrance to the warehouse where that evil angel must be waiting.

Sam, Dean, and Julie had made quick work of the symbols warding off angels so the attack could begin, and then she had gone with Cas to fight the angels. Sam tried not to worry about Julie, the only human in the midst of an angelic war. She was tough, and she could take care of herself, and Cas had assigned Hannah to make sure Julie stayed safe. Dean wouldn't be able to go on if he survived this fight but Julie didn't.

Speaking of Dean…Sam turned to face his brother. The elder Winchester dumped his bag of hunting supplies on the ground, which he had gotten out of Baby's trunk. That had concerned Sam, seeing the way Dean had lovingly patted the Impala's side and looked like it like he was saying goodbye to an old friend. Yes, there was a good chance they could die in this fight, but that seemed far too certain of a goodbye for Sam's taste.

Dean picked up an angel Blade and tucked it into his belt. He picked up his favorite gun as well, although it'd be little use to him, and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans. Then he sighed and tucked the bundle the First Blade was wrapped in into his jacket. Sam watched sadly as his brother ran a hand through his hair and sighed tiredly, looking much older than he really was.

"You ready, Dean?" Sam asked his brother gently.

Dean looked up and forced a smile. "Yeah. What about you, Sammy? Ready to take out this son of a bitch once and for all?"

Sam smirked. "This is long overdue."

"Couldn't agree more." Dean stopped and took a deep breath. "Look, Sam… before…before anything else happens, I just wanted to thank you."

"For what, Dean?" Sam asked, confused.

"For…for believing in me. For letting me come back into your life even after what I almost became and for believing in me now, even as it's happening again…"

Sam sighed. This sounded like one of Dean's stupid "Sammy, let me go" speeches again, and he was tired of them.

"Of course I let you come back into my life, Dean! I needed you, and I still do. We all do. And of course I believe in you. If there's anyone that can do this…it's my brother."

Dean smiled sadly. "Thanks, Sammy." Then his eyes somehow got even sadder. "Listen…just in case…just in case I don't make it out of this, could you…just promise me you'll take care of Jules, okay?"

"Of course," Sam frowned. "But I won't need to, because you can do it yourself."

"Right." Dean cleared his throat. "Well, let's get going then. We've got an asshole of an angel to kill."

Sam turned around and began to walk towards the warehouse. But he hadn't gotten four steps when something hard connected with the back of his head and everything went dark.

Dean caught Sam under the armpits just before his little brother's head hit the floor. He dragged Sam's unconscious body over to a dark corner behind a couple abandoned boxes, hiding him from view, grunting with the weight. "Damn, Sammy, when did you get do big?" he grumbled, knowing his brother couldn't hear him.

Sam would never forgive him for this. If Dean ended up surviving this, Sam probably wouldn't speak to him for a week. But this had to happen. No matter what happened in there with Metatron, Sam had to be safe.

Dean blinked back a bit of wetness in his eyes looking down at Sam's unconscious face. He wasn't ready to say goodbye to his beloved little brother yet. But it was time. In fact, he was running out of time. Cas and his angels couldn't fight forever.

"I'm sorry, Sam," Dean whispered even though he couldn't hear him. "You wouldn't understand. But…no matter what happens, you've got to live." Dean took a deep breath and smiled sadly down at his brother.

"You be good, kid," he muttered, repeating something he'd often said to Sam when he was just a boy, usually accompanied by a ruffle of his floppy hair. "Bye, Sammy," Dean added at a whisper.

And then he turned and went to face his fate.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter Thirty-Five**

"Dean Winchester!"

Dean resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the smug, haughty way Metatron cried his name. How dumb _was _this angel? His angel army was obviously losing, and they both knew Dean possessed a weapon that gave him more than enough power to kill the angel. Why wasn't he already gone?

Dean stepped into the wide open space, glaring at the small, harmless-looking angel in front of him. Metatron grinned, and there was a crazed light in his eyes. The evil angel had been waiting for a long time for a chance to kill Dean, and vice versa.

"You never do seem to learn, do you, Dean?" Metatron chuckled.

"Not sure exactly what you're referring to, but probably not," Dean admitted, sticking his hands into the pockets of his jeans and walking casually closer.

The angel seemed a bit put-out that Dean didn't seem terrified. But there was almost nothing left in the world that scared Dean…besides himself.

"Do you remember the last time we were in a position like this?" Metatron said, smirking nastily. "Just you and me alone, a fight to the death. And you were struggling with the First Blade then, as well. I remember how messed-up you were, practically black-eyed already. If little brother hadn't come in and stopped you, who knows what could have happened…"

"Well, for one thing I would have killed you," Dean pointed out. "Sometimes I really regret that decision."

"Well, here's your chance," the angel said, spreading his arms wide in a welcoming gesture. "Unless Sam's around here somewhere to stop you again."

"Sam's not coming this time," Dean said firmly. "Just you and me, you son of a bitch."

"Better watch that mouth of yours. You're addressing an angel of the Lord."

Dean snorted. "I may not have the highest opinion of the big guy upstairs, but I sure as hell know that you don't work for him anymore."

"No, I suppose that's true," Metatron shrugged. "Nor do I work for Beelzebub. Once you're dead, and hopefully Castiel and your brother as well, maybe your girlfriend if I'm lucky, I'll disappear. I know how to survive, Dean Winchester. No demons or angels or pathetic hunters could ever find me. And once you all are dead and gone, I'll still remain. Maybe I'll take another shot at God once you all have failed."

"You seem pretty confident that you're coming out of this alive, considering I have the weapon that kill almost anything in creation," Dean said coldly.

"But you're afraid to use it, aren't you, Dean? You know if you kill me with the First Blade, you'll lose control. You already killed Cain, and that almost pushed you over the edge. You can hide it from Sam and that girl and Castiel, but I can tell. You're almost gone. And killing an angel, an evil act in itself, will destroy you." Metatron grinned. "Kill me and you won't even be _human_, Dean!"

"So I don't kill you with the Blade, and everything works out nice and easy," Dean said calmly, pulling out an angel blade.

Metatron did the same. "You cannot beat me without that Blade. I'm an angel, and a powerful one at that. And I've been stealing grace, growing stronger all the time…without that Blade, you can't win and you know it."

He did know it. He had known that since Cas and Crowley explained what was happening several hours ago. But that didn't matter now. What mattered was that Cas and Sam and Julie stay safe. And if this asshole died too, then that was a nice bonus.

"People have been telling me I can't win, and that I'll die my entire life," Dean shrugged. "I'm still here. They're all dead. Not sure what that means, but…"

"But how much longer can you do that?" Metatron shot back. "How many more times can you die and come back before you don't come back human?"

"Guess we'll find out," Dean muttered, and he stepped forward.

His first strike was a bit sloppy, and Metatron dodged it. The angel countered his next strike and found them evenly matched, even with all of the stolen grace powering him up. Dean Winchester had the Mark of Cain, and his natural strength and skill, and Metatron knew if this man was wielding the First Blade, he would certainly lose.

Scared by the thought, Metatron went on the offensive this time. Dean managed to block or dodge several of his strikes, but finally Metatron was able to nick Dean's side, cutting a small gash in the skin over his ribs. Dean winced slightly but kept on defending himself.

The more the angel attacked, the more he realized…there was something wrong. Dean had brute strength, but he had skill as well. He was one of the most formidable fighters Metatron had ever seen in action, and that terrifying opponent was not the man he was dueling now. This man seemed to almost be holding back to make his skills even with the angel's.

Metatron wasn't going to complain though, if it meant that he survive this fight and get his revenge on this foolish man.

Metatron finally got a good swipe in and caught Dean across the forearm, cutting through his jacket and skin. The man cried out in pain and released his weapon.

And the angel grinned. Finally, here came the good part.

He waved his arm and Dean flew several feet backwards and into a wall. He collapsed onto all fours and pushed himself upright, still a little dazed and wounded. By the time the eldest Winchester was back on his feet, Metatron had reached his opponent, and he punched the man right in his stupidly handsome face, laughing as Dean stumbled back.

"You're slipping, Dean," Metatron chuckled, hitting Dean again with a wicked uppercut. The taller man doubled over and Metatron waved his hand, sending the man crashing to the ground. The angel stood smugly over Dean Winchester and kicked him once, twice, three times in the side, his smile widening with every pained groan.

"I'm not very impressed. That was hardly a fight at all." Dean squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath as the angel kicked him yet again, hard. Couldn't the bastard just kill him quickly? He had obviously won!

Metatron stopped attacking and Dean opened his eyes. "Get up," the evil angel smirked. "I want a real fight."

Shakily, Dean hauled himself into an almost standing position. But before he could even stand upright, Metatron lunged forward and plunged his blade into Dean's left shoulder.

Dean screamed through gritted teeth as skin and muscles tore. Metatron pulled out the knife and Dean collapsed to his knees again, clutching at the bloody hole in his shoulder.

"You really thought I'd give you another chance?!" Metatron laughed gleefully as Dean struggled to make his labored breathing steady. "No. You're going to die, Winchester. I'm going to kill you."

"Then…do it already," Dean got out, glaring up at the angel.

Metatron cocked his head, confused and surprised. "That's odd. Most people don't want to die. But then again, most people aren't the pathetic mess you are."

Metatron struck him across the face, and Dean rolled with the hit. But the angel continued to rain blow upon blow on him until Dean's lips were split and his eyes were swollen and hard to see through, and there were a dozen bruises and patches of blood on his face.

The angel knelt in front of the beaten man and reached inside his jacket. If Dean had the strength or the voice, he would have made some joke about "not rolling that way," but he could barely do more than hurt. Metatron pulled out the brown bundle from Dean's jacket and unwrapped it.

"I thought so," the angel chuckled. "You could have beaten me, Dean. You could have killed me with this, but you're choosing not to. You _want _to die, don't you?"

Metatron laughed again and threw the First Blade behind him, far out of Dean's reach.

Dean's swollen eyes widened as much as they could as he saw the Blade land at a familiar pair of black, polished dress shoes.

Somehow, Metatron didn't even notice the demon standing a few yards behind him, holding an angel blade. He was too busy gloating over the beaten man in front of him. But Dean saw Crowley and met the demon's eyes.

It was clear what Crowley was doing here, what he was offering Dean. If Dean wanted, the demon would drive his angel blade into Metatron's back and end the bastard, saving Dean. He was here to save Dean. And Dean knew he should nod at Crowley, let the demon save him, and try to fight the Mark and Blade with the people he loved by his side.

But he couldn't anymore. He just couldn't. He was tired, so tired, and he had been for a decade. He didn't want to fight anymore. He just wanted to rest.

Crowley felt his stomach turn at the sight of the man in front of him. It was clearly Dean, but it was a badly beaten version of the man. And that angel cackling in front of him was obviously the one beating and cutting him up like that. Crowley had never been much of a fan of angels, but he truly despised this one. That was the closest thing he had to a friend, that broken man lying there, wishing for death.

Crowley knelt and picked up the First Blade. He knew that Dean saw him, even if Metatron didn't. And if that hunter nodded or so much as looked like he wanted help, Crowley would kill Metatron without a second thought. So that wasn't the plan. So what? Dean could fulfill his destiny later. But it didn't have to be today! He could have a few more happy days with all of the people he actually cared about before it came time for Crowley to make sure he took the next step.

But, to Crowley's surprise and something close to horror, Dean very subtly shook his head.

Crowley's frown deepened. He had always known Dean Winchester was a stubborn idiot, but this was ridiculous! Crowley was giving him the chance to live, and he would rather die at the hands of this sadistic angel?

Metatron suddenly drove his angel blade deep into Dean's thigh, and the poor man cried out in agony. It took all of Crowley's willpower not to step forward and save Dean.

"Don't," the hunter choked out, trying to pass it off as begging Metatron to stop. But Dean would never beg this angel for anything, and Crowley knew it was really that idiot telling him not to save him.

Metatron laughed. "Oh, I like that. Why don't you beg me not to hurt you some more? Maybe cry a little?"

Metatron made a gash on Dean's cheek, but the man didn't cry out this time. Instead he kept his steely green eyes locked on Crowley, telling him to leave.

Fine. If that idiot wanted to let that sadistic angel torture him to death, Crowley wouldn't stop him. That's what Beelzebub's plan had been all along, anyway. This way, he wasn't even risking his neck to help Dean, but following orders.

Metatron hit Dean again, and the man couldn't stop a groan of pain from escaping his lips.

No. No more. Crowley couldn't stay and watch any more of this. If this fool wanted to die, then fine. But Crowley wouldn't stand here and watch.

So Crowley shook his head slightly at the foolish hunter in front of him and left him to die, taking the only weapon that could possibly save Dean with him.

* * *

When Sam woke, his head was throbbing, but his muscles weren't stiff enough to have been lying in this dark alley long. And there was still the sound of fighting going on, although it was much more subdued. Cas and his angels must have disarmed most of Metatron's angels, or they were almost all dead.

But that wasn't Sam's biggest problem. Not even close.

Dean was gone.

He should have seen this coming. Julie had warned Sam that Dean was going to try something stupid and selfless. Hell, Sam had _known_ that! And then with the whole goodbye speech…Sam should have expected this. But, god, that _idiot_! That absolutely idiotic, selfish bastard he called a brother! For no one else would have knocked him out and then deposited him safely out of the way of battle before charging in alone. If Dean wasn't already dead in there, facing Metatron alone, Sam was going to _kill_ him!

Sam got to his feet quickly, trying to ignore his spinning head. He found that he still had his angel blade, and he took off running towards the warehouse. He had to get in there, had to get to Dean before it was too late…

As he ran past the two fights, he noticed that most of Metatron's angels were unconscious or had surrendered. Eight or so still fought, but they were clearly about to lose. Sam didn't have time to check to make sure Cas and Julie and Hannah were all alright, though. All that mattered was Dean.

Sam got to the warehouse and ran inside. For a moment, he had no idea where to go, and then he heard a voice coming from the hallway ahead of him.

It was Metatron's voice, and Sam slowed to a stealthy walk as he approached the door that led to where his brother and that evil angel must be. It was cracked open slightly, so Sam could hear what was going on as he approached.

Someone was breathing heavy, labored, pained breaths. Sam hoped it was Metatron, but then the angel's smug voice said, "Had enough yet, Dean? You must be tired. Even _I'm _getting a little bored playing with you. What do you say we end this and I put you out of your misery?"

No. _No_. Sam abandoned all caution and threw the door wide open as he reached it, and he charged in.

And then he stopped dead in his tracks as he watched Metatron's silver blade stab into Dean's stomach.

"_Dean_!" Sam roared, charging forward. Metatron leapt up from his position over Sam's brother and whirled around, wide-eyed and surprised, maybe even a little scared.

And rightly so. The evil angel had barely turned around before Sam reached him, and Metatron couldn't even attempt to defend himself before Sam's angel blade stabbed him in the throat.

The angel wailed as a white light glowed out of him, and then he fell to the ground, finally dead. Sam didn't even care that his despicable foe had finally been killed. Nothing mattered but the bloody, battered, broken man slumped against the wall.

"Dean!" Sam cried again, running to his brother. There was so much blood on Dean, on his face, on his torn clothes, on his shoulder, his leg, and there was too much blood blooming on his stomach. But Sam ignored all of the blood as he knelt by Dean and cupped his brother's face in his hands.

"Oh, god. Oh, god. You're okay, Dean, you're gonna be okay," Sam said breathlessly, looking over his battered brother. There was a nasty wound in his shoulder and leg, plus countless bruises and smaller cuts all over him, but nothing was as bad as the awful wound in his stomach.

That would be the thing that would kill him.

No. No, Dean would not die. No, no, no.

"…Sammy?" Dean asked weakly, his voice thin and hoarse. He could barely see through his swollen eyes, but he could just make out his little brother's worried, terrified face.

"I'm here, Dean," Sam choked out, trying not to panic. He pressed down on Dean's stomach wound, trying to slow the bleeding. "Just hang on. I'll get you out of here and patch you up. You'll be okay, I promise. Just hang on a bit longer."

"Didn't…want you…to see me…like this," Sam's big brother got out, coughing weakly once he was finished. A dribble of blood came from the corner of his mouth.

"Don't talk, Dean," Sam ordered, trying to stay calm. "Just stay calm. I'll get you some help. You'll be okay. You'll be…"

Was he crying? Oh, god. The lump in his throat was making it hard to speak or swallow, and his vision was a bit blurry. But he couldn't cry. He had to take care of Dean, like Dean had done for him his whole life.

"Sammy…tell…tell Jules…tell her I'm sorry and…I love her," Dean said weakly, and it was clear it was taking all of his strength to get those words out. His breaths were coming shorter and shallower, and Sam was so scared. This couldn't be happening. Not now, not after everything…not Dean. Not him.

"You can do it yourself," Sam said firmly.

Dean tried to smile. "Sam…thank you."

"You can thank me once I get you back to normal," Sam grumbled, trying to force down his emotions. Dean was so weak, and he was getting weaker every second, and there was nothing Sam could do…

"Sammy…" Dean whispered in a voice so soft and weak Sam barely heard it. "I…" Sam waited to hear what Dean had to say next. _I'm sorry? I'm proud of you? I love you?_

And then the life left Dean's green eyes.

Sam waited for Dean to suck in another painful breath. He waited for Dean to suddenly sit up and grin and say, "Gotcha! Oh, god, Sammy, you should have seen your face!" He waited, and waited, until he couldn't see through his tears anymore. And then, when everything in him knew that his big brother was dead, again, he finally gave in. He crushed Dean's body to his in a tight hug, clinging to the dead man's body like he could bring life into it again just by loving him and wanting him and needing him enough.

And Sam sobbed and yelled Dean's name over until his voice broke and he had no tears left to cry.

* * *

"I'm fine, Cas," Julie snapped. "Really."

The angel hovered around her, clearly not believing her. She had already let him heal the cut on her arm and her broken ankle, but she had honestly fared pretty well for such a long, intense battle against beings much more powerful than her. They had all fared well, really. Only three angels had died, one of Cas's followers and two of Metatron's. Those of Metatron's followers who had remained loyal throughout the battle were all disarmed and herded together over by the entrance to the warehouse where Metatron was, guarded by several of Castiel's angels. Many of Metatron's followers had surrendered though and seemed to want to join Castiel's followers. In all, the battle had gone as well as they could have hoped.

The pretty brunette angel, Hannah appeared at Cas's shoulder. "Castiel," she said gravely, her blue eyes sad and worried.

"What's wrong, Hannah?" Cas asked, turning to face her.

"Sam Winchester just came out of that warehouse," she said in that same careful, serious tone.

"Is he okay?" Julie cried, taking off before the angel could answer. She started to run towards the front of the warehouse to see Sam, but the angel appeared in front of her.

"Wait," Hannah said. "You should not go there."

"What? Of course I'm going there! I'm going to make sure Sam is okay, and you are not stopping me!" Julie pushed pack the angel and rushed around the corner.

The first thing she saw was the group of angels guarding the few Metatron-loyalists. They were all staring at something past them, but a couple turned and gave Julie somber looks as she approached.

"What's going on?" Julie snapped as she reached them. "Where's Metatron? Where are Sam and Dean?"

One angel, that one she had met all those months ago when he kidnapped her and Sam, Jonah, looked at her sadly and jerked his head to the left.

She turned just as Cas caught up with her, and they both turned to see Sam standing a few feet away. "Sam!" Cas cried. "I'm glad you're alright!"

The hunter said nothing, and Julie noticed the pain in his otherwise blank expression. She knew that face. It was the carefully controlled mask both brothers put on when they talked about a time when the other had…

No.

She pushed the thought away. It was stupid. It was crazy. "Where's Metatron?" Julie asked Sam.

"Dead," he said flatly.

Julie nodded. "Good. Did Dean…?"

Sam shook his head. "No. Me."

Julie nodded, relieved. This meant that Dean wouldn't have another death trying to pull him down into darkness. She had rarely been more grateful to Sam.

"Is Dean okay?" Julie asked Sam, concerned.

He didn't say anything, just looked down.

Julie suddenly noticed that Sam had clearly been crying, and very recently.

"Where is he?" Cas asked sharply, and Julie was surprised. "Where is Dean, Sam?"

"Castiel…" Hannah said gently, appearing at his shoulder. "I am so very sorry…"

"Why are you sorry?" Julie snapped, still in denial. "Sam, what's she sorry about? Sam, _where's Dean_?"

Finally, Sam turned slightly to look at something lying on the ground a few yards behind him.

Oh, god. Oh, god, no.

There was a moment of silence as the forty angels gathered around waited with bated breath to see what would happen. And then Julie, who had been standing perfectly still, screamed in the most heartbreaking, desperate voice any of them had ever heard, "_Dean_!"

She took off running towards the body on the ground and Sam realized what she was doing. "Julie, wait!" he said, stepping to intercept her. He caught Julie and held her back from Dean's body. "Julie, stop! You don't want to see that, trust me."

But Julie couldn't even hear him. Nothing mattered but the bloody, beaten corpse on the ground that was the man she loved. Nothing. She screamed Dean's name over and over, screaming and swearing at Sam, trying to get free. "Let me go, dammit!" she wailed. "Let me see him! Sam, _let me go_!"

"Julie, stop," Sam begged. "You don't want to see what that bastard did to him, you don't."

Eventually, his words reached her ears and Julie finally quit struggling to reach Dean. Then she collapsed, sobbing, into Sam's arms, and he held her tightly, struggling to hold back his own tears as she sobbed uncontrollably. "I know, Julie," he whispered in a broken voice. "God, I know."

Eventually, Sam raised his eyes to look for Cas. But the angel was gone. He had vanished as soon as he knew for certain whose corpse it was on the ground. Sam was sure he was off searching heaven and hell for Dean's soul to get it back, but Sam doubted the angel would ever find it. The First Blade and the Mark of Cain affected their bearer even in death, and Sam feared there was no way to bring Dean back.

The angels stood in silence, watching the brother of that dead man comfort the sobbing woman. One of Metatron's most loyal followers, an angel called Delilah, felt something close to guilt for the first time as she saw the anguish on the humans' faces. Metatron had killed that man, tortured him to death, and any man who two people would grieve so strongly for…he had to have been a good man.

Delilah began to doubt, then. She wondered how right Metatron really could have been, to kill a man so loved.

Eventually, the angels dispersed, leaving Sam and Julie alone to grieve. And then it was just the three of them together, just like old times. Sam, Dean, and Julie. Just like the happy, good old days.

Except that one of them was dead, and the other two would never be happy without him.

* * *

Sam poured himself a glass of scotch and downed it. Then another. And another.

The past twelve hours had been hell for him. He'd watched his brother die, seen the horror and unimaginable pain in Julie's eyes when she finally realized what had happened, held her while she cried until there was nothing left in her to grieve…

And then things had gotten even worse. Cas eventually returned, saying that he could not find Dean's soul in heaven or hell. There was no way to get Dean back. Somehow, Julie had managed to find a few more tears to shed, but they had both known that would happen.

And then…Sam and Julie had buried Dean.

Burying Dean was one of the most painful, horrible things Sam ever did. He had buried Dean before, when his brother had sold his soul and gone to hell to bring Sam back to life. Then he had been alone, and so drunk that he could barely see straight. He had Julie this time, but it didn't make the pain any less. It just kept him from completely falling apart.

Julie had never had to bury Dean before, and it was horrible for her. They put him in a cheap wooden coffin and Cas buried it instantly, rather than having the hunters dig a deep hole and fill it back in. Julie had barely spoken since seeing Dean's corpse, so she just stared at the plain marker Sam put in the ground and cried silently.

This wasn't over! Sam resisted the urge to slam his fist down on the bar in the bunker as he poured himself yet another glass. It couldn't be over! There were still the Knights to defeat and innocent people to save and so many more years that he needed his brother. Losing Dean wasn't exactly a new experience for Sam, but that didn't make it hurt any less. And this time felt…different. More final.

Sam had been tempted to try to sell his soul while they were out by Dean's grave. There was a crossroad nearby, and he was on his way there when Julie had found him. She had just said, "Sam, no," and he had stopped. He knew that no demon would make a deal with him, anyway.

But he wanted his brother back.

Sam barely looked up as someone walked over to the bar and sat down on the stool next to him. Julie said nothing as she got out her own glass and filled it. She didn't even like scotch very much, but she _needed_ to be drunk right now.

_This _was her worst fear. Forget the monster in the maze all those weeks ago. Losing Dean, knowing that he was nothing but a cold corpse in the ground…nothing was worse than that. She had lost her mother and her father and several hunter friends, but no death, not even her parents', had hurt like this.

She loved Dean. She loved him so damn much, and she needed him. He had always said he needed her, but the truth was she needed him, too. And now, with him gone and no way to get him back….Julie was pretty sure that if it weren't for the man next to her, in the same amount of pain, who really needed her, she might not be able to go on at all.

Julie started on her second glass of scotch, and then, against her will, she began to remember. She remembered the first time she ever saw Dean Winchester, standing over her, having just killed the demon attempting to kill her. She remembered the half-smirk he'd given her in the bar that first night, and the way he'd threatened that asshole who wouldn't leave her alone. She remembered those first few days of research and hunting and talking, getting to know each other, starting to fall for him. She relived that night when he'd finally told her the truth, and all of it.

She remembered that first kiss. That wonderful first kiss that had made her feel alive like no other kiss before.

The days passed faster then. A sunny day out at a ballpark, an evening at a nice restaurant, their first night together. Days of living together in a small town in Illinois in a cute little house with nice neighbors and friends and an almost normal life. And then Sam came into their lives, and things changed.

She remembered past hunts, the way Dean would often charge in and save her, or vice versa. Julie remembered nights sitting in the bunker, the three of them drinking, watching TV, playing poker, just talking and laughing. She remembered the awful way her grandmother had treated Dean, that wonderful man, and she remembered killing the vampires who had dared to hurt the man she loved. Julie remembered Dean killing himself to save Cas, the pain and fear she had felt then infinitely worse now. She remembered watching Dean face off against Knights of Hell, remembered the panic she had felt as Cain stood over Dean about to kill him, remembered the fear she'd felt seeing a demonic Dean in that maze.

Julie remembered nights alone with Dean, talking, kissing, having sex, falling asleep in each other's arms. She remembered dancing with him in the bunker, remembered the joy she'd felt seeing him again after her time in hell. She remembered every kiss, every touch, every fight, every night spent together.

And then she remembered the pain. The overwhelming, life-shattering, heart-breaking pain of seeing him lying beaten and bloody and dead on the ground.

Sam realized with a start that Julie was crying silently. He stood up and moved closer to her, wrapping his arms around her without a word. Julie buried her face in his shirt, her thin shoulders shaking with her sobs.

_How could he? _Sam thought angrily, his thoughts a little clouded due to the dangerous amount of alcohol he'd ingested. _How could Dean do this to her?! To Sam?! _For Dean had chosen this. He knocked Sam out so he could face the dangerous angel alone, and Sam knew that his brother should have been able to kill Metatron. But he had refused to use the First Blade, and he had died because of it, leaving behind a brother and a girlfriend to grieve and suffer without him. How could he do that?

"How do you do it?" Julie muttered into Sam's shirt after a long time.

"Do what?" Sam asked, confused.

"How do you survive without him? How did you do it all those other times?"

Sam laughed bitterly. "I didn't."

"What?" Julie asked, finally emerging from his shirt.

"I mean, I survived. But I wasn't living." Sam looked past Julie at nothing, looking haunted. "Even when he wasn't dead, but we were separated a while ago…I can't live without him."

"I think I know what you mean," she whispered, and the two broken hunters held each other in silence.

* * *

Crowley stood in silence in front of the unmarked grave. Just a simple wooden cross sticking out of the earth marking the resting place of Dean Winchester. Crowley wouldn't say final resting place, because he knew what was going to happen. He just had to make sure that he got here before Beelzebub, or his entire plan would fall to pieces, and the Knights of Hell would begin their own little apocalypse.

The wind changed, blowing his suit jacket back a bit and chilling the demon. It was completely dark out, except for the pale light of the moon. There was no one around here, and there hadn't been for several hours, since Sam and Julie and Castiel had buried their loved one. Crowley had watched from the shadows as the girl cried and the brother stood there looking broken and the angel fought to keep his composure. This had been Crowley's plan from the beginning, but seeing how destroyed those people were…it almost made him feel guilty. Almost.

God, this was taking forever. Crowley finally got tired of waiting and snapped his fingers. The coffin, buried six feet under, suddenly appeared next to him. The demon stared at the wooden box, waiting…

Finally, he snapped, "Oh, come on. It's been almost twenty-four hours. I know the process is complete. Now quit being a drama queen and get up."

There was a beat, and then suddenly the lid of the coffin blew off and went sailing several feet away to crash loudly into a tree, shattering. Crowley rolled his eyes and muttered, "Showoff."

The man inside the coffin sat up and grinned, stretching his arms. "Awesome," he murmured. "Did you know we can do that, Crowley?"

"_You _can actually do a lot more than that," the demon pointed out. "I'm just a normal demon."

"Right," the once-dead man said slowly, standing up and stepping out of his coffin. He looked the same as he had when he had been buried. Castiel had caused the blood to vanish from his corpse, but his clothes were still messy and torn. But even with his tattered clothes, the man looked pretty good, definitely too good for someone who should be dead.

He stripped off his tattered jacket and studied the Mark of Cain on his forearm. Crowley couldn't explain it, but it didn't look inflamed anymore, like it was a wound. It looked like it belonged on him. It suited him now.

The man grinned. "So I guess this means I'm a Knight of Hell, then? The next Cain?"

Crowley shrugged. "No one knows what this means. The only other bearer of the Mark and user of the First Blade was Cain, and when he died, he became a demon. So I just assumed…"

The man shook his head. "You've been planning this all along, haven't you?"

"In my defense, so was Beelzebub. This was his master plan, to have this happen to you and for you to join his side. But I had to make sure I got to you first and explained to you why working with me would be so much better."

"Well then, explain," he said calmly, crossing his arms.

Crowley smirked. "Well, first off, I've done nothing but help you so far. I haven't tried to kill or torture you, so that's one thing. And I'm not going to expect you to serve me. You and I can do whatever we want. We can gamble and drink and whatever the hell you want. Stick with me and you'll see what makes this life so great."

The man thought it over for a moment. "You've got me convinced," he shrugged after a minute. "So…when do we start?"

"Now," Crowley grinned. "Welcome to the dark side, Dean Winchester."

Dean grinned back, and his green eyes suddenly became the pure black of a demon's.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Please don't kill me for what I did to Dean! I felt like it was the only way that the Mark of Cain storyline could end, and also something that had to happen in the Supernatural storyline. I promise I will not be following the canon storyline with demon Dean, though-it will be all original. I'm actually really excited to write this demon Dean storyline, and I hope you all will be excited to read it. I also have a favor to ask, to help benefit me as a writer. If you would like to, please let me know in the reviews what your favorite chapter(s) has been so far and why, so that I can figure out what works well and what doesn't. Thank you all for your support, and please keep reading and reviewing!


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter Thirty-Six**

Julie woke up in the guest bedroom. She had moved all of her stuff out of her and Dean's old bedroom and into here last night, unable to be in that room without him. But she didn't remember coming in here last night. The last thing she remembered was her and Sam hugging and crying and grieving and drinking together in silence. She forgot what had happened after her seventh or so drink. She must have passed out, and Sam must have carried her in here, despite having drunk even more than her last night.

Sure enough, when Julie tried to sit up, a stabbing pain in her head put her back on the bed, groaning. She had rarely had a headache this bad, and it was making her nauseous. Julie barely hauled herself into the bathroom and to the toilet before she began puking up the few things she had actually eaten yesterday. When she was done puking, she rested her forehead against the cold seat of the toilet, trying to recover.

There were very few times Julie had been more hung over than this in her life. But the stabbing pain in her head and the crappy, sick way she felt could not possibly compare with the pain she felt at waking up alone. He should have been in bed next to her to catch her when she fell back and to hold her hair back while she puked. He should be rubbing her back in soothing circles and making some jokes about all the times he'd been hung over, and Julie would think how much of an idiot he was, and how much she loved him.

She felt the tears coming and thought angrily, _No! You cried enough yesterday. Today you're going to actually act like the tough hunter you are. You're going to quit crying about losing Dean and do something to get him back._

But there was nothing she could do to get him back, and she knew it. Cas was powerless, and Sam and Julie were just as helpless. Dean was gone, and they had no way to revive him, or even a place to start looking.

Julie knew she should get up and do something, maybe check on Sam, for surely he wouldn't be faring well, either. But Julie could not find the will to get up. Dean was dead. What did it matter if she never left this bathroom, if that wonderful, stupid, brave, selfless, headstrong, funny, charming man was dead?

"Dean," Julie whispered, even though it hurt her throat to speak. Maybe Cas couldn't find his soul because he was hanging around as a ghost. Maybe he could hear her now. "Dean, if you can hear me…come back. Please. I can't do this without you. I _can't_!"

But there was no answer. Either Dean couldn't come back to her, or he just didn't care. For once, Julie actually hoped that Dean wasn't coming back because he was really gone. Because the alternative, that he _could_ be here with her but was choosing not to be…that was almost more painful than losing him.

* * *

Dean pulled the collar of his grey t-shirt down to study the tattoo on his skin. There was a thin line running through it, breaking the anti-possession symbol. "I guess Metatron did me more than favors than he realized," Dean commented. "If he hadn't broken that symbol while he was cutting me up, I would have had to possess some other body, and I have to admit, I'm kind of attached to this one."

Crowley rolled his eyes as the man continued to check himself out in the rear view mirror of the cheap car Crowley had stolen. The two of them were driving down the highway with the windows rolled down, and the wind was blowing through Dean's hair, making him look like even more of a male model than usual.

The old Dean had never really embraced his good looks. That hunter had known he was attractive, and it had made him confident enough to talk to women and get in their pants, but he had never really been able to accept the idea that he was really handsome, having such a low opinion of himself. But now that those old feelings were out of the way, Dean was finally seeing the hot guy dozens of other women had drooled over, and he was getting a bit cocky.

"Alright, pretty boy, you can quit preening yourself," Crowley grumbled.

"What's the matter, Crowley? Are you mad I'm not checking you out? You're not looking so bad yourself, pal."

The demon smirked despite himself. "You think I don't know that? And if you ever call me pal again, I just might kill you."

Dean grinned cockily and put his feet up on the dashboard as he spoke. "How are you going to manage that?" the Knight of Hell smirked. "The only thing that can kill a Knight of Hell is me, and I don't really feel like dying again before I've even been alive a whole day."

Crowley knew Dean had him beat there. "Why are we even driving, anyway?" the new demon asked. "If we can just teleport wherever the hell we want…"

"It takes a while to get that power under control," Crowley explained. "And since you're practically a newborn, I thought we wouldn't try to tackle that skill just yet."

"I'll never learn until I try," Dean pointed out. He tried to harness the new, raw power inside of him and make himself appear somewhere else, but instead just succeeded in making his eyes flash black again. "Oh well. Later I guess." Dean began to switch his eyes back and forth between black and green, watching them change in the mirror. "This is actually really fun! Why don't you guys do this more often?"

"We find if we save it for dramatic moments, it makes us look that much more intimidating," the former king of hell said drily.

"Come on, Crowley. You know this is badass," Dean smirked, and he turned towards the other demon and made his eyes flash back and forth between black and green until Crowley felt almost sick.

"Well, you've got that skill mastered," he muttered. "To think a couple days ago, your worst fear was to have black eyes, and now you're messing around with it."

"Yeah, this would scare the shit out of Sam and Julie," Dean chuckled. Crowley tried not to stiffen. That was the first time the young demon had even spoken their names in the almost twenty-four hours he'd been a demon. Crowley waited for emotion to overwhelm the demon at the thought of the people he'd loved and left, but Dean just reached out and turned on the radio. He found a song by AC/DC, "Back in Black" and sang the words loudly, trying to annoy Crowley.

Instead, the demon found himself surprised. He had expected at least some kind of reaction after that casual mention of Dean's brother and girlfriend, but had gotten nothing.

Dean just didn't care anymore. Crowley knew that would happen, and he should have expected it, but it was still mind-blowing to see how drastically the Mark and Blade had changed him. Beelzebub had known that once Dean killed Cain, the dark in him would outweigh the good. He also knew that Dean would be able to feel that and probably want to die, thinking that would save him from going down the path to becoming a demon. But once there was more evil that good in Dean, if he died while bearing the Mark, it would bring him back a demon like it had Cain.

Crowley had known that this was what would happen. Hell, he had been planning for this for months, years, actually. But it was still shocking to see how much Dean had already changed, and he hadn't even embraced his full demonic potential yet.

For a second, Crowley was a little scared of what the newborn demon next to him belting, "I'm back in black!" could become…

* * *

Jasper sighed as he finally pulled into the driveway. It was past midnight, and he'd been driving for over six hours to get home. James had nodded off in the seat next to him, and Taylor was still technically conscious, but staring catatonic out the window. The three of them were wiped out from taking down a small pack of werewolves a few hours north of here, their fourth hunt in two weeks. Even in his prime, Jasper had never been busier than he was now. Every hunter was working full-time, trying to stop the sudden uprising within the community of all things evil. Things were really coming to a high point with all of this Knight of Hell crap, and Jasper worried what that could mean for his niece and the two men she lived with.

Jasper tried not to worry about Julie too much. After all, he had a daughter who was finally getting into hunting, now that she had no other choice, and a hunter he had taken under his wing to worry about. The two were smartass's, troublemakers, and just general pains to be around most of the time. But Jasper had to admit, he would have died dozens of times already without these exhausting young hunters watching his back.

As Jasper pulled up next to the house, Taylor snapped out of her daze and kicked the back of James's seat. The man shot straight up, ready for a fight.

"Calm down, you idiot, we're just home," Taylor muttered, brushing her long blond curls out of her face.

James opened his mouth to snap at her, but Jasper suddenly snapped, "Quiet!" James and Taylor were both confused, until they noticed the familiar black car sitting in the driveway.

The three hunters quickly scrambled out of their truck. No one was in the Impala, but when Jasper rushed to the front door, two people sat on the doorstep, waiting in silence. He stared in surprise as Sam Winchester and his beloved niece both got to their feet. They had been sitting huddled together on the porch step in silence, but as the three hunters approached, Sam and Julie stood up.

Jasper studied them, concerned. Both were oddly quiet and subdued. Even Julie could not raise her eyes to meet Jasper's, and her usual warm smile was nowhere to be seen. Something was wrong, that was clear, but neither hunter spoke a word.

"Julie?" James asked, shocked, as he reached the porch and was able to make out the two figures in the dark.

"What are you doing here, Juliet?" Jasper asked kindly. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, you know I am, but…"

"Sorry," Julie said in a soft, hoarse voice. "We should have called."

"It's fine," Jasper assured her. "I'm glad you're here. I've been worried about you three." He frowned as he noticed that a certain tall, tough, green-eyed hunter was missing from the group.

"Where's your boyfriend?" James asked coldly, also realizing that Dean Winchester was missing. He was not looking forward to seeing that stuck-up bastard again, but he doubted that Julie and Dean would have broken up again.

Julie looked down and bit her lip. Jasper couldn't read her expression, but there was clearly something very wrong. Sam waited to see if Julie would speak, and when she didn't he took a deep breath and said in as level a voice as he could manage, "Dead."

Instantly, James felt like the biggest asshole on the planet. "Oh my god," Taylor gasped. "Are you…?"

"God, I'm so…" James stopped himself, knowing any apology from him would sound cruel and insincere to the two people closest to the dead man.

"What?" Jasper asked slowly, still reeling. "How?"

Sam glanced down at Julie again, but she clearly wasn't able to talk about it just yet. So he said through gritted teeth, "Metatron. The angel killed him…tortured him to death…right before I killed the bastard."

Jasper, James, and Taylor all looked at the poor, grieving hunters sympathetically. Jasper himself was grieving, and Taylor as well. She and Dean had not always gotten along the best, but she had always liked him, even before her cousin fell in love with him. And as for Jasper…he had cared about Dean. A lot. Jasper had been thinking of Dean as family for months now, and even with the whole issue of the Mark of Cain and the Knights of Hell, Jasper wouldn't have been surprised if Julie called him and said that Dean officially _was_ part of the family. The two were so in love, and they'd been living and hunting together for coming up on two years…

But now that was never going to happen. And it made even a tough hunter like Jasper want to cry.

"This is all my fault," Sam grumbled, glaring at his feet.

"Oh, come on," Julie sighed, and it sounded like they'd had this argument several times already.

"If I had been there just a few seconds sooner he could still be here!" Sam cried angrily.

"You can't blame yourself for this," Julie insisted, touching Sam's arm in a comforting gesture.

Taylor studied the two of them. She had always secretly thought that something might be going on between Sam and Julie, or at least something _could _happen between them. She remembered working a shifter case with the three hunters several months ago, back before Julie died and came back, and she had figured out that Sam was definitely into Julie. It was evident in the pathetic, kicked-puppy looks he gave her when her back was turned, and in the way he hung onto every word she said and every move she made. Dean was the same. It was really unfair, actually, the fact that Julie had _two _hot brothers both in love with her, while Taylor was alone. But what else was new?

Then, when Julie and Dean had broken up and Julie had returned home, she had eventually told Taylor about all the things that had gone wrong. She had tried to gloss over it, but Taylor definitely caught the mention of Sam's feelings for her cousin. However, once Julie was back from the dead, it was clear that Julie and Dean would never be separated again, and Sam no longer seemed so pathetically crazy for her.

But Taylor couldn't help but wonder what would happen now that Dean was gone. Obviously Julie was still in love with the man, but as time passed…who knew? Taylor had kept it to herself, but she had always thought Sam and Julie seemed perfect for each other. But there were much bigger issues at hand, like the death of her friend and Julie's boyfriend and Sam's brother.

"Can't you just bring him back like you did Julie?" James pointed out.

"Cas has tried that," Julie said after a moment. "He's gone. Can't find his soul anywhere, in heaven or hell. We don't know exactly what that means, but…it means we can't get him back."

She looked near tears, and Jasper stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms. "I'm so sorry, honey," he whispered. "Juliet, we'll find a way to fix this. I promise."

Julie wanted to believe her uncle as she and the four other hunters went inside to stay the night. She wanted to believe that someday she would be able to see Dean again and hold him in her arms and kiss him and tell him she loved him.

But deep inside, she knew…Dean was gone. And he was probably never coming back.

* * *

Kathy Deluce looked up as a couple more guys entered the bar. They were already pretty full for a Monday night, but she wasn't going to complain. When you were an attractive young bartender like her, more men in the bar meant more tips. If she made enough money tonight, she wouldn't have to work double shifts tomorrow night, and she could actually go out and _do _something!

_Maybe I'll do _him, Kathy thought wryly, sizing up the taller of the two men. The guy practically oozed sex, tall and muscular, with the face of a male model, and the ripped jeans and dark jacket and dangerous look of a bad boy. His light brown hair was spiked up in a sexy sort of way, and there was a cocky look in his green eyes that she found really freaking hot. As he sauntered over to take a seat at the bar, the man met her eyes and gave her a flirtatious smirk and a nod.

She smiled back flirtatiously and looked down, returning to wiping out beer mugs. _Don't be stupid, Kathy_, she told herself. _The last thing you need is to sleep with _another _asshole who is just going to be gone in the morning._

Crowley watched the way the pretty, busty, redhead bartender was staring at Dean, unashamed. The demon noticed after a few seconds and used his natural flirtatious smirk on her, causing the girl to smile back and look down, blushing as red as her hair. It really wasn't fair, how some men were blessed with looks like Dean's. With the natural charm the guy had, he didn't even need it! But some guys just got everything…

"Not bad," Dean muttered as the bartender turned around and they got a good look at her ass, made even more prominent by her tight, short skirt.

Crowley rolled his eyes. "Really, Dean? You just became a demon. Don't you have better things to be focusing on than her?"

Dean shrugged. "I don't know. Most demons I ran into all seemed to be after one thing, and she is definitely what I want to be after tonight."

"Isn't she a little young for you?" Crowley pointed out. "She can't be older than twenty-five."

"I spent almost two years sleeping with a girl eight years younger than me," Dean pointed out in that same offhand tone he had used before, when referring to Sam and Julie. Crowley waited for some sort of reaction, but the new Knight of Hell just casually waved the hot bartender over.

She tossed her straight, shoulder-length, bright red hair over one shoulder as she reached them and smiled, eyes only on Dean. "What can I get you gentlemen?"

"Why don't you surprise me?" Dean smirked, giving her the same eyes that had gotten him into dozens of women's pants. This was fun! He hadn't been allowed to have fun like this in well over a year. "And for my friend here, the girliest martini you've got."

Crowley shot Dean a death glare as the pretty girl laughed. "Why don't I get you boys some beers to start off with?"

"Sounds great," Dean said. "Thanks…" He paused, clearly waiting for a name.

"Kathy," she supplied with a flirty smile.

"Dean," he replied. She smiled almost as cockily as he was smiling, and then went to get their beers.

Dean looked over and saw Crowley shaking his head in disbelief. "What?" the Knight of Hell shrugged.

"I just didn't expect to see you moving on so quickly," Crowley said slowly. Dean didn't say anything, so Crowley added, "And she's out of your league. You'll have to get pretty damn lucky to get a girl that hot. You're not twenty-six anymore."

Right as Crowley said this, Kathy returned and set down their beers. "You let me know if there's anything else I can do for you, Dean," she said, actually winking at him.

"Oh, I will, sweetheart," the demon replied, and she smirked and walked away. Dean turned back to Crowley and smirked. "I don't know, man. Call it a hunch, but I think I've still got it."

* * *

Kathy rubbed her eyes, exhausted. That had been one long night. She'd been at work until well after midnight, but she had been up for several hours after that. When she tried to roll over, she noticed she was bit sore. Dean Winchester had been a little rough for her taste, but he sure knew how to make a girl feel good.

Kathy knew she should feel bad. It had been a Monday night, and she had left work early to go screw this guy in her apartment, but she had gotten tired of just flirting. She wanted him, and he clearly wanted her. So screw it, why couldn't she have a good night every once in a while?!

She smiled a little to herself as she remembered all of last night. Dean and his friend who he called Crowley had been at the bar for almost three hours, somehow able to put away twice as much beer as any guy in there and still seem pretty much sober. And all night long, Dean had hit on Kathy, and she had flirted back. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, much older than the type of guys she typically went for, but he was so unfairly good-looking she was willing to make an exception.

Eventually, Dean had worn her down (it hadn't taken much), and she had taken him back to her apartment. His friend, Crowley, had seemed a bit annoyed, but Dean clearly wasn't going to listen to anything he had to say. So the two had gone back to her apartment, and Dean had gotten Kathy a little drunk before he finally just grabbed her and started kissing her. It was a bit rougher than she was used to, but she still enjoyed it. And when he dragged her over to the bed, she went with it. He was rough with her at times, but he did everything exactly right.

It had worn her out, though, and she had drifted off naked in bed with him. Now she rolled over to kiss the man and found…

Nothing. There was no one in bed with her. Kathy sat up, pulling the sheets up over her, and looked around. The bed was cold, and his clothes were gone from the floor. In fact, there was no sign that Dean Winchester had ever even been in this room other than the light bruises on her skin.

Kathy resisted the urge to scream at herself in frustration. What had she thought? That the guy from the bar that she had half-drunk sex with would actually be there in the morning? That he actually cared about her, and didn't just want a one-night stand? She was an idiot, and whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was a slut. She should have expected this.

But it still hurt. Seeing that yet another guy was gone in the morning and she was yet again alone…it hurt.

But Dean wasn't hurting one bit. In fact, he hadn't felt this good in a long time. The demon walked out to the stolen car where Crowley waited with his hands stuffed in his pockets, whistling cheerily. Crowley watched Dean approach, seeing how Dean stood taller and walked cockily, the after-sex glow not having worn off yet. In the Knight of Hell's mind, he was the greatest thing on earth in that moment.

"I suppose that went well?" Crowley sighed as Dean opened the car door and got into the passenger seat.

The demon smirked cockily. "Oh, yeah. I hadn't had a one night stand in _years_, Crowley! Remind me why the hell I gave that up?"

_You gave that up to devote your life to a beautiful, brave, clever, tough woman who loved you enough to die and go to hell for you. A woman I took you away from._

Crowley pushed those thoughts away. There was no use in feeling bad for what he'd done to Sam and Julie. It was irreversible. Dean Winchester, or at least the old one, was gone. Hopefully, Sam and Julie would realize that and move on with their lives. They had each other; they would survive.

The demon in the seat next to him stretched his arms and sighed. "Alright, Crowley. Seeing how great that was, I say we go find another bar to hit up, find another desperate slut I can bang."

Crowley blinked, surprised. "Well, there is the issue of it being almost nine o'clock in the morning." _And the fact that there's a woman out there right now, probably still sobbing over you, while you plan on going around banging every slut that comes your way._

Damn. Crowley really had been spending too much time with humans. Their morals and judgmental ways were rubbing off on him. If Dean wanted to sleep with lots of women, who was Crowley to judge or stop him? If Dean wanted to kill or steal or rape or torture, who was Crowley to stand in his way? This was Dean Winchester now, a demon, a Knight of Hell! It was just going to take a little getting used to, a Dean with no morals or self-hatred weighing him down.

"Fine," Dean sighed. "So, we don't go to a bar. I don't really care what we do. Just as long as it's fun." Dean frowned. "What do you demons do for fun anyway?"

"Well, what you just did," Crowley admitted. "Others torture or kill or make deals on souls. Really…it's your choice. You want to go kill a small village, or get someone to sell their soul, or just get wasted, it's all up to you."

Dean thought about it for a minute. Then he grinned. "You know what? I say Vegas. Gambling, drinking, lots of slutty women, plenty of people willing to sell their souls…demon heaven, right?"

Crowley smirked despite himself. "Sure, why not." He started to drive, but suddenly the keys flew out of the ignition and into Dean's hand. Crowley blinked as the Knight of Hell grinned cockily.

"Oh, by the way, I figured out how to do that," he smirked. "And one more thing: whether we're going to Vegas or hell, I don't give a damn—I'm driving."

* * *

Julie couldn't sleep.

Everyone else had drifted off a couple hours ago, even Sam. When she had gone downstairs to check on him a few minutes ago, Sam was passed out on the couch. She had almost smiled, seeing how much younger and more relaxed Sam looked in sleep, but she couldn't force her mouth to do anything but frown. James now slept in the guest room which had once been Dean's, but her old bedroom was still empty, so Jasper had set her up in there.

She hated being in here, though. Looking around, all she saw was him. There was the mirror that she had looked in every morning as she got ready to go downstairs and see Dean again. There was the closet, full of clothes that he'd seen her in, clothes he'd complimented, clothes he'd taken off of her. The bed they'd spent several nights in together. There was even a picture of the two of them together on the nightstand, and Julie couldn't look down at their smiling faces without tearing up.

How could he?! She kept thinking that over and over. How could he? How could Dean leave her like this? How could he do this to her, to Sam, to everyone who cared about him? How could he just be gone?!

Julie sat down on the bed and hugged her knees to her chest. If Dean were here, he would wrap his arms around her and kiss the top of her head and tell her everything would be okay. He would hold her and say soothing things until the tears dried. And just to hear his voice, to feel his touch…that would be enough. Everything would be okay, if he was just here now. Julie squeezed her eyes shut and wished with all her might that a miracle would happen and he would appear here with her.

It was a stupid, childish thing to do. She knew when she opened her eyes, there would be no Dean. But it still hurt when she opened her eyes and found herself alone again.

Julie thought about praying. She had prayed three times already, to any and all angels, begging them to help her. No one had come to her aid, not even Cas. God, poor Cas! That angel had loved Dean more than he loved anyone, and he must be grieving as much as Sam and Julie, but for some reason, he wouldn't let them try to help him or comfort him. He was just burying himself in his work, focusing on helping his fellow angels, so that he wouldn't have to think about how Dean was…

God, _stop it_! Why couldn't she stop crying? It was ridiculous! She was twenty-eight years old! She had known far more than her fair share of loss in her life, and she had endured ten years of _hell_, for god's sake! So why couldn't she stop weeping and crying over this one man like a child?!

Two years ago, Julie had felt insecure. She had never really truly felt like she had loved a man. She was twenty-six years old, and she had been in several relationships, but none of them had left her feeling like that man was _the one_. And, not for lack of trying, she couldn't seem to find a man she could love. She was beginning to wonder if there was something very wrong with her, and she just wasn't meant to be in love. She had wanted nothing more than to just find a good man she could love and settle down and have a life with. They could have a nice little house and nice, normal jobs. They could have a little boy and a little girl, and they could have their own little adventure, raising a family. No monsters, no demons, no Knights of Hell or Marks of Cain. She just wanted to be happy and in love.

And then he came along. And he made her happy like no one ever had. And she loved him like she had never loved anyone and would probably never love anyone ever again. Julie loved Dean.

What did it matter if he couldn't give her that other, normal life? What did it matter if he was a broken mess, and he would probably never be made whole again? What did it matter if being with him put her in danger? So what if he got her killed? So what if he broke her heart? At least he was able to get her heart in the first place!

It was awful. It was cruel and unfair and awful, but the more Julie thought about it, the more she realized he really was the one for her. He was the man she had waited twenty-seven years for, the love that would make her whole, her greatest adventure. And she hadn't even gotten two whole years with him before…

"Dammit, Dean!" she cried suddenly, surprising herself. "Don't do this," she sobbed. "Please, I…"

But she couldn't even get out the words "love you," through her tears. It didn't matter anyway. He couldn't hear her. It didn't matter that she loved him and needed him so damn much. He was gone. Her Dean was gone.

Eventually, Julie got her emotions under control. But when the sorrow passed, it left her so exhausted she was finally able to sleep. She passed out on the bed, not bothering to change into pajamas or even get under the covers. But she found no reprieve in sleep.

_First, Julie dreamed that she was in a dark forest, and she was on a hunt, and a monster had taken Dean. She was running through the forest, chasing it, trying to find him before it was too late. She could hear Dean crying out in pain ahead of her, and she would scream his name, but no matter how fast she ran, she could never reach him, never get to him in time to save him._

_Then the dream changed, and Julie was back in the home where she and Dean had once lived in Illinois. At first, she was relieved to be out of that dark forest. But when she stepped out of the house and into the street, her neighbors were gathered out in the lawn in dark clothes._

_Her old best friend, Elaine, stepped forward and touched Julie's arm. "I'm so sorry, Julie," she said sadly._

_"__What? Julie asked, bewildered._

_"__Dean was a good man," Dean's friend from work, Greg, said firmly. "He'll be missed."_

_"__What are you…?" Julie started to ask, but then she saw him. He was lying several yards away, at the end of the driveway, his body bloody and beaten and stiff and cold. Julie wailed Dean's name and ran to him, but before she could reach him, the dream got ever worse._

_Suddenly, she was in a dark, hot place that smelled of blood and burnt flesh and every awful stench imaginable. The air was hot and thick and it choked her, settling on her skin like a thick, poisonous fog. Julie's throat closed up and panic threatened to overwhelm her as she recognized where she was._

_She was in hell, and there was a familiar torture device in front of her, known affectionately by the demons as the rack. A poor victim was hanging suspended in the air by vicious hook in his shoulders and thighs, chains holding his limbs out. His blood dripped down into the nothingness below him, and his burnt, shredded chest heaved as he tried to get in one good breath. Every inch of him was cut or burnt or bruised almost beyond recognition, but somehow Julie knew it was him._

_"__Dean," Julie whispered in a horrified voice._

_A demon appeared before him and sank another hook into his gut. The poor, tortured soul whimpered, and the demon chuckled, "Oh, come on, Dean. You can do better than that. Why don't you give me a real scream, beg me to stop? If you cry for me, I won't set you on fire today."_

_The tortured soul of the man she loved didn't reply, and the demon was suddenly holding a blowtorch. "You asked for it," the demon shrugged._

_"__No, Alistair, wait-" Dean croaked, panicking, but the demon didn't care. The next second, Dean was on fire, and he was screaming, but not as much as Julie, and-_

"_Julie_! You've got to stop screaming, you'll wake the others!"

Julie opened her eyes and found herself staring up at Sam. He was sitting on the bed next to her, looking concerned, and Julie realized what must have happened. She often had nightmares, and she wasn't surprised that she was already having them about Dean now that he was gone. She hadn't had nightmares the past two nights because she'd been so drunk she couldn't stay conscious, but now…

Slowly, Julie regained her composure. Her breathing and heart rate slowed, and she sat up. She was still trembling slightly, but at least she wasn't watching Dean be tortured in hell. Sam had mentioned the name Alastair once as the master torturer in hell, the one that had Dean for forty years. She must have remembered that name. Alastair was dead, so he wasn't torturing Dean, but that didn't mean that some other demon wasn't…

No. She couldn't go down that path. She had just gotten calm. Julie put her head in her hands, and Sam sighed.

"You too, huh?" he murmured.

"What do you have nightmares about?" Julie asked flatly.

"Mostly him. I watch him die again. Or I watch him die a different way, ripped apart by hellhounds, or…" Sam stopped and took a deep breath, steadying himself. "Sometimes I see him in hell. Is that what you saw?"

"Yeah," Julie whispered. There was a long silence, and then she suddenly asked desperately, "Is it going to get better?"

"A little," Sam admitted. "It won't be as fresh. But it's never not going to hurt. You're never going to be okay again. At least, I'm not."

For a long time, the two sat in silence next to each other. Eventually, Sam suggested Julie try to sleep again, even though he knew she wouldn't be able to after that nightmare. But as he got up and reached the door, she asked softly, "Sam?"

He stopped and turned to face her. "Yeah?"

Julie looked down and took a deep breath. "I know it's stupid, but…I can't…I can't be alone right now. Can you just…stay with me?"

Sam couldn't quite figure out what emotions were going through him in that moment, so he ignored them. The point was, Julie needed him. And he needed to not be alone tonight either.

"Of course," Sam said gently, walking over to her.

There was an awkward moment of Sam being unsure what she wanted him to do. She moved over so he could lie down on the bed. For a moment, they lay stiffly next to each other, but then Julie sighed and moved closer to Sam, settling in next to him and hugging him tightly. He hugged her back and held her for a long time until she slowly relaxed.

After a while, Julie was able to drift off, with one of Sam's arms wrapped around her and her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. Once Julie was asleep, Sam carefully brushed a couple curls out of her face and studied her as she slept.

There was a time in his life where Sam would want nothing more than to have Julie fall asleep in his arms. But this was nothing like what he had dreamed of. This was hell. His life was hell, because Dean wasn't in it. It didn't matter how happy this would have once made him. Nothing mattered, except that Dean was dead.

Sam wondered why he had said yes. It probably wasn't wise to be sleeping in the same bed as his brother's girlfriend two days after his death, especially since Sam had once loved her. But Julie had needed him, and if he was being honest, he needed her.

And there was something Dean had said, right before he knocked Sam out and got himself killed. He had asked Sam to take care of Julie. And Sam would do that, even if he _didn't_ care about her, which he definitely did, for his brother's sake.

Sam would take care of Julie, and she would take care of him. And, while Dean's death would always hurt, and neither of them would ever probably be happy or whole again…they would be okay, after a while. Together, the two of them would be able to survive.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter Thirty-Seven**

Fiona ran as quickly as she could down the dark alley. Her heart was pounding, her mind clouded with panic, and she was gasping for breath. He had been chasing her in the dark for several minutes, and she was beyond terror.

She had only gotten one good look at the man pursuing her, but he was terrible. He was tall and strong and sickly pale, with dark eyes, and she could have sworn there was blood on his mouth and his teeth had looked shark-like in the moonlight.

Fiona ran around the corner and almost smacked into the wall. A dead end. She scrambled back and tripped over some trash on the ground, falling backwards, her dark hair falling into her face. When Fiona got to her feet, her ankle was throbbing painfully. She must have sprained it. But that wasn't the worst of her problems.

He had found her.

He walked slowly towards her, laughing quietly. Fiona backed up into the wall, trembling in fear. "Please don't hurt me," she whispered, terrified.

The man laughed louder. "I'm sorry, my dear," he said smoothly. "Unfortunately for you, I'm still very hungry. So I'm afraid I _will_ have to hurt you. I'll make it quick, sweetheart. You'll barely feel a thing."

Fiona wanted to scream as he opened his mouth wide and fangs glistened in the moonlight, but she was too terrified to even squeak. He moved towards her, and she knew she was about to die.

"Hey, asshole!" a woman's voice cried from several feet away. "Why don't you at least pick on a girl who can fight back?"

The man turned to face the woman who had appeared several feet away. She must have come through one of the side alleys, and she stood there calmly, unafraid. She was a pretty woman, an average height for a woman, slender, with blond curls. She had no weapon, and she seemed far too calm to be facing this dangerous man with fangs.

"Do you wish to die, too, girl?" the man asked her, forgetting about Fiona and advancing on this new woman.

She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. There's no way a pathetic vamp like you could kill me. I've fought and killed monsters and demons twice as strong as you, buddy. You can't beat me."

The man's eyes narrowed at the challenge. "Oh? I'll just have to see about that," he growled, and then he lunged forward.

Fiona started to scream as the man leapt towards this mysterious woman, fangs exposed. But the woman just stood there calmly, and a second later, a machete swung through the air, beheading the man just before he reached her.

Fiona watched in shock as a tall, broad-shouldered man with shaggy brown hair stepped out of a side alley, holding a bloody machete. The woman groaned as she noticed some blood from the dead man, which had splattered on her jacket. "Come _on_, Sam!" she moaned. "This is going to take forever to wash out!"

"You'll live," the tall man muttered, smirking slightly. Then he turned to face Fiona, who was still cowering against the wall. He placed his machete on the ground and carefully approached her, arms up in surrender. "You okay, miss?" he asked as he reached her.

Fiona was still shocked and confused and terrified, but she managed to nod. "Good," the tall man said. "Did he hurt you at all?"

She shook her head, still mute.

"Okay. I know you've probably got a lot of questions, but I think it's best for you and all of us if you just go home and forget everything that just happened. Will you be okay to get home?" he asked her, concerned.

He seemed far too kind and gentle to have just lopped a man's head off. Even though it was an evil man with _fangs_, Fiona was still a little afraid of any man who would behead someone like that. So she ignored the pain in her ankle. She could still walk on it, and she quickly did so, taking off for her apartment and trying to forget every crazy thing that had just happened.

Sam ran a hand through his hair and sighed as the terrified young woman ran off. "You okay?" he muttered to Julie.

"_I'm _fine," Julie shrugged. "All I did was stand there and distract the vamp. You?"

"Yeah," Sam said, rolling his shoulders. He really should have stretched before just lopping a vamp's head off. He wasn't as young as he used to be, and a swing with that kind of power made his arms a bit sore. "Let's get rid of the body."

As the two hunters went to work quickly disposing of the body, Sam thought over the past four months. They had been hard, damn near impossible. Every morning, he would wake up and struggle to find the strength of will to even sit up. What was the point? The Knights of Hell had been silent for four months, their plans apparently thwarted by Dean's death, and Metatron's threat was long gone. They had no big villains to defeat, no huge threats to humanity, and no Dean…

Usually, the only thing that got him up was the thought of Julie going through the same pain as him. And so they got into a morning routine. Whichever one of them got up first would start to make coffee. It was usually Julie, and Sam would come into the kitchen to find her already making breakfast. He would offer to help, and she would insist she was fine. So he would sit down at the table and let Julie serve him eggs and bacon and coffee. As they settled into this routine, Julie would casually brush her hand against his head or his shoulder as she did so. He found comfort in her touch, and she did as well.

They would sit together and eat, going through papers and websites, searching for their next hunt. The two hunters had kept extremely busy for the past four months, afraid to stop, because then they would have to remember all over again that he was gone. All the hunting was good for them. It gave them a sense of normalcy, a sense of purpose, and a good distraction. And, as time passed, they slowly began to be okay. They were able to joke around, sometimes even smile. They were helping people, and as much as they didn't want to, they were moving on.

Castiel had visited them a few times. He was busy rebuilding heaven with his fellow angels and keeping tabs on the Knights of Hell, who had all but disappeared after they foiled the angel's attack and Dean died. Cas wasn't doing so well either, but he had Hannah and other angels to depend upon, and plenty of work to keep him busy. Sam and Julie would sit and talk with the angel, just glad to be back in each other's company, carefully avoiding the subject of Dean at all costs. And slowly, things began to return to what could be called normal.

Crowley was gone. They could not reach him, no matter what they tried. Sam and Julie weren't sure what to think of that. Julie thought that the Knights of Hell may have found out about Crowley's betrayal when they were prepared for the angel attack, and found and killed him. Sam knew better than that. Crowley was smart and he knew how to survive. The only way he'd get caught was if he wanted to.

Sam and Julie finished burning the vampire's corpse and walked in silence back to their motel room. Julie stepped into the bathroom to change into sweatpants and a t-shirt, while Sam stripped off his shirt and changed into sweatpants as well. When Julie came out of the bathroom, Sam was already in his bed, half-asleep.

Julie sat down on her bed and studied Sam. Even as he slipped into sleep, his eyebrows were still creased, and he frowned slightly. It was really the only sign that he wasn't actually okay. The two of them for the past four months had been coping, moving on, living their lives like nothing had happened and everything was okay. And some days, Julie almost felt like she really was okay.

But she wasn't. Not even close. She had Sam, and he had honestly saved her from becoming some weepy, borderline-suicidal mess. But even with Sam, some days it was nearly impossible to go on without _him_.

But as more and more time passed, Julie knew she had to accept it. Dean was dead. Dean was gone, and they had no way to save him or bring him back. Dean wasn't coming back.

Julie wiped at the silent tears streaming down her face and waited until the unbearable pain passed. She was okay. She was okay.

Julie lay down in her bed, alone, and drifted off to dreams of Dean just out of reach, Dean in pain, Dean crying out for her. It was okay though. For four months, she'd had these dreams, and Sam had been there to hold her and comfort her until she didn't need him to anymore.

She was used to it now.

* * *

Michelle Lee smoothed her long, straight, black hair out of her face and smiled coyly at Crowley. She was an Asian supermodel of about thirty, with a tall, thin, curvy body, sleek dark hair, and a pretty face. Crowley had been talking to her for an hour or so at the bar next door to the motel where he and Dean were staying, and he had finally smooth-talked his way into getting her to come over to their room. Crowley hadn't had a one-night stand in a couple of weeks, usually leaving that up to his younger, hotter friend, but he was really looking forward to this.

He and Michelle left the bar and walked over to the nice hotel, chatting casually. He noticed Michelle was the same height as him, and in those strappy stilettos she wore, she was actually taller. Crowley rolled his eyes at the jokes Dean was sure to make as he let himself and Michelle into the hotel room.

Dean and Crowley had adjoining rooms, and Crowley let himself into the one they had decided would be his. But he suppressed a groan as he saw that Dean was in Crowley's room instead of his own.

Crowley got even more frustrated when he saw that the demon was working out again, wearing a white muscle shirt and jeans as he pumped heavy weights. Crowley took one look at the muscular, attractive man working out and knew he was doomed.

Michelle stepped into the room and immediately noticed Dean. Her eyes lit up, and Crowley suppressed another groan. _Not again…_

Dean noticed the two people in the room and set down his heavy weights. He got up, grabbed a towel and wiped away the light sheen of sweat on his neck and shoulders, eyes only on Michelle. "Sorry, Crowley, I didn't think you'd be back so soon," Dean said casually, not even being subtle as he took Michelle in and nodded in approval.

"And who is this?" Dean smirked, tossing the towel aside and crossing his arms as he faced Michelle, showing off his muscular arms even more. Like he needed to. God, Crowley was going to kill this demon…that is, if he actually could.

"Michelle Lee," she said smoothly, sizing Dean up and approving as obviously as he had her. She put her hand out and Dean shook it.

"Dean Winchester," he said charmingly. "Pleasure to meet you. It's not often Crowley brings home a lady as lovely as you." No, but Dean was bringing home women as hot as Michelle every other day. He did not need _another _one tonight, but Crowley feared that was where things were headed…

"Crowley didn't mention you," Michelle said carefully.

"He doesn't talk about me much," Dean shrugged. "I'm just his assistant. Still learning the ins and outs of the business." That was the well-rehearsed lie they gave people. Crowley was a multi-millionaire businessman, and Dean was his assistant, who he was teaching to be a powerful businessman as well. It was true for the most part; all it really left out was the fact that they weren't even human.

"So…you have money too, then?" Michelle asked carefully. Crowley sighed internally. So she hadn't even been wanting to sleep with him for _him_, but for his money. Well, what did he expect?

"Just shy of a million," Dean shrugged. "Still learning, like I said, but I'll get there soon."

Somehow, everything he said was sexy. Michelle was hanging onto his every word, unconsciously moving closer. Crowley shook his head in disbelief as the two of them chatted for another ten minutes about little unimportant things, completely forgetting about Crowley. Pretty soon, Dean asked Michelle if she'd like to come into his room for a couple drinks, and she eagerly agreed.

As she walked into his room, Dean turned around and gave Crowley a thumbs up. "I'll kill you," Crowley mouthed back, glaring at the young Knight of Hell.

"Good luck," Dean muttered, smirking, before shutting the door.

As pissed as Crowley was at first, he moved on pretty quickly. In all honesty, she hadn't been his type. He had just wanted sex, and she was there. Crowley settled down on his own bed, flicking through channels on the TV, not really watching. He was actually thinking over the past four months.

They had been fun, he couldn't deny that. Dean, or at least the demonic version of him, knew how to have a good time. They had spent nearly a month in Vegas, gambling, drinking, sleeping with beautiful women, just having a good time. Once that got boring, they had just driven around the country for the next three months, spending a week or so in each location until they got bored and moved on. Dean had slept with an almost ridiculous amount of women in that time, and he had made thousands of dollars by gambling. Crowley had to admit, he was rather enjoying this girl- and booze-filled spree they were on, even if Dean did get on his nerves occasionally. It was fun to have a partner in crime again, a friend.

Best of all, the Knights of Hell had gone silent and practically disappeared. When Crowley got Dean first, their plans were foiled, and they went into hiding, knowing Dean was now more than capable of destroying them. Crowley and Dean had nothing to worry about and nothing to fear, travelling the country, doing whatever they wanted, having fun.

Sometimes, Crowley found himself wondering a little about how Sam and Julie must be doing. He hadn't heard much in ways of news about them, so they weren't causing a huge fuss looking for Dean. Castiel had probably informed them that Dean's soul was nowhere to be found, because now he no longer had one. Knowing that he couldn't be brought back, they must have moved on, or were at least trying to. That made Crowley's job easier. He feared the day that they found out Dean was a demon and tried to find him, because Crowley wasn't sure who Dean would pick or what he would do if forced to choose between them and Crowley.

But for now, Crowley had nothing to worry about. Things were good, easy, fun. And even though Dean had taken the girl he had meant to sleep with, Crowley was still glad to have him around.

The next morning, Dean walked into Crowley's room, pulling on a shirt as he spoke. "Sorry about stealing your girl, Crowley," he said.

"No, you're not," the former king of hell shot back.

Dean shrugged. "You're right, I'm really not. You didn't miss much, though. She was hot and all, but nothing special."

"So you're still searching for the girl who has the best sex, then?" Crowley smirked.

"Yeah," Dean sighed, sticking his hands into his pockets and leaning against the wall. "Definitely wasn't her."

Crowley thought to himself of Julie. He had never seen Dean happier than when he was sleeping with Julie Carters, but that would probably never happen again. Even if she found out he wasn't actually dead, she would never sleep with a demon. And besides…that wasn't the sex that was making Dean happy. The thing making him happy was _her_, and the fact that he loved her. And Crowley had learned the hard way that demons didn't love, nor did they get love.

The two demons walked back to the nearby bar, where they were quickly becoming regulars, chatting in their regular banter, Dean teasing Crowley and spouting his endless fountain of jokes, while Crowley rolled his eyes and shot back sarcastic retorts. It was fun and easy, and Crowley had gotten quite used to this way of life. If he was being honest, he rather enjoyed having a companion like Dean.

The two of them reached the bar and ordered a round of beer, ignoring the fact that it wasn't even ten o'clock in the morning. The bartender, a big, burly, bald guy named Ian, rolled his eyes at them. "Are you guys ever not drinking?" he smirked as he slammed beers down on the counter for them.

"Excellent question," Dean said. "Probably not."

Ian shook his head and went back to wiping down tables. There was only one other guy in there, a shaggy-haired man who definitely needed a bath and was barely conscious, he was so drunk. Crowley and Dean knocked back a few beers, talking and laughing loudly since they had the place practically to themselves.

After an hour or so, the door to the bar opened and three people poured in. Dean turned to look at them, and then frowned. There were two men, one wearing a plaid cut-off shirt and ripped jeans, who desperately needed a shave, and one tall, lean, dark-skinned man wearing a large jacket that could easily conceal several weapons. There was a young woman with them who looked five or six years younger than the men, who both looked to be in their thirties. The young woman was also dark-skinned and had short, choppy, black hair, and was pretty enough that Dean would consider sleeping with her if he didn't recognize one of the other men.

"Hunters," he breathed.

"What?" Crowley asked, confused.

"One of those men is a hunter, which makes me think the others are," Dean muttered under his breath. "Get out of here before they realize who you are, Crowley."

"What about you?" Crowley pointed out. "They'll recognize you."

"Just go," Dean snapped.

The demon glanced around to make sure no one was looking at him, and then vanished. And not a moment too soon, because the man in the plaid shirt looked up a second later and his eyes landed on Dean.

The man's face lit up, and he suddenly cried, "Dean?" The Knight of Hell tensed up and turned around in his seat, pretending he hadn't already noticed them. "Dean Winchester?!"

"Matthew Bones?" Dean laughed as he got up, putting on an expression of disbelief and happiness at seeing the hunter. "What are you doing here?"

"Me and Mitch and Ellie here, we were working a case in town," Matthew explained, walking over to Dean. He pulled him in for a one-armed hug, and Dean hugged him back, pushing down his natural instinct to kill this hunter, at least for now. The hunter had no idea who he really was talking to.

The dark-skinned man and woman edged closer. The man looked suspicious, but the young woman just looked awed. Matthew said quickly, "Mitch, Ellie, this is Dean Winchester. Dean, Mitch and Ellie Nelson. They're brother and sister, and they started hunting a couple years ago. I've been working a few cases with them for a couple of weeks."

"Dean Winchester?" Ellie repeated. "You're one of the best hunters, like, ever!"

"And you're dead," Mitch said in a low, cold voice.

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Really? I didn't realize."

Matthew Bones frowned. "That's right. I called Sam a few weeks back for help on a case and he said that some angel killed you four months ago!"

"Oh, right, that," Dean smirked. "Yeah, I'm back."

"What? How?" Mitch frowned. Dean decided he didn't like this guy. He was too suspicious.

"Same way as half the other times I've come back from the dead," Dean shrugged. "My angel buddy, Cas, hauled my soul's ass back into my body and I went back to being my typical awesome, living self."

"Where are Sam and Julie then?" Matthew asked, confused. "Sam's his brother and Julie's his girlfriend," he added, for the benefit of the two newer hunters.

"We, uh…we had a falling out," Dean said, shifting awkwardly and looking down.

Matthew frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Look…I don't really want to talk about it…" Dean sighed. But all three hunters were looking at him earnestly, so he came up with a lie right on the spot, and a pretty damn believable one. "I came back from the dead after just a few months of being gone and found out that my brother was sleeping with my girlfriend," Dean snapped, and Matthew winced. "So, I left. I hunt solo now."

"I'm…I'm sorry, Dean," Matthew said awkwardly. "That really sucks."

"It's not so bad," Dean shrugged. "It was time for me to move on."

He noticed Mitch shifting nervously and glancing behind him a lot at the door. "What's your problem?" he asked the newer hunter.

"We were hunting a couple demons a few miles south of here," Matthew explained quietly so that Ian or the drunk in the corner wouldn't hear them. "But there were four instead of two, and they were ready for us. We barely got out of there, and we think we lost them, but they could be right behind us for all we know."

Ellie's eyes lit up. "Wait. Why don't we just let them find us?"

"What?" both Matthew and Mitch snapped in disbelief.

"Well, we were outnumbered before, but now we're even with them," she pointed out. "And now we've got Dean Winchester. He could probably take out all four on his own, so we should be able to catch them and exorcise them easily!"

The two hunters hesitated. "She's got a point," Matthew admitted after a moment. "What do you say, Dean? Do you want to help us out?"

Dean thought it over. On the one hand, he'd managed to avoid contact with any demons except Crowley, and if even one escaped, they could give away his position to Beelzebub. But he could just teleport to some other location, and besides, Beelzebub was currently hiding from him, knowing he stood no chance against a demon who could only be killed by himself. And he hadn't killed anyone in a while, demon, monster, or human scumbag. The Blade and Mark demanded he kill about once a week, and so far he'd had no trouble finding assholes or monsters to kill. Here was another chance to satisfy the Blade right in front of him.

"Sure, why not?" Dean shrugged. "I'll help you."

"Great!" Ellie said happily.

"Wait," Mitch said at the same time, frowning. "How do we know we can trust you?"

"Mitch, this is the guy that helped stop the apocalypse," Matthew laughed nervously, sensing a problem about to arise. "He's the one who killed Abbadon and the leviathans a few years back. He's killed twice as many demons as any of us."

"But how do we know he's not possessed or a shifter or something?" Mitch pointed out.

"Anybody got a silver knife?" Dean asked. Ellie carefully held out a small silver knife and he pressed it against his wrist for a moment, then showed them that his skin was not burning. "And as for being possessed…" He pulled down the collar of his shirt to show them the anti-possession tattoo on his chest. He gave them a quick look, but made sure he didn't show them long enough for them to notice the tiny hairline scar running through the tattoo, breaking the symbol and allowing him to possess his own body instead of some other guy's.

"Anti-possession symbol," he explained to the hunters. "No demon's getting in." Well, not entirely true…

Even Mitch looked appeased. "Okay, well, let's get ready for those demons," Matthew said after a moment.

But just as he said that, the door opened again and four people, two men and two women, sauntered in. "I think it's a little late for that," Dean muttered, casually stepping into the back of the group so the demons wouldn't notice him right away.

One woman was dressed like a hooker, in clothes far too skimpy for the rather chilly weather outside, her long, dirty blond curls falling around a heavily made-up face. The other woman had shoulder-length dark hair and wore a leather jacket and biker boots. One of the men was tall and had a head of thick red hair, as well as a beard, and wore a leather jacket and biker boots as well. Dean would guess that their meat suits were some biker couple. The final demon was possessing a burly Hispanic guy, and he seemed to be the leader.

"Oh, I hope we gave you hunters enough time to prepare for us," the Hispanic guy chuckled, striding calmly into the bar. "No? Too bad. Guess we'll just have to kill you anyway."

"Hey, what the hell are you talking about?" Ian snapped from behind the bar. "If you're going to try to cause any trouble-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Biker Chick suddenly raised a small pistol and fired a bullet straight into Ian's head. He died instantly, and he crumpled and fell back, causing several glasses to fall on the ground and shatter.

Ellie screamed, and both Matthew and Mitch looked guilty and pissed. Dean knew if he was a human, he would feel awful for letting anything happen to an innocent bystander, but now he just didn't care. Ian should have kept his mouth shut to avoid getting noticed, like the drunk in the corner. Although, he was definitely passed out now, so that wasn't really by his own choice.

"You're dead," Matthew snarled at the demons.

The hooker laughed. "What are you going to do, hunters? Exorcise us? Our lord Beelzebub will just send us right back up."

"You can't kill us," the burly redhead chuckled.

"You're right," Dean said calmly, casually striding up to the front of the group and relishing the shock and fear in the demon's eyes as they recognized him. "These hunters can't do much to hurt you. Me, on the other hand…"

The biker chick and the leader both tried to smoke out of their vessels, but Dean raised his hand and used his powers to force their smoky essences back into their vessels. "I don't think so," he chuckled. "You're not going anywhere. Can't have you running off to Beelzebub and telling him where I am, now can I?"

"No," the hooker said, and she sounded terrified. "You're supposed to be gone. You and Crowley disappeared four months ago!"

"Crowley?" Matthew repeated, confused. "Isn't he the old king of hell?"

"Oh, I'm sure Crowley's around here somewhere," Dean shrugged. "But I don't really need him to kill you four."

The lead demon pulled a long knife out of his jacket and the others did the same, but it was clear on their expressions they knew they couldn't win. Dean chuckled. "You really want to try to fight _me_?"

He smirked as they all cowered in fear as he reached into his own jacket and pulled out the First Blade. "The hell is that?" Mitch asked, eying the crude, ancient Blade in Dean's hands.

"Do yourself a favor and shut up, Mitchie," Dean said coldly, and then he attacked.

Within the first few seconds of the fight, Dean disarmed the hooker and stabbed her through the heart. Then he whirled around and fought off all three of the rest of the demons easily, eventually slitting the biker chick's throat open and stabbing the redheaded man through the stomach. Not even twenty seconds had passed before three demons lay dead on the ground and Dean had the leader pinned against the wall, the bloody First Blade to his throat.

"Aren't you the lucky one?" Dean smirked. "You get to live long enough to give me some answers."

"Never," the demon growled, trying to be brave.

"Even when I was human, I was quite the torturer," Dean said in a soft, cold voice. "I spent ten years in hell under the training of Alastair himself. And now I've got no morals. If you really think whatever few secrets you know are worth the most agonizing hours of your life, then let's get started. Or you could make this quick and easy."

"I don't know anything," the demon whispered. Dean pulled the First Blade back to drive into his arm, and the demon wailed, "I _don't_! Neither does Beelzebub! His whole plan hinged on Crowley betraying you, getting you killed, and bringing the new you straight to him. You two ruined everything, and now he's trying to come up with another, better way to do this. That's all I know!"

Dean studied the demon for a moment. It was clear he was telling the truth. He didn't know anything, and Beelzebub was about as stumped and clueless as this pathetic underling.

"I believe you," Dean said calmly after a moment, and then he beheaded the demon in one swift movement.

When Dean turned back to the three humans, he found them staring at him with varying levels of shock and fear. "Dean…" Matthew said slowly. "What _are _you?!"

Dean suddenly grinned hugely and his eyes flashed completely black.

Ellie screamed, and Matthew took a step back. Mitch began to rapidly recite an exorcism, but nothing was happening. Dean wasn't crying out or twitching. He just crossed his arms and stood there calmly until Mitch had nearly completed the exorcism. "You done yet, buddy?"

"How…what…why…?" Matthew spluttered.

"How did this happen? What am I? Why didn't that exorcism work?" Dean guessed. "Believe me, you don't want to know. Now, because I just killed a few demons, I'm feeling pretty good at the moment. I'm going to let you three live, because you haven't done anything to piss me off yet. But make one wrong move or try to attack me, and you're dead. Understand?"

Matthew gaped at him. Then slowly, he said, "Dean…if you're in there, just hang on. We'll find a way to get that demon out of you, I swear."

To his surprise, Dean just laughed. "Cute, Matt. Yes, I'm in here. But you're not getting the demon out of this body without taking me out too."

"The hell are you talking about?" Mitch growled as bravely as he could.

"Dean Winchester died four months ago, and he became a demon. That's me, by the way. There is no saving me, because I don't _want _to be saved. Now get out of here before I kill you."

And the three hunters turned and ran for their lives.

* * *

"So I've got season two of _Game of Thrones_, or we could go ahead and start _Doctor Who_," Julie said, placing two DVD cases on the coffee table.

"That weird alien show with the British guys?" Sam frowned.

"Hey, give it a chance!" Julie protested. "I hear it's actually pretty good. But if you would rather watch _Game of Thrones_, I'm up for that too."

"No, let's…let's watch _Doctor Who_," Sam said after a moment.

Julie hesitated. She could tell something was bothering Sam, but she wasn't sure if she should push him for answers. After a moment, she asked gently, "Sam…do you want to tell me _why _you picked _Doctor Who_ if you think it's some weird British alien show?"

"Well, first off, it is," he muttered. "But…I just…when I watched season one of _Game of Thrones…_it was with Dean. And I guess I just don't want to go ahead without him, you know? He'd be pissed."

Julie tried to smile at Sam's attempt at a joke, but it came across a lot sadder than she meant it to. Sam sighed. "God. Sorry. We're supposed to be having fun tonight. Come on, let's watch this weird _Doctor _show, see if it's any good. And if it's shitty, then at least we'll have something to laugh at."

"Sounds good," Julie said. She put the DVD in and curled up next to Sam on the couch, reaching over to take the popcorn from him. The first episode had just started when Sam's phone began to buzz. He glanced down and recognized the number.

"I'm sorry, Julie, but I should really take this," Sam sighed. "It's Matthew Bones. You remember him, we've worked a couple hunts with him."

"Yeah, I remember him," Julie said. "Go ahead, take the call. I won't watch ahead, I promise."

Sam smiled at her as he got up and walked into another room to answer the phone. "Hello?" he asked once he picked up.

"Sam?" Matthew's voice came, sounding panicked.

"Yeah, it's me. Matthew, what's wrong?"

"Oh, god. Sorry, I'm just…I'm still overwhelmed."

"What happened?" Sam frowned.

"We—me and Mitch and Ellie Nelson—we were hunting a couple demons and there were more than we thought, and then we were running from them and we thought we lost them, and we went into this bar-"

"Whoa, Matthew, slow down!" Sam said. "You were hunting demons, but they surprised you, so you ran away and you went to a bar, right?"

"Right, yeah." Matthew sounded almost scared.

"Okay…then what?"

"Then…well, we walked in and it was the middle of the day, so we figured no one would be in some sleazy bar on a Tuesday morning. But there was somebody at the bar and…"

"And what?" Sam demanded.

"It was _Dean_, Sam!"

Sam's heart stopped. It took several moments for him to remember how to breathe, and he felt light-headed when he finally took a deep breath.

"What?" he asked slowly in a low, almost dangerous voice.

"Your brother, Dean, was at some random bar in Missouri," Matthew said. "And you had told me he was dead, so I couldn't believe it."

"It was a shifter," Sam said firmly, refusing to get his hopes up.

"No, it wasn't—he even offered for us to test him with silver. And he talked like Dean and he looked like Dean and he _was _Dean!"

"I don't believe it," Sam breathed. "How…?"

"I don't know," Matthew sighed. "But it wasn't all good, Sam." And Sam's heart, which had been lifting in hope, sank again. "The demons found us, but they were terrified of Dean. And then he killed them all with some weird bone knife-"

"No," Sam growled. "No, not again!"

"What? Wait, do you know what that thing was and how it could kill demons?" Matthew cried.

"That…that doesn't matter right now, Matt," Sam said firmly. "Tell me what was going on with Dean!"

"Well…he killed three of the demons with that bone knife, but then he threatened to torture the last one unless it gave him answers about some Beelzebub's plans…"

What Sam wouldn't do to hear Beelzebub's plans himself! The Knights had gone silent for four months, but that didn't mean they were plotting…

"But the worst part was…he said something about even when he was human, like he wasn't human anymore," Matthew continued, and Sam could tell he was now getting to the really bad part.

"What?" Sam snapped. "Then what was he?"

"He…he was a demon, Sam," Matthew said slowly.

Sam shook his head. "No. No! He was possessed. He isn't really alive, then. Some demon possessed his corpse just to mess with us. God, I'll kill that son of a bitch-"

"No, Sam," Matthew said almost gently. "I'm sorry. I thought that at first, but then Dean…he let us go. Said he wouldn't kill us if we didn't piss him off. And I told Dean, _if_ there was still a Dean in there, that I'd get rid of the demon possessing him. But then he said…he said when he died four months ago that he became a demon."

"No," Sam repeated. "No, that's not possible. His soul didn't go to hell. I _know _his soul didn't go to hell. Cas checked! His soul just vanished, like…"

Like it didn't exist anymore.

And what had happened to Cain after he killed himself? Hadn't the Blade and the Mark just brought him back, but as a demon? Hadn't Sam known deep down all these past four months what had really happened to his brother?

"No…I don't…" Sam said slowly, head spinning.

"I'm so sorry, Sam," Matthew said gently. "I thought you'd want to know."

There was a long silence, and then Sam's voice came through the receiver, hard and cold. "I need you to tell me where this bar is."

"What? Why?" Matthew cried.

"Because I need to have a little chat with my brother."


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter Thirty-Eight**

Julie looked up as Sam entered the room. He'd been gone for nearly half an hour, and she was starting to get really worried.

"There you are!" she said. "I could have almost finished the first episode by now." She dropped her teasing tone when she saw the way Sam's jaw was clenched and his eyes were still slightly shocked underneath his hard expression. Something was clearly very wrong.

Julie got to her feet and walked over to Sam. "What's wrong?" she asked carefully.

"Nothing," Sam muttered. "Sorry, it's nothing." Julie raised her eyebrows, unimpressed, and he sighed. "Matthew Bones just called."

"Thought that was him."

"He'd got a hunt is all, and I figured I'd just run and take it real quick," Sam said carefully, not meeting her eyes.

"Okay," Julie shrugged. "What's this hunt we're taking?"

"No, uh…I was planning on just doing this one myself," he said quickly.

"What?" Julie frowned. "We always work together."

"It's an easy hunt, just a quick salt-and-burning. I didn't want to bother you with it. I'll be back in a couple of days, tops, and you won't have to worry about some stupid ghost."

Sam winced internally. He knew he wasn't even close to convincing Julie to stay here. Even if there was a hunt, she would insist on going with him. But she knew him better than that, and she had to be on to him…

"If it's just some quick, easy hunt, then there's no harm in me coming along, right?" Julie said slowly, and it was clear she knew what he was trying to do.

"Well, there didn't seem to be any point in bringing two hunters when only one was needed to do the job," Sam said carefully.

She raised her eyebrows. "Well, if it's so easy, why couldn't Matthew just do it? He usually only gives us hunts too dangerous for him on his own."

"Well, he's halfway across the country hunting some ghouls right now, so he can't exactly drop anything for some ghost," he invented on the spot.

"Oh? And if he's hunting ghouls, how did he have time to find out about some ghost so low profile it didn't even come up on our radar?"

Sam sighed. They both knew she had him cornered. "Come on, Sam," she said coldly. "We both know you're just making this up. Now, what's _really _going on?"

"Matt ran into a demon and he wants me to take it out for him," Sam sighed. "And I figured I'd leave you here because it's a pretty low-profile demon, so I won't need backup, but I also don't want you to be put in unnecessary danger."

"Even if that wasn't a lie, we both know I would still insist on coming," Julie shot back, crossing her arms.

"I'm not lying-"

"Sam, I know you better than that!" she snapped. "I can tell something is seriously wrong with you, and I know some low-profile demon wouldn't shake you up like this. So, for the last time, _what is wrong_?!"

"You don't want to know," Sam said flatly.

"Pretty sure I do."

"No, Julie, you don't. Please, just let me go make sure this is true before I tell you."

"No!" Julie snapped. "Sam, whatever is wrong, you can tell me. We're in this together. You're all I've got now that…well, if you start lying to me, I don't have anyone. Whatever's wrong, I can handle it. You can trust me."

"I know I can," Sam sighed, running a hand through his hair. "But I don't want you to have to hear this."

Julie frowned. "God, you're killing me, Sam! Just say it!"

"Fine!" he snapped. "Matthew and a couple other hunters were running from some demons and they stumbled into some bar and…he was there."

"Who?" Julie asked, although she could tell by all the emotion in that one word who Sam was referring to.

"_Him, _Julie. Dean."

Julie went so pale Sam worried she might pass out. Before she could even start to hope, though, he quickly continued, "And they had him help them fight the demons, and he killed them all with the First Blade, and he said something about not being human and then…then Matthew says he had black eyes and he said when he died… he became a demon."

Julie was absolutely silent for several seconds, and then she whispered. "What?"

"I'm sorry, Julie," Sam said sadly, still overwhelmed himself. "Matt says…he says Dean's a demon."

* * *

"You let them go?!"

Dean sighed and helped himself to another beer. Not like Ian would care much, considering he was lying cold and stiff on the ground behind the counter.

"I also killed four demons loyal to the Knights of Hell single-handedly without breaking a sweat," he pointed out as he popped the cap off and turned to face Crowley, who was practically red in the face.

"But you _let them go_?!"

"They're just hunters, Crowley!" Dean cried. "What are they going to do, throw some holy water in my face? It'll just get them killed."

"They can tell people!" Crowley cried, unable to believe how the demon in front of him was so calm.

"Oh no, my worst fear—they could _tell people_! The _horror_!" Dean cried in mock-fear. It didn't matter how loud they were being, because they'd thrown the unconscious drunk out after the hunters fled and Crowley returned. They'd closed the blinds and put up the closed sign, but the five dead bodies were still lying on the bar floor, staining the wood with their blood.

"They could tell _your _people," the former king of hell growled at Dean.

"_My _people?" Dean repeated, amused. "Who exactly are you referring to?"

"You know damn well who," Crowley growled. "Your precious brother and girlfriend!"

Dean laughed. "Oh, come on. First of all, I'm pretty sure Julie is not still my girlfriend. And if she still thinks she is, I'm certain she'll want to break up when she finds out the sheer number of women I've cheated on her with. She'll probably try to kill me, which won't end well for her, I'm sure."

"Perhaps you've forgotten how desperately in love that woman is with you," Crowley smirked, but there was no amusement in his voice. "She'd rather die than kill you, whether you're human or demon. And the same goes for your brother. If they find out what you are now, they won't go away until they've done everything they can to save you."

Dean laughed again. "They can try, but I can't _be _saved, Crowley. Nor do I want to be. I mean, you should have seen me take out those demons. When I was a human, that would have at least been a bit of a fight, but they didn't stand a chance!"

Crowley shook his head. "Speaking of that…why didn't you run?"

"What? Why would I do that?"

"Because now the Knights know about you!" his short, irritable friend cried.

"Pretty sure they already knew about me," Dean pointed out.

"But now they know you're active and fighting against them. You really think that if you keep pulling stunts like this, it won't bring them out of hiding?"

"Why should I care?" Dean smirked. "They can't kill me, but I can destroy them."

"No, but they can capture you and put you on their rack and torture you again," Crowley said threateningly. "Do you really want to go through that _again_?"

"I'm not weak like I was, Crowley," Dean snapped. "Besides, they can't capture me. I'm stronger than any of them-"

"No, you're not," the demon snapped. "You will be, in a while, once you've got all of your powers under control. Sure, you've gotten better. You can teleport and move things telepathically and all that, but there's so much more you'll have to learn to control before you're stronger than all of them. The point is, you're not ready to fight the Knights of Hell yet. So I say we go into hiding for a while until we're sure they're not going on the offensive, and then we-"

"No."

"What?" Crowley cried.

"I'm not going into hiding," Dean said. "I'm having fun the way things are now. And I don't have anything to fear from them."

"Well _I _do!" Crowley cried. Dean blinked, unimpressed. "Fine," the older demon sighed after a moment. "We can keep boozing across the country and you can keep sleeping around. Let's just get out of here before they come looking for their demons."

"No," Dean repeated.

"You're joking. Please tell me you're joking!"

"I like this bar," Dean shrugged. "I think I'll stay until I'm ready to go."

Crowley shook his head in disbelief, and then his eyes narrowed. "Oh. Well. That explains a lot."

"What?" Dean snapped, hating the superiority in the demon's voice.

"You _want _them to find you, don't you?" Crowley cried.

"Who?"

"Sam and Julie."

Dean laughed. "You're crazy. Why would I want them to find me?"

"Why would you want to stay?"

Dean shook his head. "Look, Crowley, you don't have to stay. I'm going to hang around until I'm ready to go. If you want to go now, then fine. I'll call you later when I'm done."

Crowley studied his friend for a moment, but it was clear the demon wasn't changing his mind. "Fine," he snapped after a moment. "But if you end up getting captured by the Knights or found by your pet humans, don't blame me."

The former king of hell disappeared, and Dean rolled his eyes. "Drama queen," he muttered before taking another swig of his beer.

After a while, Dean caused the bodies to vanish. He didn't bother to get rid of the blood, and instead went to work raiding the bar. He found all of the best wines, beers, scotches, vodka…any alcohol he could get his hands on. He took shots of the strongest alcohol he could find until he couldn't see straight, and then waited a couple hours for his body to heal itself. Another plus of being a demon—he healed so quickly, he didn't even get hangovers anymore. He got all the fun of getting wasted and didn't have to suffer through the painful mornings after.

He hung out alone in the dark bar all day and night. For a while, he went back to his hotel room and watched shitty television, but he was back in the bar by the next morning. He knew he was being stupid, and that he should have moved on by now. But there was something holding him here, some unanswered question urging him to stay at this bar just a few hours more.

Dean was sitting at the bar, drinking his fourth or fifth glass of scotch in five minutes, when the door opened. He knew that whoever had come in would have had to disregard the closed sign on the door and then pick the lock. And somehow, he knew who had done those things.

He knew it was his brother before he even heard the man gasp.

Dean didn't turn right away. "Took you long enough to find me, Sammy," he smirked after a moment, turning slightly in his stool to look at his little brother. "Four months? I thought you had forgotten about me."

Sam looked pretty good, compared to some of the other times Dean had seen him grieving for Dean. Of course, he had Dean's hot ex-girlfriend around, so he wasn't alone this time. But he didn't look as pale as normal, and, while he needed a shave, and his hair was getting shaggy even for him, the circles under his eyes were paler than Dean had expected. If it weren't for the shock and pain and grief and joy and confusion in Sam's eyes, Dean would think that his brother had been coping almost well with his death.

"Dean…" Sam choked out after a minute. "What…?"

"Oh, don't go getting choked up on me just yet, little brother," Dean sighed, getting up off his stool and picking up his glass. He took a few steps towards Sam, and the man stepped back, shifting into an almost defensive position.

"Christo," Sam said suddenly.

Dean winced and let out a soft hiss. "Could you _not_, Sam?" he snapped, letting his eyes flash completely black.

_Now_ Sam looked pale and horrible. He stumbled back a couple steps, but had nowhere to run. He reached for the holy water on his belt, and Dean rolled his eyes.

"I'm telling you this for your own good, Sam. You splash that on my face, and I will feed you your own intestines."

Sam's eyes went even wider, if that was possible, and then narrowed into a glare. "Look, demon, I don't know who you are, but get the hell out of my brother," he growled. "I would kill you on principle, but then you went and possessed his body, and you're going to pay for this, I swear-"

"Who are you talking to, Sam?" Dean chuckled. "Your brother or the demon inside this body? You _do _realize they're the same thing, right? I figured Matthew would have told you."

"No," Sam growled. "I'm not that stupid. Dean's gone. You're just some pathetic demon, and I promise you, you're going to suffer for possessing him."

Dean sighed and took another drink. He was going to need it. "Sam, I need you to forget about everything you think you know, or this is going to be a very long, repetitive conversation. Think you can do that?" He smirked, and Sam glared at him. "Okay, so your brother died four months ago, when he let Metatron torture him to death rather than go on fighting the First Blade and putting you and pretty little Juliet in danger, right?"

"What? He didn't let Metatron…" Sam's voice trailed off, and some of the anger faded out of his expression, replaced by grief.

"Come on, Sammy," Dean chuckled. "We both know that's exactly what I did. And I thought it would stop me and keep you two safe, but instead, it just turned me into a demon, like it did Cain. A Knight of Hell, to be exact."

Sam shook his head. "Stop it. Stop lying. My brother is dead."

"Yes, I was, and now I'm not." Dean paused thoughtfully. "Unless…I guess demons are kind of dead…but we can still be killed. I guess I'm undead? Whatever. Doesn't matter."

Sam hated himself for thinking it, but this demon was talking just like Dean. And it actually made total sense, everything it said. And it stood and walked and talked and smirked and even drank like Dean, judging by the mess on the bar. But it couldn't be Dean, it just couldn't. Dean would never give in to the demons again and become a demon in hell. He wouldn't.

But what if he didn't have a choice? What if the Mark of Cain and the First Blade forced him to become a demon? What if the thing in front of him really was his brother?

"You're not Dean," Sam said slowly, but he didn't really sound like he believed it himself.

"Doesn't really matter if you believe me," Dean sighed. He finished off the last of his scotch, placed it on a table and then crossed his arms and looked at Sam. Sam noticed for the first time that they were both standing in a large puddle of dried blood. He tried not to think about what this demon must have done to cause this amount of blood to be spilled.

"Whether or not you believe me, it doesn't change the fact that now I have to decide whether or not to kill you," Dean said flatly.

Suddenly, a silver angel blade appeared at his throat, the sharp tip pressed to his jugular. "Go ahead and try it, I dare you," her voice came, harsh and cold.

Slowly, Dean turned his head slightly to look at her, a smirk spreading across his face as his eyes landed on her. "And there she is—Juliet Carters," he chuckled. "I was wondering if you brought her, Sam, or if you just had her stay home in the kitchen where a woman belongs."

Julie glared up at him. "Get out of him now, or I'll kill you," she growled at the demon inside of Dean's body. Dean's corpse. He was dead, and she knew that, and she refused to believe anything else.

"Why doesn't anyone believe it's me?!" the demon cried in a voice that was so very Dean. Everything about him reminded her of Dean. It was an even better impression of him than the monster in the maze that fed off her worst nightmare had done. It was too good to not be him.

"I suppose I could bring Crowley back, and he could tell you," this demon inside of Dean said with a shrug. He seemed far too calm, since Julie was holding a weapon that could kill him to his throat.

"Crowley?" Sam repeated.

"Yeah, we've been running around the country for four months, doing whatever we want. It's been fun. Would have invited you two, but we figured this would happen, or something like it."

"What do we do with him, Sam?" Julie snapped, refusing to listen to this demon.

"I think you two should be more worried about what I'm going to do with you," the demon chuckled, and in the next second Julie's blade flew out of her hand and she found herself in a headlock, pressed tight against Dean's chest, the First Blade itself pressed against her neck.

"Julie!" Sam cried, lunging forward, but stopping when Dean dug the jagged edge of the Blade deeper into her throat, causing Julie to wince visibly. She struggled against him for a moment, but he was far too strong for her to even attempt to resist.

"Let her go, you demonic son of a bitch," Sam snarled, pulling out the demon-killing knife.

"Let her go, you demonic son a bitch, _brother_," the demon corrected with a smirk.

In response, Sam started reciting the exorcism chant so quickly he was a quarter of the way done before Dean realized what he was doing. It was a clever plan. If Dean was a normal demon, the exorcism would have already weakened him enough that Julie could break free. But all Dean felt was a slight tickle deep inside of him as his essence stirred restlessly, but no simple exorcism was strong enough to expel a Knight of Hell on its own, especially one with the Mark of Cain and the First Blade.

Sam stopped when he was almost done with the exorcism, when he realized it wasn't doing anything to this demon. This demon, which was apparently a Knight of Hell. This demon which bore the Mark of Cain and the First Blade.

This demon which, he could no longer deny, was his _brother_.

"Dean," Sam choked out after a moment of silence as that thought overwhelmed him.

And his brother, the demon, grinned almost maliciously back at him. "Hey, Sammy. Did you miss your big brother?"

"No," Julie whispered from her position in his arms. "Dean, no. This can't be you."

"Sorry, sweetheart," he smirked. "Welcome to the new me. Now, I'm going to let you go, but you have to promise me you're not going to try to attack me again, or I _will _have to kill you and Sammy boy."

Julie said nothing. "I don't hear you promising," Dean said teasingly.

"I won't try to attack you," she said through gritted teeth, and Dean released her.

Instantly, Julie whirled around and drove a needle into Dean's neck. For a moment, he was confused, and then he felt it enter his system. He roared in pain and anger as holy water entered his blood stream and coursed through him, overwhelming him for a few seconds.

When Dean had recovered, Julie was several feet away, and she had the First Blade. He must have dropped it in his shock and pain. Dean's eyes went all black as he glared at her and growled, "You lied to a Knight of Hell. Impressive, but pretty damn stupid."

Julie glared at him, unafraid, but her lips were trembling slightly. "We've got to at least try to help you, Dean," Sam said as gently as he could, walking towards the demon that was his brother. Dean was still crouched slightly, breathing heavily in pain. Sam pulled out the enchanted handcuffs that could hold the strongest of demons and approached Dean, hoping to capture him before he fully recovered.

But Dean was less hurt than Sam realized. As soon as his brother was within reach, Dean caught Sam's throat in one hand and had him pinned against the wall in a second, choking him. Sam struggled and kicked against the powerful demon, while Julie screamed, "Dean, no! Stop it! _No_!"

"You should have thought about this before you pulled that holy water trick," Dean growled, squeezing even tighter. He watched as Sam's face slowly went from red to pale, then to blue as he struggled to get any oxygen at all. The man would be dead in seconds, and Dean didn't care.

Did he? He wasn't sure. For some reason, he wanted to let Sam go. He'd proven his point, hadn't he? He'd taught them a lesson, and there was no need to actually kill his brother. Dean had just resolved to let Sam go when another needle went into his neck, sending another agonizing wave of holy water through him.

Dean cried out angrily and dropped Sam, who slid to the floor, gasping for air. For a second, Dean was immobilized by pain as the blessed water battled with the evil inside of him for dominance, but even for a demon, he had a high pain tolerance. And he was strong, so strong that within five seconds of being stabbed, he was able to recover and whirl around to face Julie.

She scrambled back as the furious, black-eyed demon snarled at her. Julie tried to run, but Dean caught her around the waist with one arm and lifted her off her feet. She kicked and hit at him for a few seconds, screaming and swearing, but then the powerful demon threw her to the ground and she hit her head. She lay there, dazed, for a moment, and when her vision cleared, Dean was crouching over her, pinning her down easily with his knees.

"That was a terrible call," he told her calmly, although his chest was heaving, and he still looked like he was in pain.

"Dean!" Julie half-sobbed, as he pulled a knife off of her belt and pinned her shoulders down so he could easily drive the knife through her heart. "Dean, please!"

It was stupid, but Dean hesitated. This woman had just pumped holy water into him, not once, but twice, and that was after threatening him with an angel blade. She was a threat, and he should just kill her.

But something was holding him back. He looked into her terrified, teary blue eyes, and knew he couldn't kill her. Not yet anyway.

"It's a good thing you're so pretty," he muttered, and she blinked in confusion. "Otherwise, you'd probably be dead."

And he slammed her head into the ground with such force that she was instantly knocked unconscious.

Dean left Julie unconscious on the ground and walked over to Sam, who had just staggered to his feet. The younger Winchester tried to take a swing at his elder, demonic brother, but he was still weak and dazed, and Dean was significantly stronger and faster. Dean dodged his fist, caught his arm, and had it pinned behind him in a second.

"Sorry about this, Sammy," Dean sighed. "It's for your own good."

And before his brother could even try to speak, Dean cracked his head on the hard wooden table in front of him.

Sam's body slid to the floor, unconscious. Dean took a moment to fully recover from the holy water in his system, and then he dusted his hands off. He walked over to the bar, found his jacket, and pulled his phone out. He hit speed dial one, and not even five seconds later, Crowley picked up.

"You finally came to your senses?" the demon smirked haughtily.

"Actually, I need you to come back to the bar," Dean sighed, pouring himself another glass of scotch with his free hand and downing it, enjoying the burn. "I've got a little mess I need some help cleaning up…"

* * *

Julie had a rather rude awakening, as she was shocked awake by a glass of icy water being thrown on her face.

Her eyes flew open, not really seeing anything, as she gasped and spluttered, spitting freezing water out of her mouth. The first thing she noticed, besides the icy water, obviously, was how much her head hurt. Why was there a throbbing pain in the back of her skull? And why couldn't she move her arms to wipe the water out of her eyes?

Everything came rushing back to Julie. The horror she had felt at Sam's confession of what had really happened to Dean, the long car ride here, and the awful confrontation with the demon that was the man she loved. He hadn't killed her, but he had knocked her out, and apparently tied her to one of the bar chairs. She couldn't move her arms or legs, thanks to the secure knots holding her in place, and considering the fact that Dean was now a demon and she was at his mercy…she didn't like her odds much.

"What the hell?!" Sam spluttered next to her, and she turned to her head to see him also tied to one of the sturdy chairs, his hair and face and chest soaked with water as well. After quickly looking him over to make sure her best friend was okay, she turned to face the demon in front of her, and found two instead.

"Crowley?" she snapped, something close to hatred rising up in her. She had never really disliked the former king of hell before. He had been almost nice to her, at least tolerable. But now, apparently Dean was a demon, and instead of telling Sam and Julie so they could help him, Crowley had just stolen Dean away from them and made them suffer four months of hell.

"Sorry about that, Juliet," Crowley said carefully, setting down a now-empty glass. "My friend here still doesn't know his own strength, and he hit you and Sam on the head a little harder than he meant to. We got tired of sitting around waiting for you to wake up."

"In my defense, they pumped me full of holy water and attacked me first!" a voice called from behind the bar, and Julie quit glaring at Crowley to stare at Dean.

He was going through rack after rack of bottles, trying to find one good bottle of alcohol he hadn't consumed yet. After a few more seconds of looking, he sighed and turned to face Crowley. "Well, Crowls, I did it. I officially drank an entire bar's worth of alcohol."

"First off, never call me 'Crowls' again," the other demon snapped. "And secondly, that's nothing. I drank an entire wine-making factory when Moose over there almost turned me human."

"Good times," Dean smirked. "And speaking of Sam…" The demon came out from behind the bar to talk to them, smiling condescendingly at his brother. "How are you two feeling? I hope I didn't hit your heads too hard."

"I've never felt better," Sam grumbled. "Within the past twenty-four hours, I found out my brother wasn't dead, but was a demon, who then attacked me and Julie and knocked us out and tied us to chairs." He smiled sarcastically at the Knight of Hell before him. "Really, I don't see how this day could get any better!"

"You should be glad he didn't just kill you," Crowley said flatly. "You _did _attack him first."

"We were trying to help you, Dean!" Julie cried. "If you would just let us try to cure you, maybe we could find a way to make you human again."

Dean sighed. "Okay. I'm only going to say this once, so I need you both to listen very carefully. The truth is…I don't want to be human."

Sam and Julie exchanged glances. This was…unexpected.

"Look, I get it," the demon said almost tiredly. "Sam, you loved your brother like…well, like a brother. And Julie, you were absolutely crazy about me, and I'm sure it's been hard for you both these past four months. But you need to understand something, as people who claim to care about Dean Winchester—I'm better now. I feel better. I'm not fighting the Mark, or the Blade, or anything. I can just do whatever I want, and I don't have to carry all that guilt and weight and pain from before. I'm happier now than I ever was as a human, and if you really loved me, then you would just let me be."

Julie and Sam both stared at him, shocked. First of all…this didn't sound like a demon talking. Demons didn't talk about love, or happiness. They were cruel and violent monsters. This sounded like Dean talking, and maybe that's why his words cut Julie as deep as they did. For a moment, she really believed it was the Dean she loved saying that he was happy the way he was.

But it wasn't. It couldn't be. The real Dean would never be happy as a demon, one of the monsters he spent thirty years trying to kill.

"We can't do that, Dean," Sam said softly. "This isn't you. Not the real you."

Dean shot Crowley a frustrated look. "Fine," the demon snapped after a moment. "You don't have to listen to me. Anyway, it doesn't really matter. I'm just warning you two now, you need to give up on any hopes of 'saving me.'"

"No," Sam and Julie both said in unison.

Dean rolled his eyes at Crowley. "Unbelievable!" Dean snapped.

"You're the one who wanted to hang around and try to reason with them," Crowley shrugged. "I told you, you can't get through to them."

"Fine," Dean muttered, turning back to the two hunters bound to chairs in front of him. "Well, I guess that's it then. Crowley and I will be going back to doing whatever the hell we want to, and I hope to never cross paths with you two again, for your own good."

Dean picked up his jacket off the bar and the two demons started to leave. "Wait!" Sam snapped at them. "You're just going to leave us here?"

"You'll be fine," Crowley said, unconcerned.

"You two should be free within a few minutes, I'm sure," Dean smirked. "We'll be long gone by then, though. And I'm warning you, don't try to find us." Crowley left the bar, and Dean hesitated in the doorway for a moment, glancing back at the two hunters that had been his life for over a year before his death and rebirth as a demon.

He wasn't sure what made him say it, perhaps nostalgia, but he added, "Just forget about us, have your own lives." _Take care of each other_, he added mentally, and then frowned, unable to understand why he cared what they did. They were just people. They didn't matter.

He turned and left.

Dean and Crowley were right. It only took a few minutes for Sam to be able to squirm until he could reach a small knife he kept in his jacket. Painstakingly, he retrieved the knife and sawed through the ropes on one hand. Then he was able to find a larger knife and easily cut himself free, and then Julie.

Not even twenty minutes after Crowley and Dean had disappeared, Sam and Julie stood alone in the bar, staring in silence at the blood-stained floor. Julie was so overwhelmed with conflicting thoughts and emotions that she could barely get out, "What do we do now?"

Sam stared at the door that his brother had walked out of, leaving them behind, and admitted softly, "I have no idea."


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter Thirty-Nine**

Lewis adjusted his tie in the dirty mirror of the bar bathroom and smirked proudly at himself. There was no place like a dirty bar in a miserable little town to collect souls. An entire building full of people who hated their lives and would do just about anything to change them…maybe even sell their soul…

He finger-combed his meat suit's sleek dark hair as he stood there, feeling pretty damn proud of himself. Over the past weekend he'd gotten four people, three men and one woman, to sell their souls. This was one of the bars he hit up once every couple of years, because it was such a miserable place that it always turned up a good number of souls that would eventually become future demons. Lord Beelzebub would be very pleased with him if he kept up this progress. He had been given the task of reaping more souls for hell, along with several of the most trusted, loyal demons. If he did well enough on these assignments, he could even get promoted to one of Beelzebub's most trusted demons, one of the fearless demons who was assigned to hunt and kill other hunters who might later prove to be a problem.

Just as long as he wasn't assigned that Juliet Carters woman or the younger Winchester. Every demon who had been assigned to try to kill them or bring them in had died, and it was well-known throughout hell that being given the order to try to take out one of those hunters was like being given a death sentence. If you obeyed, they'd kill you. If you disobeyed, Beelzebub would kill you, but slower.

Lewis fixed his black suit jacket as he shook off those thoughts. Surely he was too valuable to Beelzebub for his lord to sentence him to that. The demon focused on the task at hand, and he made himself look as nice as possible. He had more souls to reap, and an attractive-looking man was going to be a lot more convincing than some haggard drunk.

"You about done there? I need to fix my hair myself," a man's low voice asked, smirking. Lewis tensed up as he realized he knew that voice. He had met the man once, when the chaotic was with Abbadon and Crowley was going on, and he had only survived because he had hidden while the man wiped out a dozen other demons in a battle.

If he was here, Lewis was doomed.

The demon whirled around and found himself staring at the man who had become an omen of death to any and all demons. Dean Winchester stood there leaning against the wall, arms crossed, smirking. He was wearing a red, button-down shirt, and the sleeves were rolled up so that Lewis could see the infamous Mark of Cain on this man's arm. No, wait. Dean Winchester was no longer a man. He was a Knight of Hell, and that was even worse.

"What are you…? How did you…?" Lewis spluttered, backing into the sink in terror.

"Relax, buddy," Winchester sighed, straightening up. "I'm not going to kill you. At least, not yet. And to answer the questions you couldn't finish, I am here to ask you a few questions about your fearless leader, and I found you thanks to some excellent spell work by my friend here."

"Bestie," another familiar voice corrected, and none other than Crowley entered the bathroom. Lewis thought he might faint. He was going to die! What had he ever done to deserve this? Besides trick countless people into selling their souls and going to hell, where he assisted in torturing them, and killing innocent humans.

The Knight of Hell rolled his eyes and said, "Alright…Lewis, isn't it?" The demon trembled in fear, but didn't reply. "I'm going to ask you once, very nicely, to tell us everything you know about the Knights of Hell. Where they are hiding, what their plans are, anything else you know. So, Lewis…what do you know?"

Lewis stared at the two demons in front of him for a moment, knowing he had two options. He could go along with them and tell them what they wanted to know, and hope that they spare him. But then Beelzebub or Behemoth or another powerful demon would kill him horrifically. His best bet was to try to escape, even though he probably wouldn't succeed.

Lewis vanished and teleported to the alley behind the bar. The second his nice dress shoes hit the ground, he was running away from the bar, hoping to find some getaway car. He knew he wouldn't get far, but he had to try.

He ran through the alley and sprinted into the side street, looking for a getaway car. The only car he could see was an old black car, some classic model. Something about it was familiar, but he barely even glanced at it before continuing to run down the street.

"Excuse me, sir? I'm having some car troubles, would you mind helping me?"

Lewis stopped running for a moment to turn and see who was calling him. He hadn't even noticed the young woman next to the car. She was very pretty, with golden curls pulled back into a ponytail, and she was wearing a tight-fitting sweater and pair of jeans that showed off her curves. At any other time, he would have been all over that, but he was running for his life.

"Sorry, sweetheart, but I've got places to be," Lewis muttered, turning away and starting to run again. But then a tall, broad-shouldered man stepped out of the shadows, blocking his path.

"She asked for your help, and it's rude to say no to a lady," the man smirked. Lewis backpedaled, recognizing this man too. This was impossible. How could any one demon's odds be so bad that he could run into not one, but _two _Winchesters in one night?!

Sam Winchester suddenly splashed a small container of holy water onto Lewis's face, and the demon howled in agony, covering his face with his arms. The next second, the hunter in front of him was twisting his arms behind his back, and a second person clapped handcuffs on him. Immediately, he was trapped in this body, his powers completely shut down.

The demon wailed again as his powers were cut off, and Julie smirked as she finished securing the enchanted handcuffs on his wrists. "One of these days I'm going to make you the distraction," Julie told Sam as he hauled the demon over to the Impala and tried to force him into the backseat.

"Yeah, but pervy monsters are a hell of a lot more likely to get distracted by a pretty blond than a six-four guy," Sam pointed out, smirking.

Julie reached up and tousled Sam's long hair. "I don't know, I think you could maybe pass for a freakishly tall, buff woman if you tried hard enough."

The two of them both laughed, and then the voice they had been trying to forget about said, "Pardon me if we're interrupting anything, but I think you two just stole my demon."

Sam's eyes widened, and he whirled around, forgetting about the defeated demon he had just wrestled into the Impala. And sure enough, there was his brother, arms crossed, and Crowley standing next to him. And both demons looked pretty pissed.

Sam's head was spinning. For over two weeks, he and Julie had leapt into hunting with a new passion, trying to hunt down Beelzebub's demons one-by-one until they found one that could lead them to the leader. It had seemed pretty clear from their last encounter with the now demonic Dean that he didn't want to deal with the other Knights of Hell, so it would be up to the two hunters. Sam and Julie knew they wouldn't be able to kill them, but maybe they could at least stop them for a while, before they killed anyone else.

It was also a distraction, though. They needed to be busy working so they wouldn't have to think about the fact that Dean wasn't actually dead, but was now the thing he had hated most, and didn't want to see them or be with them. It had been awful for Sam, and he spent a lot of the time drunk, or hanging out with Julie, trying to pretend everything was okay. They were acting like nothing had changed, as if maybe that would make it so. But in all honesty, these last two weeks had been hell, almost worse than when they thought that Dean was just dead.

Only one good thing had happened in these past two weeks, and that was with Cas. He had called once, last week, to let them know that his old grace had been found as the angels worked to destroy the changes Metatron had made to heaven and return it to what it once was. He had his old grace back, and was back to full strength, and never again would he have to steal another angel's grace to survive.

Sam and Julie had thought about telling the angel then that his best friend was now a Knight of Hell, but the angel was so happy, finally back to himself, that they couldn't ruin it. They decided to wait until another time, when it became more important. Also, Sam was hoping that is he just kept pretending things were okay, they eventually would be.

But here was proof that things were not okay. And it looked pissed.

"What are you doing here?" Sam snapped after a long moment.

"Same as you, apparently," Crowley said slowly. "We've been tracking Lewis there for a couple days, trying to get him alone so we could politely ask him a few questions."

Inside the car, the demon snorted. "Yeah, right."

"What would you want to ask him about?" Julie snapped suspiciously. "I'm pretty sure he's not going to help you with doing 'whatever the hell you want.'"

Dean smirked. "Still bitter about that, sweetheart? Look, it's not that I didn't _want _you anymore. It's just that…well, yeah, I didn't want you."

Julie hated to admit it, but that stung. To her horror, she felt herself tearing up a bit. God, she could cry herself to sleep every night—that was pitiful enough. But to cry in front of this _monster_!

"Hey!" Sam snapped, stepping protectively in front of Julie to glare at his brother. "We'll put up with a lot of your shit, Dean, because you used to be my brother, but you are _not _going to be an asshole to her. Treat everyone else like shit, I don't care, but you leave her alone!"

The demon's eyes narrowed as he studied the two of them, trying to figure out what was going on between them. Then Dean suddenly changed the subject. "Did you two follow us here? Have you been trying to find us?"

"No, actually," Sam said coldly. "We've been a little busy trying to figure out how to stop the Knights of Hell and clean up the mess that you two should be fixing."

"You've got to be joking," Crowley muttered. "The two of you have been hunting down Knight-loyalist demons these past two weeks?"

"Yeah," Julie snapped. "Why does it matter?"

Dean sighed and turned to face Crowley. "That explains why we couldn't find Derrell."

"Wait—you were looking for him, too?" Sam asked slowly, confused.

"Would you believe me us if we told you we've been hunting down Knight-loyalist demons as well, trying to find our common enemies?" Crowley asked slowly.

Julie smirked bitterly. "Right. So you expect us to believe that the demons we saw two weeks ago that only cared about themselves are now working for the greater good?"

"'No," Dean smirked back. "We're working for _our_ good. Ever since I saved those hunters' asses and killed some of Beelzebub's demons, he's been sending hit men after us, trying to find and disable us long enough for him to swoop in and grab us. Of course, not a single one of them has lived, but it's pretty clear that our vacation is over. We figured, might as well take out the competition so that Crowley can get his hell back, and I can go back to doing whatever I want."

Sam and Julie exchanged a look. If Dean and Crowley were telling the truth, and that was a bit unlikely, considering they were demons, then they were technically on the same side. Obviously, they were going after the same targets, with Lewis here as a prime example.

"So…you're trying to stop the Knights, and we're trying to stop the Knights, and we're going after the exact same demons to do so," Sam said slowly.

Crowley rolled his eyes. "Don't say it, Moose. Please don't say it."

"You two think we should work together to defeat them?" Dean finished for Sam.

"No!" Crowley and Julie both snapped, and then glared at each other.

"We're not working with demons," Julie said coldly.

"You did before, with me," the former king of hell pointed out. "And just for the record, I'm not a big fan of working with hunters either."

"But turning them into demons, that's fine," Sam growled.

"Everything Dean did to become a demon, he did to himself," Crowley replied coolly.

"With you guiding him along the way the whole time!" Sam shot back.

"Ladies, ladies, calm down," Dean sighed dramatically. "We're all at fault for me becoming a demon. Crowley, you got me started on this path in the first place, Sam, you just kept pushing me away and making me go darker, and if I hadn't had to save _you_, Julie, I wouldn't have taken up the Blade again. And as for me, I chose this in the first place. So it's everyone's fault, and we can all cry about it at night, or at least you two," he finished, nodding at Sam and Julie, who just glared at him. "But that doesn't matter right now. So why don't you two just hand us our demon and we'll be on our way?"

"No," Sam and Julie both said. "Anyway, he's not your demon," Julie added. "We're the ones who caught him."

"We found him first," Crowley countered.

"I'd rather go with the hunters, if anyone cares about my opinion," Lewis called from inside the car.

"No one does!" all four of them snapped at him, and he went back to cowering in his seat.

There was a moment of tense silence as the two demons and two hunters faced each other, uncertain what their next move should be. Finally, Dean sighed and said, "There's a pretty obvious solution here, you know."

"We take the demon, and they stay out of our way?" Crowley guessed.

"We could use them later, Crowley," Dean pointed out. "You never know when it's going to be useful to have a couple humans around."

"What?!" the older demon cried.

"And they're definitely going to need us," Dean continued.

"We don't need you-" Julie started to protest.

"You're right, I'm sure both of you are practically invincible and have the ability to kill Knights of Hell easily," Dean smirked, crossing his arms. Sam, Julie, and Crowley all glowered at the Knight of Hell, but they had to admit…he had a point. Sam and Julie could get Dean and Crowley into places warded against demons, and while Sam and Julie may be able to find the Knights, they couldn't kill them without Dean.

Julie glanced over at Sam, and saw the same uncertainty but also realization in his eyes. They knew this was probably the only way they could stop the Knights of Hell…and it was also a chance to get close to Dean and maybe convince him to at least let them try to save him.

"If we do this and you try to kill us, or even hurt us, we are going to do everything in our power to stop you, even if that means killing you," Sam snapped after a long, loaded pause.

"What? You can't be serious!" Crowley cried.

"You couldn't kill me if you tried," Dean pointed out with a smirk. "But don't worry. You two are far too entertaining to kill, at least until you quit being useful."

Neither Julie nor Sam liked the sound of that, but they knew this was their best bet at stopping the Knights and maybe even getting Dean back. "So, do we have a deal? The four of us work together to stop the Knights of Hell—besides me, obviously—and we all try our best not to kill each other?"

Sam and Julie exchanged one last look, and then Julie sighed and nodded. Crowley moaned, but Sam ignored him as he looked his brother in the eye and said coldly, "We have a deal."

* * *

"I know why you did that."

"I did kind of explain why as I was making the deal," Dean pointed out to Crowley. He frowned as he continued to dig through the mini-fridge that Sam and Julie kept in this safe house. This was one of the many safe houses that were spread across the country, made by various hunters over the years. This one was specifically designed to hold a demon for interrogation or exorcism, with a small, windowless room full of devil's traps, where the demon, Lewis, was currently being held. The place had a few beds and other amenities, but not enough beer.

"Does this place even have any alcohol?" the young Knight of Hell complained, shutting the fridge, which was devoid of alcohol.

"Does it matter?!" Crowley snapped, still obviously frustrated with him for making this alliance with Sam and Julie.

"'Does it matter'," Dean repeated incredulously.

"You didn't do this because we needed their help," the former king of hell snapped suddenly. "We don't. We can find and kill the Knights of Hell on our own. You just wanted to be with them again, didn't you?"

Dean laughed. "I think your age is driving you a little crazy, old man."

"We aren't all newborn demons, Dean!" Crowley snapped. "And I am not crazy, I'm right, and you know it."

"I'm a _demon_, Crowley," Dean sighed. "Why would I want to be with two hunters that are still pathetically in love with the old me?"

"You tell me," the other demon snapped.

"I did it because they could still be useful to us," Dean said firmly. "You never know when we could use a human to do a job a demon unfortunately just can't. And also…you have to admit, it'll be fun to mess around with them a bit."

"If only I believed those are the only reasons you're doing this," Crowley muttered under his breath.

"What other reason would there be?" Dean snapped. "What? Do you think I still have feelings for that woman? Because I'm pretty sure I've blown that out of the water. If you want, we can ditch this and I can go sleep with a dozen other women if it will make you believe me."

Crowley just shook his head. Before he could reply, though, the door to Lewis's cell suddenly opened, and Sam and Julie walked out, looking frustrated. Sam was still holding the demon-killing blade, and he was wiping blood off of it as they talked in low, frustrated tones.

"Didn't go so well, huh?" Dean guessed with a smirk.

"He's tougher than I expected," Sam admitted coldly. "Guess he's more afraid of what Beelzebub will do to him if he gives up secrets than he is of us. And Julie wouldn't let me go full-out on him."

The two demons gave her a questioning look. "He's a demon, but that doesn't mean we have to stoop to his level," she snapped. "If we make him wait, he'll be more likely to give in, anyway."

"We can't make him wait, though," Crowley said coolly. "Sooner or later, one of the Knights is going to come looking for him, and if he's still alive and they somehow get him back, we're back at square one."

"Well then, what do you suggest?" Sam snapped at him.

"I'll go," the demon replied calmly. "I've been torturing a lot longer than you kids, and I'm not going to get squeamish like Juliet here."

"You're not going in there alone," Sam and Julie both said in unison, and Dean smirked at how attuned they were to each other.

"Looking out for me?" Crowley asked sweetly.

"No, we don't trust you, and with good reason," Sam said coldly. "I'll go with him. Julie, why don't you stay out here and watch him," he added in a whisper that Dean was still able to catch with his heightened senses. His brother nodded towards Dean, and Julie's eyes widened slightly.

Before she could protest, though, Crowley took the demon-killing knife from Sam and marched into Lewis's cell. Julie gave Sam a pleading look that clearly read, _Sam, please don't leave me with him! _But Sam just gave her an apologetic look and followed Crowley into the cell, shutting the door.

There was a brief moment of silence as Dean watched Julie, and she refused to look at him. After a beat, Dean asked politely, "So…how've you been?" The polite question was ruined by his nasty smirk, though.

Julie ignored him and pulled the gun out from the waistband of her jeans to clean it. Dean leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and watched her work furiously on her gun so she wouldn't have to look at him. "So…what?" he asked after a long silence. "You're just going to ignore me the whole time we're here?"

Julie put down her gun, turned to face him, and said coolly, "Hey, Dean. There. You happy?"

"You would think I did something awful, like, I don't know…become a demon or something!" He smirked at her, but she just glared back at him and returned to her work. Dean took a step closer.

"Don't!" she snapped suddenly.

"What?" he asked, genuinely surprised.

"Don't come any closer to me!" she ordered, but she sounded less scared and more hurting as she said that.

The truth was, she couldn't stand to be around him. Crowley, she could handle. Sam, she was more comfortable with than anyone. Cas, she was glad to see, although they hadn't seen him for a while, not since long before their discovery of the new Dean. But she could not bear to be around this demon. Because when she looked at him, she saw _him_. She saw a man she had kissed, a man she had sex with, a man who had held her at night, a man she had told, "I love you," hundreds of times before. She saw the man she had died and went to hell for, the man she had depended on and told everything to, the man she had loved more than anyone. The man she still did love.

But now he was a demon, a Knight of Hell. He no longer loved her, but he had every memory of Dean's to use as ammunition against her, and she couldn't stand to be near him.

To her surprise, Dean didn't try to come any closer, but just studied her from a couple feet away. "This must be hard on you, huh?" he asked almost gently.

Julie couldn't meet his eyes, because she knew they would be the same bright green, and that would give her hope, and then he'd just make them go black, and she'd be crushed again.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm happier now," Dean said, and she actually looked up to stare at him. "Life's easier now, as a demon. All that pain I had from before…doesn't hurt anymore. You do whatever you want, _whoever_ you want, and you don't feel bad. You kill whoever gets in your way, and there's no guilt. It makes you feel good. Juliet, sweetheart, you have no idea how long it's been since I felt this good."

At first, that speech had been comforting to her, hearing that Dean wasn't hurting as much anymore. But then he got to "doing whoever you want" and she was pissed again. She had nothing to say to this demon, so she went back to work cleaning her gun.

"What's the matter?" he asked innocently. "Aren't you happy for me?"

"Look, Dean, we don't have to talk, you know," Julie snapped.

"But what if I like talking to you?" he asked, all wide-eyed innocence. "To be honest…I missed you, Julie."

Despite herself, Julie looked up almost hopefully at those words, and then Dean roared with laughter at the hope in her eyes. Of course. He was a demon. He didn't care. That bastard was just saying that to get her hopes up so he could crush them again. He didn't feel what he had felt, and he'd just as soon kill as kiss her. But it was _his _face, _his _voice, and it almost felt like having him back…

God, it was torture. She couldn't bear it. _Sam, why did you have to leave me with _this?!

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Dean gasped as he got himself back under control. He was grinning, but it wasn't the grin she had come to know and love. "That was mean," Dean admitted. "But I mean it. I kind of missed you and Sam. Demons are okay and all, but _humans_…now, _they _are fun! They're so much more interesting than demons, and a hell of a lot more entertaining to talk to."

"Glad I can entertain you," Julie snapped bitterly, loading her gun and tucking it into her waistband again. When she was done, she looked up and found Dean staring at her curiously.

"What?" she snapped warily.

"Your hair," he said casually. "It's different."

Julie blinked, surprised. True, her hair _was _different. It was longer than it had been four-and-a-half months ago, when her Dean died. She was wearing it up a ponytail, but a few wisps of hair were coming loose around her face. "Uh, yeah, I guess," she said slowly. "I…I have it up now."

"I like it up," he shrugged. Julie stared openly at him, and he frowned. "What?"

"I don't _get _you!" she cried. "One minute, you're an absolute asshole, and then the next you're complimenting my hair?"

"Sweetheart, you're never going to 'get' me," he chuckled. "I'm a demon, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember, and quit calling me sweetheart!"

"Sorry, honey."

"Do _not_ call me that," Julie growled, and even as a demon, Dean knew that he was really pushing it. Honey was the only pet name that Dean and Julie had ever used for each other, and Julie was not letting this demon ruin that, too.

Thankfully, Sam and Crowley chose that moment to come out of Lewis's cell. Sam's sharp, clever eyes flicked back and forth between Julie and Dean, trying to figure out what had gone on between the two of them while they were alone.

"The guy's good, Dean," Crowley sighed, sounding bored. "I couldn't get a word out of him."

"You were in there for ten minutes!" Dean pointed out. "You gave up that easy?"

"I saw no point in wasting my time," the former king of hell replied with a smirk. "That demon was more scared of Beelzebub than me. But there's nothing in the world that demons fear more than a Winchester, except for a Knight of Hell. And I happen to have one of both, so…"

"So the job was too hard for you, so you're giving it to me," Dean finished with a smirk. He turned to Julie with a smirk and said, "I guess we'll finish catching up some other time, Juliet." Then he turned back to Crowley and said, "Ten thousand says I get the demon to talk in less than five minutes."

"You have ten thousand dollars?!" Sam asked incredulously. Hunting was a thankless task, and he and Dean had spent years living off of money earned in poker games and credit card scams.

"We've got a lot more than that," Crowley smirked. "What do you think we've been doing the past four months besides betting and stealing and everything else that demons do?" Then he turned to face the elder Winchester. "While I do love a good bet, I'm afraid I'll have to decline yours. You and I both know you can get whatever we need to know out of him in under five minutes easily."

"True," Dean smirked. Julie and Sam watched uneasily as he turned and picked up the First Blade. When the Knight of Hell noticed how uneasy they were, he smirked. "Relax, you two! I'm not using it on you. Just a demon. We're allies, remember? You can trust me."

One look at the evil glint in his eyes as he grinned convinced Sam that he couldn't, though. "I'll go with him," Sam told Julie, loud enough for all four of them to hear. Dean shrugged, uncaring, and walked into the cell. Sam hesitated for a moment, glancing back to shoot Julie a questioning look. "You alright?" he mouthed.

She smirked bitterly and shook her head. Sam looked like he wanted to stay and talk and comfort her, but then the demon, Lewis, suddenly began to scream and make horrible noises, and Sam's eyes widened. He ducked into the cell to keep an eye on Dean, making sure to shut the sound-proof door behind him.

Crowley tried a couple of times to make conversation with Julie, but she ignored him, keeping her face stony. And exactly four minutes after entering the cell, Sam and Dean came out. Sam looked pale, and he was eying the demon next to him with something close to disgust. Dean was wiping the First Blade clean on a piece of Lewis's suit jacket, which he must have torn off the demon. Julie tried not to be disturbed by the blood and gore on the Blade that had taken the man she loved from her.

"Well, Lewis is dead," Dean said brightly. Julie shot Sam a questioning look, and he nodded.

"Did you get anything out of him?" Crowley asked, concerned.

"He didn't know too much, did he, Sammy?" Dean smirked, glancing at his pale, slightly shaken brother. "Hadn't even officially been promoted to one of Beelzebub's hitmen. But he did know one thing—how to get in contact with a Knight."

"Really?" Crowley asked eagerly.

"He'd only ever been in contact with Asmodeus or Apollyon directly," Dean explained. "Behemoth and Beelzebub are too high up for him to even speak to. But he gave me the spell that will allow us to contact either Asmodeus or Apollyon right before I slit his throat."

"How do you know he was telling the truth?" Julie pointed out.

"Oh, believe me, we know," the demon chuckled. "Right, Sammy?"

Sam looked a little sick, but he nodded slightly. "That demon wasn't lying," he said slowly.

"Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" Dean smirked, slapping his brother on the shoulder in a joking sort of way. Sam flinched, which only made Dean's nasty grin widen. "Now all we need to do is come up with a plan, and then we've got some Knights of Hell to kill."

While Crowley and Dean continued to chat about their plans to kill the Knights of Hell, Sam slowly walked over to Julie. They stepped away from the two demons and Julie asked Sam softly, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just…" Sam took a deep breath. "Wow. I wasn't ready for that."

"For what?" she asked, concerned.

"He's gone, Julie," Sam admitted softly after a moment. "Like…really gone. That _thing _in there torturing Lewis…the things he did…Dean never would have done some of those things. And he never would have enjoyed it like that."

Julie looked down. She had known that her human Dean was gone, but it still hurt to have to hear it, and from the very man who had known him best. This must be awful for Sam, too. Poor Sam! Sure, she had lost the man she had loved for coming up on two years, but Sam had lost his beloved older brother of thirty-three years.

"What about you?" he asked. "When you were alone with him…are you okay?"

"No," Julie said flatly. "No. It's…it's hard, Sam. In some ways, it's so like him, you know? It's almost like having him back, but then he'll go and say something so horrible…"

"Yeah, I know," Sam said quietly. "Damn, this is gonna be hard."

"Yeah. It is."

The two hunters were silent for a long moment. Dean and Crowley were still over there, discussing the various ways to find and kill the other Knights, uncaring that Sam and Julie were very clearly not okay right now.

Suddenly, Sam's cellphone began to ring. Confused, he pulled it out of his pocket and looked at it. "Unknown caller," he told Julie.

"Well?" she said after a moment. "Pick it up! It could be a case, it could be someone who needs help, it could be…well, anything!"

"Right," Sam muttered, still slightly stunned from the horrible things he'd just watched his brother do. Yes, he'd been torturing a demon, but that didn't make those horrible things right!

Sam answered the call and asked, "Hello?"

"Sam Winchester?" a man's nasal voice asked.

"Who's asking?" the hunter said suspiciously.

"Oh, no one important," the man's voice smirked. "Look, I was just calling because a couple of my friends and I found something or yours you might want back."

"What are you talking about?" Sam growled, not liking this guy's tone.

"Look, Winchester, here's how it's going to be," the man growled, dropping all false pretenses. "I'm going to give you an address, and you and your pretty little friend, Julie Carters, are going to be there by midnight tonight. Then you're going to surrender to me and my friends, and we are going to take you to our Lord Beelzebub, who has been looking forward to meeting you for quite a while."

Demons. Fantastic. "Why would we do that?" Sam growled, and Julie appeared at his side, looking up at him in concern, obviously able to tell that something was very wrong.

"Because if you don't, then we'll kill your friend." On the other end of the call, there was a thud, followed by a grunt of pain that sounded horribly familiar.

"Isn't that right, Castiel?" the demon chuckled, and Sam's blood ran cold.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter Forty**

There were few times in his centuries of existence that Castiel had felt more foolish and useless than this. His wrists were dangling from the ceiling above him by long chains, and a ring of burning oil surrounded him. He was in some sort of basement, and Enochian symbols were drawn everywhere, trapping him in here with the five demons and shutting down all of his powers.

He was a proud fool. Ever since he and Hannah had stumbled across his grace in one of Metatron's many hidden rooms he'd put up in heaven and Cas had been returned to his former strength, he had gotten stupid and cocky. The feeling of finally having his former powers back had made him much more careless, and he had stumbled into a trap that demons had laid for him on earth. Demons. The great Castiel, leader of heaven, captured by a handful of pathetic demons.

One of those demons, the one he assumed was their leader, was on the phone with someone. Sam. He was calling Sam, letting the hunter know where Cas was being held, and telling him to come with Julie to surrender and be taken to Beelzebub. No. It was bad enough that he had gotten himself into this mess, but Sam and Julie could not suffer because of him. They were already suffering enough with Dean gone.

_Dean_…and now Cas was thinking of him. It wasn't enough to be captured in some dingy basement by a bunch of demons. It wasn't bad enough that they were holding him ransom so that Sam and Julie would be taken by Beelzebub himself. Now he had to go and think of the one thing he tried his hardest never to think of.

If Dean were here, he would single-handedly kill every single one of these demons and then free Cas, giving him crap about getting caught the whole time. He would smirk and tease the angel and give him a couple joking shoves as they left this godforsaken place together. Then the two of them would meet up with Sam and Julie, and the four of them would sit around, talking and smiling and laughing. They would sit on a couch and watch TV, with Julie curled up on Dean's lap, and Sam and Dean giving Cas crap about how little he knew about human pop culture, other than what Metatron had downloaded into his head. It would be fun and happy and easy, and Cas would finally smile again, because Dean was back.

But Dean wasn't back. Dean wasn't here. Castiel was alone, trapped by evil demons, and very soon, Sam and Julie would probably be joining him.

The lead demon scratched at his goatee as he listened to something Sam was saying on the phone. The five demons had possessed what looked like a biker gang: one slightly overweight blond woman in her late thirties, one burly black man, a petite, scantily-clad red-haired woman, a heavily-tattooed man in his early forties, and their leader, a wiry, bald man with a goatee and small, clever, dark eyes. He chuckled at something Sam said and replied, "You know, I don't think I will. This angel's caused us a lot of trouble, and I sure ain't letting him go." The demon eyed Castiel, smirking. "You know, maybe we should just hand him straight to Beelzebub. Wouldn't get us as many brownie points as getting you two, but I'm sure our lord wouldn't mind having an angel to take apart."

The demon's grin grew as Sam replied. "Didn't think so. Alright then, Winchester, I'll say it one last time. You and Juliet Carters will be here by midnight tonight, or I'll give Castiel to Beelzebub, and there will be nothing you can do to save him. Are we clear?"

"Sam, don't-" Cas tried to yell, even though his voice was hoarse and rough. The petite redhead snarled and leapt forward, driving Castiel's own angel blade into his shoulder. The angel cried out in pain through gritted teeth, his words effectively cut off.

"Cas? Cas!" The angel heard Sam's voice shouting into the receiver of the phone, sounding panicked and angry.

"Both of you will be here!" the leader of the demons snarled into the phone, and then he hung up.

"Did you really think that was going to help?" he growled, approaching Castiel.

_What would Dean say_? Cas thought absently, glaring at the demons in front of him. But he could not for the life of him imagine what tough, sarcastic comeback his friend would have. Instead, he just glared at the demons in stony silence, refusing to deign to speak to the monsters before him.

The demon held out his hand, and the female demon handed him the angel blade. Castiel gritted his teeth and refused to cry out as the demon made a slow, precise cut across his cheekbone.

"Look at that," the demon chuckled, proud of himself. "I made an angel bleed."

The other demons chuckled darkly as they all crowded around Castiel, wanting to be next to hurt him. "We've got time to kill," the leader of the demons shrugged. "Might as well have some fun…"

* * *

"For the last time, what the hell is going on that's got you two so upset?!" Dean snarled. Even as a human, he'd always been impatient, and he had hated not knowing what was going. Now that he was a demon, that was amplified, and he was about ready to skin the two hunters running around the safe house in a panic if they didn't give him answers.

Sam, who was quickly piling their weapons and torture devices into a bag, finally looked up. "Cas," he snapped coldly at his brother. "Your old best friend is being held captive by some demons that are going to give him to Beelzebub if we don't surrender by midnight tonight. Not that you would care," he added in an ever colder voice.

Dean whistled. "Bitter much, Sammy boy? I never said I _didn't _care!"

"Well, do you?" his brother snapped.

"No."

"Exactly," Sam muttered, turning away.

"This is perfect!" Crowley cried, and both Sam and Julie stopped in their hurried preparations to stare at him. "We'll wait until the demons take Castiel to Beelzebub, track them, and then have Dean take out their king."

"What? No!" Sam and Julie snapped in unison.

"No, he's right," Dean shrugged. "It's a good plan. Makes sense."

"How can you say that?" Julie said in a low, shocked voice. "He was your best friend. He pulled you out of hell, he saved your life dozens of times, he brought you back from the dead! And you would let Beelzebub have him?"

"Beelzebub would never touch him," Dean said flatly. "I'd kill him first. And don't forget, that angel has betrayed me as well. He hasn't always been the hero you believe him to be."

"He's always done his best to do the right thing," Sam said coldly. "That's more than I can say of you lately."

"Shocker, considering _I'm a demon_!"

"This doesn't matter," Julie snapped, turning to Sam. "We don't need them for this, anyway. We'll go to the demons and find some way to free Cas, and then we can worry about stopping the Knights."

She turned to pick up her bag and head for the car, and found herself staring at Dean standing in front of her, blocking her path. He must have teleported from his position by the wall to just inches in front of her, and he stood there with arms crossed, his expression stony. "You're not going anywhere," he said coolly.

"Get out of my way," she snarled at him.

"No," he said calmly, smirking slightly.

Julie tried to shove past him, but Dean easily caught her arm and pushed her back, gently enough that she didn't go flying, but still hard enough that she stumbled slightly. Sam caught Julie's arm as she stumbled back and helped her get her balance, and the two hunters glared at the demon barring their path.

"You and Sam can stay here, and we'll go get your precious Castiel," Dean said calmly, unyielding.

"You're just going to let Beelzebub take him so that you can kill him," Sam shot back.

"And that's a bad thing?" Crowley smirked. "The king of the Knights of Hell is dead, and your angel is still alive."

"But what if you can't track them?" Sam snapped. "Then the king of the Knights of Hell has Cas to torture to death, and you've got nothing."

"That won't happen," Dean said firmly. "We'll be able to track those demons easily."

"Well, what if he gets killed in the battle then?" Julie cried.

Dean's expression stayed cold and uncaring. "Then he died for a good cause," Crowley said after a moment.

"No," Sam snarled. "There will be other chances to kill Beelzebub, but we only have one chance to save Cas."

"You're impossible!" Crowley snapped. "We've all been searching the past two weeks for a chance like this, and now that it's here, you just want to let it go by."

"Nothing is worth losing him," Sam said firmly after a moment, and Julie nodded in agreement.

Crowley sighed, exasperated, and then turned to Dean. If Dean agreed with him, they'd have no trouble locking the two troublesome hunters in that cell with what was left of Lewis. And if Dean agreed with Sam and Julie, Crowley would have no choice but to go along with them. It all depended on Dean's decision. The fate of an angel was entirely dependent on this one demon.

* * *

"What time is it?" the heavyset blond demon drawled. She was stretched out on one of the old, wooden chairs down in this basement, having retired to her seat when playing with the captive angel had gotten boring.

"Almost nine o'clock," the heavily tattooed demon answered, glancing at his watch. "You hear that, Cassie? You've got three hours before your one way trip to the king himself."

Cas still had enough strength in him to roll his eyes. This day had seemed endless and exhausting as he hung here by his wrists, powerless to fight against a handful of mere demons as they struck him and sliced him with his own blade. But he knew that if Sam and Julie were not able to rescue him in three hours or less, he would soon be suffering much worse.

He was already bad enough. The numerous sigils in here were completely cutting off his powers, so he couldn't even heal his wounds. The demons had stripped away his trench coat and suit jacket and unbuttoned his shirt so they could torture him much more easily several hours ago. His arms, neck, face, and chest were bleeding pretty heavily from countless cuts and bruises they had inflicted on him. Cas could feel some pretty severe wounds inside him, and he had to guess his body was bleeding pretty heavily internally. Worst of all was his right leg, which the demons had taken a baseball bat to a couple hours ago. The lower half was shattered, and he was glad that he was dangling by his wrists, so he didn't have to put any weight on the shattered leg. For once, Castiel wished he was human. After suffering this much abuse, a human body would have slipped into unconsciousness, but angels didn't have the escape of sleep. So for several hours he had been forced to suffer through this pain, surrounded by the beings he most despised, at their mercy.

At least there was one upside. He was so focused on the pain he was enduring that he hadn't even thought of Dean this whole time.

"Do you think they're even coming?" the redhead asked the lead demon. "I mean, they'd be stupid to. They're just giving themselves up to die if they do."

"Oh, they will," the leader smirked. "It's just the sort of stupid, selfless thing a Winchester would do, right, Castiel?"

Cas opened his right eye, because the other one was swollen shut and purple, and glared at the demon. "Besides, they've got a soft spot for this angel. Always have. Especially the other Winchester, the one Metatron killed."

Cas couldn't keep the pain from showing on his face for a second. The lead demon grinned. "Isn't that right? Oh, I'm sorry, is this bothering you? Does it still hurt to think about how he died, and there wasn't anything you could do to save him?"

It did. There weren't words to describe how much it did. Castiel knew that Hannah and the few other angels he trusted enough to be around consistently were concerned about him. He was alarmingly distant for their leader, not wanting to talk to almost any of the angels who had been at that final battle. He would look at their faces and be reminded of the battle, how he fought alongside some of them, against others, while inside the warehouse, Dean was dying. He couldn't bear to be reminded of that, and so he was distant and quiet and solitary.

Hannah had found him alone, lost in his thoughts, looking guilty and pained and heartbroken a dozen different times. She knew exactly what thoughts were filling his head. Thoughts of the man he had failed. He hadn't been there for Dean all that time ago, when he was separated from Sam, and he chose to receive the Mark of Cain. He hadn't been there when Dean was suffering with the Mark and the Blade and desperately needed help. He hadn't been there while Metatron was torturing his friend to death, and he hadn't been able to find his soul. He had failed Dean as a friend, and now the man was dead, and there seemed to be no way to ever bring him back.

No matter what these demons did to him, they could never hurt him more than Metatron had the day he had killed the man who taught Castiel what it meant to be human.

"Oh, poor Castiel," the lead demon chuckled, and Cas realized the pain must be showing a little on his face. "It still hurts that his friend is dead. And here I thought angels were tough. Are you going to cry, Castiel?"

_What would Dean say_? Cas thoughts absently. Didn't really matter. Dean was gone. But he must have rubbed off on the angel at least a little, because he glared down at the demon and snarled, "Bite me."

The demons chuckled. "Guess he's still got some fight in him. We'll take care of that, right, guys?"

In answer, the large, burly, black demon stepped forward and plunged Cas's angel blade into his side. It wasn't a mortal wound, but the way his tearing skin and muscles were screaming in pain, they didn't really seem to care. He cried out through gritted teeth, hating to show weakness to these demons.

"Hey, leave him alone!" a familiar voice cried, and all five demons turned to see two figures running into the room. Cas groaned, both in pain and regret as he recognized Sam and Julie. They had come. Of course they had. But a part of Castiel wished they hadn't. Then they, at least, would be safe. He couldn't bear the thought of one of these hunters suffering because of him.

Castiel had known Sam for many years, and they had become close friends long ago. Sam had seen Cas at his worst, but also at some of his best points, and he knew the angel well. Castiel had also seen Sam when he was suffering and when he was happy, when he was making huge mistakes and when he was doing everything right. The two knew each other well and had been through a lot together, and Cas couldn't bear it if Beelzebub got his hands on Sam Winchester because of him.

But it was actually Julie Carters who Cas was more worried about at the moment. He had been friends with the woman for over a year, but it hadn't been until the past four months that they had gotten truly close. And it was largely because of Dean. Sam had lost his brother many times, and he knew how to shove his emotions down and make them almost manageable. But that meant he refused to talk about Dean's death. And Julie had never lost Dean before, and desperately needed someone to talk to.

That had become Castiel. She would often call or pray to the angel, and the two of them would sit and talk for hours about Dean Winchester. The truth was, Cas needed help, too. They would sit together and reminisce, telling funny stories of silly, goofy things Dean did, or ways that Dean had proved his excellent character and love for them in various ways. Cas would tell Julie stories of what Dean had been like before her, and she would tell him what he had been like in the time that Sam and Cas were separated from Dean. It was good for both of them, and at times it made Cas almost happy.

There was just something about Julie. She had a sort of light in her, even after all she had suffered through. Cas knew how badly she had suffered—he had been the one to find her damaged, broken, tortured soul in hell and pull her to safety at the expense of some of his angels' lives. And he had never regretted it. She was a wonderful person, kind and gentle and brave and good. Talking with her helped soothe the pain, and he was often as close to happy as he could get with Dean dead when he was talking with Julie. She knew what it was like to love and lose Dean Winchester, and she was always there for Castiel. He was not ashamed to let down his guard around her, because she wouldn't judge him. She would hold his hand and tell him she understood how he felt, and he would believe her.

Cas had grown to really love Julie for who she was, and not just what she was to Dean. He could see why Dean loved her, and how much she had been able to help his broken, hurting friend. Castiel had grown extremely fond of the poor woman, and fiercely protective of her. If anything happened to her because he was stupid enough to get caught, he would never forgive himself…

"Look who decided to join the party!" the lead demon chuckled.

Sam and Julie were both ignoring the demons, but instead were staring at Cas, and more importantly, the abuse they had done to his body. Julie looked both concerned and angry, while there was a fire in Sam's eyes that concerned Castiel. He hoped Sam didn't do something stupid to get revenge for what these demons had done to his friend.

"What did you do to him?" Sam growled.

"Nothing compared to what our lord is going to do to you," the tattooed demon smirked.

"Because we've never heard that one before," Sam muttered.

"Let him go," Julie said coldly.

"Lay down your weapons and surrender, and we might," the lead demon shrugged.

"Not happening," Sam snapped. "If we're surrendering, he's walking free. That's the only deal you're getting."

The five demons exchanged looks. Their leader grinned. "You know…we've got you two outnumbered. And now that you're here, we don't need the angel to get you to come anymore. What do you folks say we put the angel out of his misery and then take these two to Lord Beelzebub himself?"

The other demons chuckled and nodded, pulling out their weapons. Cas twisted pathetically, trying to get free to help his friends, but knowing it was pointless. They would lose against these five dangerous demons, and he couldn't watch that.

Then a voice that he had spent four-and-a-half months trying to forget said, "That sounds like about time for my dramatic entrance."

And _he _walked into the room.

For a moment, Castiel was just shocked to see Dean Winchester walking and talking. It was the same man, with the same handsome face and cocky smirk and badass style. And for a moment, Cas was so shocked and overjoyed to see and hear Dean again that he didn't even stop to think how this could be. He didn't even think to look deeper at the soul of the man who should be dead.

"What?" the lead demon gasped, backing away. "What are _you _doing here?!"

The other demons were backing away from Dean, terrified. Demons had always seemed a bit wary of the eldest Winchester, sometimes afraid, but Cas had never seen them terrified like this.

"Apparently, I value Castiel there as a living, breathing ally more than I value killing your master," Dean sighed, sounding a little frustrated. Cas had no idea what the man meant by that, but he was beginning to get an odd feeling the more he stared at Dean. His skin was beginning to crawl, and he had the urge to try and stab his angel blade through that man's heart. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why, and then he finally took a glance at Dean's soul.

It was _horrible_. Dean's soul had been damaged as long as Castiel had known him. When the angel finally dragged the man's soul out of hell after forty years, it was hurting and scarred and broken in ways that would probably never fully heal. And over time, he had suffered even more loss and seen and been the cause of even more horrors. His soul had been growing slightly darker as the Mark and Blade grew stronger, but Dean's soul at the time of his death was nothing like the one Cas saw before him know. This soul was so twisted and broken and dark and black that it was barely even a soul. There were a few glimmers of something almost halfway decent, but they were so surrounded by darkness they were almost overwhelmed.

That disgusting, dark soul Cas saw inside of his friend could only belong to one thing: a very dark, very powerful demon.

"Dean…" Cas choked out. "What…what happened to you? What are you?"

"That, old friend, is a question with a very long, complicated answer," the demon that had once been his best friend smirked. "I'm a Knight of Hell." Then he blinked. "Huh. Guess that really wasn't very long or complicated."

Suddenly, the demon inside the overweight blond woman tried to smoke out, but Dean forced the black smoke into her meat suit with a wave of his hand. "Nice try," Dean smirked. "But none of you will be leaving here tonight."

"What do you want?" the black demon asked, trembling slightly in fear. "We'll give it to you."

"Well, I want the Knights of Hell, besides me of course, dead. But tonight I'll settle for you."

Sam and Julie wisely got out of the way as Dean pulled out his First Blade and moved forward. The demons panicked and a couple of them ran at him with their own knives. He beheaded one and disemboweled the other with two quick swipes. Two others tried to run, but Dean caught them both easily and stabbed one in the heart. As for the other demon, the petite redhead, he closed his fist, and she began to wail, insides glowing with fire, and then she collapsed, dead.

The final demon made a run for the entrance to the basement, but another figure stepped into the room and killed him with a quick stab. Cas's eyes widened as he saw that Crowley apparently had come to his rescue as well, although he looked a little upset to be here, as if he would rather be doing something else.

Then the room was completely still and silent. Dean broke the silence after a moment, stretching and saying, "Just once, I'd actually like to have a challenge."

Julie suddenly ran to Cas. "Are you alright?" she asked him, concerned.

The angel couldn't seem to find his voice as he stared at a demonic Dean in front of him, but he nodded faintly. Dean knelt and fished a key out of the pocket of one of the demon's corpses and tossed it to Julie. She quickly unlocked Castiel's wrists and he collapsed. She was there to catch him though, and she sank to the ground with him, supporting him and holding him upright.

Sam quickly went to work breaking the various sigils on the walls while Julie tended to the wounded angel. "Cas…oh, god. I'm so sorry," she whispered, looking him over. "How can I help?"

"Just…break the sigils," he said weakly. "Then I can heal myself."

Sam worked even faster and more furiously, while Julie continued to hold the angel up and rub soothing circles on his back, one of the only non-wounded parts of him. Cas wanted to just close his eyes and relax into her gentle, soothing touch, but he couldn't, because there was a demon in front of him, a demon that had once been Dean.

"Dean…how did…?" Cas tried to ask Julie.

"Shh…" she said soothingly. "We'll explain everything in a minute. Just hang on. Sam's almost done, and then you'll have your strength back."

"Julie…" Castiel protested. He stopped when he noticed that the woman's eyes were a bit shiny with tears.

"Just hang on," she repeated, and the angel realized that was exactly what she was doing. For the first time he noticed how hurting this poor woman was. She had come here with a demonic Dean, which meant she had been putting up with him for a little while. Castiel couldn't even imagine the horrors she must be going through, to get the man she loved back, and to find him a demon…

Suddenly, Castiel felt his angelic powers pouring back into him, and he glowed with a white light. When the light faded, his body was whole again, and he felt strong.

"Is it a bit redundant to say that I'm done?" Sam asked after a moment, and Julie and Cas both mustered small smirks.

"Bravo, Cas," Dean said with a grin, but there was something biting in his tone that had never been there before. Julie and Castiel both rose to their feet, eying the demon warily. "I wish we demons could do that. But all we really do to be dramatic is this."

His green eyes suddenly flashed black, and despite himself, Cas flinched. He had spent years hoping he would never have to ever see that, and yet here it was before him. His best friend a demon, that wonderful, brave man replaced by a dark, twisted monster. This was almost worse than him being dead.

"Would you just leave him alone?" Sam snapped.

"He was being tortured literally a minute ago," Julie said protectively. "At least give him a chance to recover!"

"I'm sorry I tried to make polite conversation!" Dean cried, putting his hands up in surrender.

"Ignore him," Julie muttered. She turned back to the angel who was still leaning on her slightly for support, and noticed for the first time that his torso was covered with nothing more than an unbuttoned dress shirt that had once been white, but was now soaked through with red. She had been distracted before by the blood and bruises on her friend, but now she spotted the rest of Castiel's usual clothes lying in a crumpled heap a couple feet away. "Let's get a shirt on you," she said, reaching out for his clothes.

"Oh, do we have to?" Dean whined. Sam and Julie both shot him dark looks, while the angel stared at him with wide, confused blue eyes. "Alright, shutting up," the demon muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets and walking over to Crowley.

Cas's fingers fumbled slightly as he buttoned up his blood-stained shirt. Actually, all of his body was trembling, and it wasn't because of the torture he had just endured. There was a demon, a Knight of Hell in front of him…and it was _Dean_.

Julie helped Cas pull his suit jacket back on, and then handed him his good old trench coat. Julie hovered nearby, concerned, as the angel finished pulling his old outfit, now stained with blood, back on. He seemed to have gone into some kind of shock, and she was really worried about the poor angel. She couldn't imagine a much worse time to find out your best friend wasn't dead, but in fact a demon, than right after being tortured by demons.

Sam came over and helped the angel to his feet once he was fully dressed. "You alright, Cas?" the youngest and only human Winchester asked him carefully.

"I've…I've been better," he replied carefully, still eying the demon over in the corner. Dean was discussing something with Crowley, and he was suddenly laughed. The sound of Dean's laughter cut through Castiel like the demons had been doing a couple minutes ago, because he knew that wasn't really Dean Winchester, or at least not the man he had known. But it sure sounded like him.

Sam and Julie didn't have to turn to know what the angel was staring at. "He…" Cas started to say, and then stopped.

"I know," Julie said gently.

"It's really him," Sam sighed. "Not just some other demon possessing his corpse. Believe me, we've checked."

"I can see that," Castiel admitted. "His soul…or at least what's left of it…it does remind me of what Dean's once was." The angel shook his head. "How…what happened? His soul was not in hell, I am certain of that."

"The Mark and the Blade combined brought him back, but as a demon, like they did to Cain," Julie recited. "Now he's a Knight of Hell with the Mark of Cain and the First Blade, so he's basically invincible."

"Damn right," Dean's voice said from right behind Cas, and the angel whirled around to stare at the grinning demon. He had noticed many times before that Dean was a couple inches taller than his vessel's body, but he had never felt intimidated by the fact like he did now. "The only thing that can kill me is me," the Knight of Hell said, "and that won't be happening. However, I _will _be taking the competition out of the way, and your friends here helped convince me that you would be useful in taking out the other Knights of Hell. Were they wrong?"

Castiel frowned. "I don't…"

Dean grimaced. "Cas, buddy, you really don't want to say no. Just because you can't kill me, that doesn't mean I will hesitate to kill you if you're going to oppose me."

The worst part was, Castiel believed him.

"Would you just stop, Dean?" Julie snapped, laying a hand on Cas's arm protectively. "He's not doing anything to oppose you. He's still in shock!"

"Well then, he better recover quickly, because I am _not _a patient man. Demon. Whatever."

"Lay off him," Sam said coldly.

"You two had better be careful," Dean said slowly, eyes flashing. "I didn't have to agree to come save your pretty little angel. I could have locked the two of you in with Lewis's remains and let Beelzebub have dear Castiel. Probably should have. Just because I went easy on you two once, that doesn't mean I always will."

Sam and Julie continued to glare at the Knight of Hell, but Castiel gave them a look that clearly read, _Stand down_, and then stepped in front of them. "You will have no need to harm them, or me," he said carefully. "If your motives are truly what you say, then we have a common goal."

"Thatta boy, Cassie!" Dean grinned, slapping the angel on the back. Cas jumped slightly, and both Dean and Crowley smirked.

"Well, would you look at this!" Crowley said, shaking his head. "Two demons, two hunters, and an angel working together. Who would have thought?"

Sam, Julie, and Cas just stared at the former king of hell impassively, refusing to show the wild, conflicting emotions inside of them on their face.

Dean smirked as he surveyed his four allies. The brother he had once sold his soul for, the woman he had once loved, the angel who had pulled him out of hell, and the demon he had spent the past four-and-a-half months travelling the country with, all working together with him to stop the other Knights of Hell. The demon grinned as he said, "This is going to be so much fun…"

* * *

Sam looked up as Cas entered the room. The angel's clothes were once again clean, all blood stains gone, and he looked almost back to his normal self, if it weren't for the grief and concern in his eyes. "Did you get ahold of Hannah?" Sam asked his friend carefully.

"I…yes," the angel sighed. He looked conflicted, though.

Julie got out of her seat and walked over to the two of them. "What's wrong, Cas?"

"I…I told her the truth about what happened to Dean…what he is now. She was shocked, and then worried. She doesn't want me around him, or you two either. She thinks…"

Sam frowned. "What, Cas? What does she think?"

"She thinks we should kill him," he admitted, looking down.

Sam and Julie exchanged worried looks. "You know that's not actually possible?" Sam pointed out.

"Hannah advised me to 'chop him up and bury him, before he does the same or worse to us'," Castiel said flatly, quoting his lieutenant.

Julie frowned. "Well…what do you think?"

The angel sighed, and Sam could tell that his friend was weary and worried, barely holding on. Just like him and Julie. "I think…we need him. He is necessary to stop the Knights of Hell and…he's Dean. Even if he's not really himself anymore, I am not willing to even try to kill him unless we know there is no way to save him."

Sam and Julie both nodded. "I agree," Sam said after a moment. "After we deal with the Knights…we'll have to see what we can do to cure him."

"If he'll let us," Julie muttered darkly. "He doesn't want to be saved, guys. He says he's _happy _like this."

"Well, I can see why the life of a demon might be beneficial to Dean," Cas admitted, and both hunters stared at him, surprised. "Well, no one can deny Dean has suffered too much in his life, and he has struggled with grief and guilt for many years. As a demon, he no longer feels the pain he once felt."

"Yeah, but you've seen him, Cas!" Sam protested. "You can't seriously think we should leave him this way?!"

"No!" the angel said quickly. "No, Dean cannot stay this way. All I meant was…I suppose I can see why he might like this way of life."

As much as Sam wanted to argue with Cas on this, there was a part of him that got where the angel was coming from. All Dean's life, the man had suffered. When he was four years old, he had to carry his baby brother out of a burning house as his mother was consumed in the fire for god's sake! Normally, Sam would be overjoyed to find a way to take away Dean's pain, but…just not this way.

"Can we really trust him?" Castiel asked after a long silence.

Sam glanced over at Julie, unsure if they really could. She bit her lip and looked down. "I don't know," she admitted. "Sometimes, he seems almost like himself, but then he'll be an ass or he'll threaten you, Cas, and…I just don't know. When we were talking, while you and Crowley were in there with that demon, Sam, it almost seemed like he cared about us. And he let us go before, when he could have killed us, and he chose to save Cas instead of find Beelzebub, but…I really believed him when he said he'd kill Cas. Or any of us." She tried to blink away the tears that were welling up in her eyes as she whispered, "I just don't know."

Cas watched the poor girl sadly as she tried to keep from crying. This was horrible for him and Sam, but it was equally hard, if not worse for her. She had seen Dean at his most vulnerable, and at his most intimate moments. She knew exactly how good and loving the real Dean was, and Castiel knew how hard it must be for her, looking at the man she loved and seeing a monster.

Sam pulled Julie into a comforting hug and pressed his lips to the top of her head. "It'll be okay," he murmured. "We'll figure this out, okay? The three of us, we'll get through this together."

Neither of the three grieving, conflicted heroes noticed him standing in the doorway. He had come in to tell them about the plan he and Crowley had just finalized, the plan to hopefully take out the Knights of Hell for good. But instead he had heard Julie's speech about him, watched her start to cry, seen the tortured look on Castiel's face and the way his brother held her.

Dean could not understand the emotions going through him. There was a little irritation at their inability to understand that they could not save him, nor would he let them. But there were other things there, too…concern, maybe? No, he wasn't concerned. Why would he be concerned about these people? Why would he care if they were hurting? Why should he care if she cried?!

At least there was one emotion he could put a name on, and it confused him. Jealousy. Why should he be jealous watching his brother hold her and comfort her? Why the hell did he care if she and Sam got together? He didn't. He had dozens of other sluts to keep his bed warm and keep him satisfied. He didn't need that stupid, crying girl. Let Sam comfort her, let Sam deal with the baggage, let Sam be the one to hold her at night when the nightmares came and she needed someone to be there for her…

Castiel noticed Dean first. The demon was staring at Sam and Julie in their embrace, frowning, his brow furrowed, eyes dark and conflicted. Sam followed Cas's line of vision, and the two hunters turned to look at Dean. Julie wiped at her tears quickly, mortified, and got her voice steady. "The hell do you want?" she snapped, eyes still red and puffy.

Dean smirked. "Hope I didn't interrupt anything too important. Just wanted to let you three know…Crowley and I just contacted the Knights of Hell."

Sam, Julie, and Cas exchanged concerned looks. "Oh, yeah?" Sam asked carefully, his arm still around Julie protectively.

"Yeah, it was an...interesting conversation. Anyway, just wanted to let you know, we're meeting them in a little over twenty four hours."

"What?" Julie cried. "We're _meeting _them? Dean, are you sure that's safe?"

"Well, I'll be safe," he chuckled. None of them looked entertained, though, and he sighed. An evil glint came into his eyes, and he grinned. "Don't worry about it. We've got a plan."

Sam swallowed. For some reason, that made him even more worried, and he didn't feel much happier as the Knight of Hell explained his and Crowley's plan. However, this was probably their best bet at stopping the Knights, and they had to stop them if he ever hoped to get his brother back.

So, after Dean was done explaining his dangerous, risky plan, Sam stepped forward and said firmly, "Alright. This might be one of the dumbest plans I've ever heard, but…I'm in."

And when Dean grinned at him in response, for a second, things almost felt normal again. "Thatta boy, Sammy. You two in?"

Cas and Julie both nodded, although they looked less than enthusiastic. "Awesome," Dean grinned. "Well, come on then! We've got work to do."


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter Forty-One**

Sam, Julie, Castiel, Dean, and Crowley stared up at the grand hotel in front of them. It was a beautiful building, intricately designed, and it looked ancient. There were at least eight, if not nine or ten floors. The marble walls were beautiful and cold, and Julie felt strangely intimidated by this beautiful, massive building in front of her.

"Where are we?" she asked quietly, resisting the urge to shiver.

Dean smirked slightly. "A hotel."

"We can see that," Sam snapped.

"The Hotel California," Crowley said with a smirk. The two hunters turned and gave him a look, waiting for him to laugh at his joke and then give them the actual name, but the demon shrugged. "What? That's the actual name. It used to be Hotel Hades, until that Eagles song came along, and then the owner thought it would be funny to change the name."

"You're serious," Sam muttered in disbelief. "So your great plan was to take us to the Hotel California?"

"I never get tired of hearing that," Dean smirked. "Come on in, guys. This place is great."

"You've been here?" Julie asked skeptically.

"It's one of the hottest meeting places for the supernatural," Dean explained, picking up his bag and putting it on his shoulder. "Crowley brought us here a couple months ago. There was some convention for pagan gods or whatever—a lot like that one we got trapped at, remember, Sammy? You know, the one where Lucifer showed and wiped out everybody, including Gabriel…" Dean stopped talking when he saw the pain in Castiel's eyes as he talked about the death of his brother, and the way Sam flinched at Lucifer's name. Dean knew he should feel guilty, but instead he just changed the subject.

"Anyway, Crowley was trying to make some deals for protection or whatever, not that I needed it. But there was this one pagan goddess—oh, what was her name, Crowley? Doesn't matter, really, but _damn_, was she fine! She got bored at this god convention, so we got one of the big suites and…"

Dean let her voice trail off suggestively as Julie took off towards the building, done listening to him, Castiel and Sam right behind her. He watched them storm away. That had been the point of that story, to hurt them. That's why he had told it, and yet he didn't feel as satisfied as he thought he would, telling Julie about all the different women and goddesses he'd slept with since her. He wondered why.

"Normally, I wouldn't care about you pissing those three off, but we do need them to work with us," Crowley pointed out, watching them approach the gorgeous hotel building.

"Okay, okay, I'll go easy on them," Dean sighed. He vanished and appeared at the door to the hotel, opening it gallantly just as Julie reached it.

"M'lady," he said jokingly, making a dramatic sweep with his arm. She flipped him off as she walked into the hotel, and he held back a grin. He would have expected nothing less.

"Stop messing with her," Sam snapped coldly as he blew past Dean.

"Brr," Dean muttered, feigning a shiver. "Did it just get really cold out here?" he asked Castiel, but the angel just shot him a cold look and followed his friends inside.

Crowley and a slightly irritated Dean entered the grand lobby of the hotel. Sam, Julie, and Cas stood in the middle of the lavish room, looking a little lost and overwhelmed, so Dean and Crowley walked past them to the counter, where a bored-looking man in a dark suit sat, reading a porno magazine. He had sleek dark hair, slightly sunken features, pale skin, and his jaw was dark with stubble, but it was clear the bored man had once been quite handsome.

"Hades!" Crowley said brightly. The man, or rather pagan god, barely looked up.

"Crowley," he said in a flat, bored voice.

"After that overwhelming display of enthusiasm, I don't know what to say!" Crowley said drily.

"Just take your keys and go," the god sighed, pulling out two silver keys and handing it to the demon.

"Actually, Hades, we've got four rooms this time," Dean said, leaning against the counter. He reached out for the key rack to snatch two more silver keys for Sam, Cas, and Julie.

Hades glanced up, irritated, and suddenly the entire counter was burning hot. Dean leapt back and hissed in pain and anger. His hand flew to the First Blade inside his jacket, but the pagan god rolled his eyes. "Oh, calm down, Dean Winchester. We all know you could kill every person in here in a matter of seconds. Now, why don't you put that Blade away and don't touch my stuff?"

Dean smirked and shook his head. "You're lucky I find you so entertaining, Hades," the Knight of Hell smirked, relaxing.

"I'm a lucky guy, alright," Hades sighed in that bored tone, looking back at his porno. He pulled two more keys out without looking and tossed them to the Knight of Hell. "Enjoy your stay, and try not to kill anyone. I hate cleaning up blood. Actually, I just hate cleaning."

"I make no promises. And I prefer _Busty Asian Beauties_," was Dean's reply, and he nodded at Hades' porno. The god seemed to ignore him, but when the demon turned away, the magazine suddenly turned into Dean's personal favorite porn magazine. As Dean and Crowley walked back to the waiting hunters and angel, Hades nodded in approval at the new magazine.

Dean handed Sam one key and Julie another. "Crowley and I will be each getting our own rooms, because we're paying and it's our plan, so you three can split boys and girls," the Knight of Hell said condescendingly.

Julie tossed Castiel her key, and he caught it easily. "Actually, Sam and I can just take the room with two queens," she replied coolly. Dean raised an eyebrow. "We've been living together for over four months," she shrugged. "It's nothing new."

Dean face was oddly guarded as he shrugged indifferently. "Suit yourselves. Hades, who do I have to kill around here to get someone to carry our bags?"

"Eliza!" Hades yelled, not looking up from the magazine, and a few seconds later, a young woman ran into the room. She had a pretty face and long, dark hair, and a sexy body that was very apparent by her low-cut, tight-fitting red uniform. Eliza was written across her chest in curly, gold print. "Take these people's bags for them, will you?"

Cas frowned. "She is human. Where is there a human in a hotel for the supernatural?"

"Hey, angel boy, I didn't question why you three are lugging around two humans," Hades replied. "And she's one of my employees. Every once in a while, some humans will stumble across this place, and I'll just put them under mind control and make them an employee. Less work for me. And if they're annoying, I'll just eat them."

Sam's fists were clenched, and Julie was reaching for a knife. "Oh, relax, you two," Crowley sighed. "Yes, you're hunters, but does that mean you have to try to kill everything that kills innocent humans?"

"Yes," they both growled.

"Control your pets, would you, Dean?" Hades sighed, seemingly unable to look up from the naked women in front of him.

"You heard him," Dean shrugged. "Don't try to kill him, or I'll be forced to stop you by whatever means necessary."

Both hunters sighed and relaxed, although they still looked plenty pissed. Dean then turned his attention to this Elaine woman. She was easily hot enough to sleep with by his standards, and so he gave her a flirtatious smile. "Eliza, huh?" he asked her smoothly.

"At your service," she said calmly, curtsying.

"Mind if I call you Liza?" he said flirtatiously.

"Not at all," she smiled. "And what can I call you…?"

"Dean," he said with a wink. Then he called, "Question, Hades. When you say you have them under mind control…"

"She obeys my orders and works as an employee here," the god said. "Otherwise, she's free to make her own choices and be herself. So, no, she's not a mindless zombie that will just do whatever you want, if that's what you're wondering."

"Good," Dean smirked. "That takes all the fun out of it. I prefer actually having to work to get a girl in bed."

"You're disgusting," Julie snapped, pushing past him and starting towards her room. Sam and Cas followed her upstairs to their rooms. They were on the fourth floor, although most of the rooms were vacant as far as Julie could tell. She tried to focus on the architecture of the building and not that asshole demon down there, probably about to sleep with that pretty, mind-controlled girl.

He hadn't exactly hidden the fact that he'd been sleeping around, but she'd never actually seen him hitting on someone yet. And she had no idea how much it would bother her until now.

When they reached their rooms, which were right next to each other, Sam and Julie parted ways with Cas for a bit. Sam and Julie quickly unpacked the few changes of clothes and wild assortment of weapons they had brought with them, and then sat down on one of the beds. Julie put her head in her hands, trying to ward off an oncoming headache.

Sam looked at her, concerned. "You okay?"

"No," she muttered.

"Me neither," he sighed. He tried to think of something to say to comfort his best friend, but there wasn't he could do. He couldn't save Dean and make him human again, and that was the only thing that really could make things better.

It was getting late, so they changed into pajamas and tried to sleep. Of course, neither of them could, so they kept a lamp on and were up half the night reading, trying not to think too hard about the demon across the hall.

When Julie finally was able to drift off to sleep, she dreamt about Dean. For once though, it wasn't a nightmare, but a memory. A good one…

* * *

_It was Dean's birthday. He was turning thirty-six, and she knew that it was going to be hard for him, celebrating a birthday while he and his beloved little brother were still separated. So Julie had done a lot of planning for this today. She wanted it to be perfect, but she also wanted to keep him busy so he wouldn't have time to stop and think about who wasn't here on this special day._

_Their alarm went off at six-thirty, as usual. Dean groaned and tried to hit it with a pillow, as usual. But instead of moaning and dragging herself out of bed as usual, Julie rolled over in bed and kissed Dean awake. Once she pulled away, he grinned. "Well, now I'm awake. Why don't you wake me up like that more often?"_

_"__Because your birthday only happens once a year," she pointed out._

_"__Oh. Right." Dean sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Thirty-six. Damn, I'm old."_

_Julie laughed. "You're not _that _old," she protested. "I'd say you've got a few more years left in you before you're playing bingo ever Tuesday night over at the nursing home."_

_Dean rolled his eyes and hauled himself out of bed. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a blue, button-down shirt, while Julie got up and put on her nurse uniform. She got ready quickly and forced Dean to sit down and relax while she made a big breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, and fruit. Of course, he didn't touch the fruit, but he made sure all the bacon was gone by the time she finished off the fruit. They talked and joked for a while, and Julie was glad to see him smiling and happy on his birthday._

_She had been at a loss on what to get Dean for his birthday, because he had very little to call his own besides that car and his massive array of hunting supplies. Finally, she decided not on a thing, but an experience, and talked to both her boss and Dean's to make sure they got next weekend off to go to Florida for a weekend at the beach._

_Unfortunately, that never ended up happening, because two days before they planned to leave, a tall, dark figure broke into their house in the middle of the night, and everything changed._

_But Dean's birthday was still a success. She told him about the trip in a week, and he seemed really excited. Then they had to part ways for a while to go to work. Julie had a good day at the hospital, where she and her best friend, Elaine worked as nurses. Elaine was excited for that night, and they both got off their shifts early to run home and get the house ready. Dean's three coworkers and friends, Greg, Mark, and Brian did a good job of keeping him busy at work, and they were able to convince him to go out for a celebratory round of birthday drinks after work, buying more time for Julie and Elaine to get ready. Heather, Greg's wife, also came over and helped, as well as Megan, another friend of theirs. When the four men who worked together at the mechanic's shop in town drove to Dean's house to drop him off, there was a picnic table heaped with food and a grill started already._

_Dean followed his three friends into the backyard, surprised. Julie and three of her friends were waiting to yell, "Surprise!" and wish Dean a happy birthday. There was Elaine, the pretty nurse who lived nearby and often came over for coffee or to go shopping with Julie. There was Greg's wife, Heather, and then Megan, a pretty redhead who, like many other women in town, often hit on Dean, fully aware that he was in a relationship. The three men with him stayed for the party as well, since they had been in on it the whole time. There was Greg, the owner of the mechanic's shop and Dean and Julie's neighbor. There was also Mark, a relatively quiet guy who was a wizard with a broken engine, and then Brian. Both Mark and Greg were several years older than Dean, but Brian was his age, and always seemed to be hitting on Julie, even in front of Dean. He put up with it, though, because the guy was a good guy at heart._

_Dean ended up having a great time with his friends. The guys stood around, talking, as they grilled burgers and hotdogs, and then the eight of them sat around, eating and talking for a while. Eventually, they came inside and drank and played poker until pretty late, when everyone headed home. Dean and Julie walked out into the yard with their friends as they all left, and thanked them all for coming over._

_Once everyone was gone, Dean suddenly tackled Julie. She shrieked in surprise when he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, and then shrieked with laughter as she tried and failed to get free. He carried her over to a blanket that was still lying out on the lawn, and they collapsed onto it._

_"__You did not have to do that," he told her._

_"__I know," she shrugged. "But I thought it might be kind of fun to have a 'normal' birthday, you know?" Julie frowned. "It was fun, right? Because if it wasn't, then I'm so sorry-"_

_Dean kissed her to shut her up. "It was great," he assured her. "Thank you. Really. I didn't deserve this. I don't deserve you."_

_"__Oh, come _on!_" she cried. "And things were going so well, too!"_

_"__What?" he frowned._

_"__Don't start with all that 'I don't deserve you' crap," Julie snapped. "You do too, Dean. You deserve a lot better than me."_

_"__It doesn't get better than you," he replied, smirking._

_"__You think you're smooth."_

_"__I _know _I'm smooth."_

_"__And you're right," she admitted, and then they lay there, kissing on the picnic blanket, until Dean couldn't take it anymore and he hauled her into their bedroom for one hell of a night._

_And at the end of the night, when they were both blissful and exhausted, Dean wrapped her in his arms and whispered, "I love you."_

* * *

When Julie woke up the next morning, her pillow was a bit wet with tears. Ugh. She was a mess. If Dean, or at least the Dean of today saw her crying in her sleep over him, he would laugh. But the old Dean, _her _Dean, would hold her and brush the tears away and tell her everything was going to be okay, and she would believe him.

She missed Dean. She missed him so damn much. You would think she wouldn't miss him as much, since she now spent every day with him, but it only made her miss the old Dean more. Seeing him this way, it made her appreciate how wonderful he had been even more. _She _hadn't deserved _him_.

Sam was still sleeping, so Julie got up quietly and got ready for the day. Dean and Crowley had both been annoyingly vague about the specifics of the plan, and since they were meeting the Knights of Hell today, she was finding out exactly what was going on, and now.

Julie left her room and walked across the hall to knock on Dean's door. She waited impatiently, arms crossed, for the ten seconds it took him to reach and open the door.

Julie blinked, surprised, when he opened the door wearing nothing but a pair of jeans. He smirked at her and leaned against the doorway. "Did you want something, Juliet?" he asked innocently.

For a moment, she was distracted by his bare chest. He looked good. Like, _really _good. His muscles were even larger and more defined than they were when he was a human, and he must be working out more. She also noticed that there was a thin cut through his anti-possession tattoo, breaking it, and then, of course, the Mark of Cain on his arm. It wasn't as angry red as it was before, and it looked more natural on him now. And she hated that.

"I, uh…" she finally got out, tearing her eyes away from his bare chest, just to see him smirking, self-satisfied, since she was obviously still attracted to him.

Before Julie could snap her questions at him, though, a woman called from inside the room, "Dean?"

"Just a sec," Dean told her. "What do you need, sweetheart?" he hollered, turning to face whoever was in his room.

Eliza, that pretty employee stepped into Julie's line of vision, still buttoning up her uniform as she walked. "I just wanted to let you know I'll have to go back to work now, so-"

She stopped, noticing Julie standing there, looking caught between hurt and anger. "Excuse me, miss," Eliza said politely. "I apologize for this unprofessionalism. I assure you I will be back to work momentarily. Do you require my services?"

"I might require your services again," Dean smirked, and Eliza's smile went from polite to flirty. She twisted her dark hair up into a bun as she spoke to him.

"I really do have to get back to work now. But, if you ever do 'require my services again', you just let me know." She winked at him as she left.

Dean let her pass, smirking. As soon as she was gone, he turned to Julie. "Yeah, right. I mean, she was fine and all, but I'm more of a love-'em-and-leave-'em type, you know?"

"No, I don't, actually," she said icily.

Dean sighed. "Right. I was a different kind of guy with you."

"That's for sure," she snapped.

"I assume you didn't come here just to judge my sex life?" Dean guessed. Julie nodded, and he stepped into the room. "Well, do come in."

"I'd rather not."

"You're going to have to shout, then, because I'm going inside and getting dressed," Dean shrugged. "Unless you'd rather I stay shirtless?" He winked.

Julie pushed past him into the room. "Fine. Put your clothes on, then we'll talk."

"If you say so."

Julie purposefully looked around the room instead of at Dean as he dug a black, button-down shirt out of his dresser and put it on, refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing she still was attracted to him. Dean had always been a good-looking guy, and he'd never had any trouble finding women when he wanted to, and Julie had been pleasantly surprised about how he'd been able to stay faithful to her for so long. Oh well. Guess he was making up for it now.

"Alright, sweetheart, I've got a shirt on—you can look now," the demon said with a smirk, and she turned to face him.

"Would you please stop calling me that?" she snapped.

"Sorry, Juliet."

"You know I hate that, too."

Dean shrugged. "Sweetheart, I can call you anything you want…" he said suggestively.

"You did it again," Julie snapped in reply.

"Damn, you're right." He shrugged again, indifferent. "Oh well. Guess you'll just have to live with it. So, what is it you want, sweetheart?"

She rolled her eyes. "I want to know exactly what the plan is. According to what you and Crowley told us, Apollyon and Adramalech are coming to meet us in just a few hours. And I am sure as hell not going to meet two Knights of Hell without knowing your plan."

"It's simple, really," Dean explained, leaning back against his dresser and crossing his arms as he spoke. "We'll truss you and Sam and Castiel up, not for real, obviously, and then act like we're turning you three in to the Knights. We'll say it's a peace offering, and that we want to join them."

"And you think that they'll _believe _that?" Julie asked in disbelief.

"Probably not. But we'll do whatever it takes to get them to put their guard down, and then we'll take them out. That'll be two less Knights, at least. Couldn't convince them to invite Beelzebub along as well, but they'll have to do, I suppose."

"Hang on," Julie said slowly. "What is this about doing 'whatever it takes to get them to put their guard down'?"

The demon sighed. "It's going to have to be believable. So if I have to knock Sammy around a bit or maybe threaten Cas or whatever it takes to convince them I'm on their side, I'll do it."

"No," Julie snapped. "You're not hurting them."

"Would you rather I let the Knights realize we're tricking them so they can murder the angel and your boyfriend instead?" Dean snapped.

"No, I-" Julie stopped. "Wait, what did you say?"

"I said, 'would you rather I let the Knights realize-'"

"No, I know what you said!"

"Then why did you ask-"

"What was that about Sam being my boyfriend?!"

Dean blinked, and then gave her an innocent look. "Oh…you two aren't together? Well, I just assumed…I mean, you've been living together for over four months…you two opted to sleep in the same room…and you're pretty close…he's not disgusting, you're not disgusting…I just figured you two had hooked up by now."

"No," Julie snapped. "No. We wouldn't do that to you."

Dean smirked. "Julie, in case it wasn't apparent by Elaine there-"

"Eliza."

"-I don't _care_!" the demon finished almost nastily. But for the first time, Julie noticed something in his eyes, a strange, suppressed emotion that made her wonder if maybe he wasn't being completely honest.

"Well, _we_ do," Julie replied coldly. "I would never do that to you, or at least the old you, and Sam would _never _do that to his brother."

"Suit yourself," Dean muttered indifferently, but unless Julie was imagining it, he seemed to be smiling a little now. "Anyway, back to my point. They're not going to believe we're really turning against you three if we refuse to knock you around just a little bit."

"Fine," Julie snapped. "But don't hurt them. If you've got to demonstrate on somebody, use me."

"What?" Dean snapped.

"It'll probably be more effective, too," she pointed out. "I'm the sweet, innocent girl, versus two tough guys," she said almost mockingly. "And I'm…I used to be your girlfriend. I think it'll be a lot more convincing if you 'knock me around a little bit'."

Dean shook his head. "Fine. Whatever you say, Julie."

"Alright," Julie said after a moment. "Well. I guess that's it. I'll leave you to… whatever it is demons do in their free time."

"Sweetheart, trust me, you don't want to know," he chuckled.

"I believe you," she snapped, and she left his room.

Dean watched her go, trying to ignore the part of him that wished she would stay…

* * *

After Julie left, Dean went downstairs and found the open bar. He spent the better part of the morning sitting there drinking a ridiculous amount of alcohol and chatting with the various guests in the hotel.

There was a family of vampires, vampires so ancient they still spoke in middle English half the time. They were wary of Dean, knowing how dangerous he would have been to them had he still been human. There were a few djinn as well, and a couple pagan gods who were regulars and remembered Dean from that last pagan god convention. But eventually the supernatural guests got boring, so he started talking to the various mind-controlled human employees.

Hades sure knew how to pick them. There were a few men, but the majority of the employees were women, almost all of them hot enough to sleep with. For a while, Dean flirted with a sexy blond name Mitchie, but her personality was so dull, and her boobs pretty obviously fake, and she couldn't hold Dean's interest for long.

One by one, he ended up sending every pretty human that came over to flirt with him packing. It was stupid and unlike him, but there were all of them so dull and simple and boring.

You know who wasn't boring? Juliet Carters.

He was being stupid. I mean, sure, she still looked pretty damn good, although the past few months must have been hell for her. Sure, he still thought she was attractive. He was the same guy, and he still had the same needs. And there she was with her blond curls and her blue eyes and her smirk and that body…He found his eyes drawn to her when she wasn't looking, and the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted her.

Dean remembered everything he'd done as a human. He remembered all the times he'd slept with that woman, dozens and dozens of times. Each of them good. And he had to admit, he wanted to try it again, see if she really could live up to those memories.

But he couldn't just leave her in the morning. She, unlike all these other women, meant something. She knew him, or at least the old him, and like it or not, they were allies in this. She was just too important for him to just screw her and then disappear. Not that she would say yes, anyway. She hated him. She hated him as much as she had once loved him, and that was a lot. He could see it in her eyes, every time he hurt her, the cold look she would give him when the pain faded. At first it had been kind of fun to mess with her, but now he got no pleasure out of it. Hurting her didn't do anything but push her farther away, and for some reason, he didn't really want that.

"I would say I didn't expect to see you here, but that would be a lie."

Dean looked up and saw Sam approaching the bar. He smirked at his brother. If Sam even still considered him a brother, now that he'd become a demon. "And we all know that humans never lie," he countered.

"Not as much as demons," the younger, taller man shot back. He ordered himself a beer, glanced over at Dean, and then sighed and added, "Make it two."

"A tall guy just walked up to the bar and bought me a beer," Dean chuckled. "I fear I'm being hit on."

"They're both for me," Sam smirked. "I'm going to need to be pretty drunk if I'm going to have to put up with you."

Dean raised his eyebrows. Sam took both beers and, sure enough, drank half of the first one in one go. "You've gotten better, Sammy," Dean smirked. "You used to be a lightweight compared to me."

Sam shot a look at the vast array of glasses in front of his brother. "I think you still are making me look a lightweight," he smirked.

"Demons don't get really drunk," Dean explained. "At least, I haven't managed to yet. But that may just be a Knight of Hell thing."

"That must suck," Sam said flatly, taking another long drink. "I spent the first two months after your death half-drunk."

"Must have been a shocker, huh, finding out your big brother wasn't actually dead?" the demon said carefully, studying Sam.

"My brother is dead," he replied coldly.

"Ouch, Sammy," Dean winced. "Harsh words." But Sam wasn't smirking like he'd hoped. Fine. Let's be serious, then. "Do you really believe I'm not your brother? You _really _believe there's no Dean left in here?"

"Maybe there's a little," his brother sighed. "I hope there's some small part of you left, and I hope we can save it." Sam's hard eyes met Dean's. "But _you _are not my brother, that's for sure."

"Are you really sure, Sammy?" Dean asked darkly. "You've known for years I was going to end up like this, haven't you? It was my fate." Dean suddenly shrugged, his dark mood gone. "But hey, I'm cool with it! No guilt, no pain-"

"Life's easier this way, you like being a demon, don't try to save you," Sam finished. "I know the speech, Dean."

"But you don't really seem to get it. I don't _want _to go back, Sam. Once the pain finally goes away, you never want to go back."

"You know, you're kind of right," Sam sighed after a moment. "If there was a way to take away your pain and _not _have you be some monster, I'd be all for it. But the thing is…you're not really happy this way, are you? You can't be! There's nothing to a demon's life but killing and torturing and, in your case apparently, a lot of sex. But none of that stuff is really going to make you happy, is it? Because happiness is a human emotion, like pain and guilt and all that crap. I know our lives suck, but every once in a while there's that bright spot that almost makes it worth it. And you're telling me you don't miss that? Not even a little?"

Dean stood up and stared his brother in the eye. "Not even a little," he lied.

The two of them stared at each other for a long moment. Then someone cleared their throat.

Both brothers, one demon and one human, turned to look at Crowley, who stood nearby, watching them. "Sorry to interrupt," he said smoothly. "But I do believe that the Knights of Hell are about to arrive."


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter Forty-Two**

"Where are they, Hades?" Apollyon asked in her current meat suit's high, cold voice. She was riding a beautiful blond woman, a Victoria's Secret model, and the papers were going wild at the model's disappearance. She tossed her long, dirty blond waves of hair over one shoulder as she approached the pagan god reclining behind his counter, reading a magazine with a half-naked woman plastered on the front under the words "Busty Asian Beauties."

Hades didn't look up. "If you're here for a room, you'll have to pay," he drawled.

"We're actually here to meet some people," Apollyon's brother, Adramalech smirked. There was a very dangerous glint in the demon's eyes. He, more than any of the other Knights, had a grudge against Dean Winchester. The man had been a part of that group of hunters, a demon, and an angel that had defeated him and chopped him up into bits and buried him, where he had been trapped in endless agony for months. Adramalech had always been the weakest of her siblings, weaker even than her, who usually relied on her wits and seduction to defeat her opponents, but he looked more than ready to take the elder Winchester apart. Unfortunately for him, and all of them, the demon was basically invincible, as the only bearer of the Mark of Cain and the First Blade.

But they didn't want him dead, not really. He was still a vital part of their plans. Apollyon and her brothers were here to capture Dean Winchester and take him to their elder brother, "Lord" Beelzebub, so that the king of the Knights of Hell could twist the young Knight until he joined their side.

"Well, isn't that nice?" Hades smirked in response to Adramalech, still practically ignoring them. "Why don't you buy some rooms, and then you're free to try to find whoever you're meeting."

Apollyon's other brother suddenly slammed his massive fist down on the counter, causing the entire thing to shudder. "Tell us where Winchester and the others are, you pathetic little god," Behemoth snarled, and then chuckled crudely.

"If you're meeting someone, wouldn't you know where they are?" Hades pointed out, smirking.

Behemoth seized the collar of Hades' red suit jacket and lifted the man out of his chair. "I don't like your attitude," Apollyon's dim-witted, immensely powerful brother growled in the god's face. "Now tell me where I can find Dean Winchester before I _break _you."

Hades looked remarkably calm for the fact that he was probably about to die. "What more can you Knights do to me?" he said, and there was acid in his voice. "You kicked me out of the underworld several millennia ago, and now look at me! Running a hotel for the monsters and trash of the world to hang out at? Pathetic!"

"Couldn't agree more," Apollyon smirked. "And no one has called hell the underworld for…well, several millennia. Get with the times, old man."

Hades glowered at her. "Dean Winchester is waiting in the grand ballroom up on the fifth floor for you three," he snapped, and Behemoth dropped him on the ground. He picked himself up and dusted his suit off as the three Knights of Hell set off for the fifth floor. "I hope he guts you, bitch," Hades added after a moment.

Apollyon turned and gave him an angelic smile. "I'm afraid he won't be doing anything of the sort. Dean Winchester was a fool to let us know where he was. We'll be taking him back to our Lord Beelzebub." Her smile suddenly turned sinister. "And once we're done with him, I'll come back down here and gut _you_."

The three Knights took the elevator up to the fifth floor. Adramalech and Apollyon both rolled their eyes at the elevator music, which consisted of the song "Hotel California" on an endless loop. This god thought he was funny. Well, Apollyon would see just how funny he still thought he was when his entrails were on the floor of his precious hotel.

The elevator dinged cheerily as it reached the fifth floor and the gold doors opened. Adramalech and Apollyon strode calmly into the grand ballroom, a gorgeous room with marble walls and floor and a golden chandelier dangling from the ceiling high above. The back wall was entirely glass, and you could look out the windows and see how high up they were. The floor was completely bare, for dancing, and it gave the figures over by the back wall no cover to hide behind.

Not that Dean Winchester seemed very interesting in hiding. He had contacted Apollyon and Adramalech himself, using a spell he must have gotten out of one of their underlings, and offered them a deal. He had promised them a prize that was more than worth it if both sides called a truce and met here at this very hour. And now that Apollyon saw what the prize, or rather prizes were, she had to agree.

"Dean…" Apollyon crooned as she walked confidently towards him and the four others with him. "I've missed you."

The demon grinned. "Apollyon, I must say, that is one hell of a vessel you're riding. If I didn't know you were about to try to kill me, well…I assure you, we'd be having a lot of fun."

"Kill you?" she cried in mock-horror. "Never! No, Dean, you are far too sexy for me to just kill you. Why don't we go ahead with that last thing you were saying…have some fun…"

The woman kneeling at Dean's feet rolled her eyes in disgust. Apollyon knew her well. She had ridden Julie Carters for a brief while, and she had seen every little thought and feeling and memory that girl had ever experienced. And she knew how much she must hate this whole situation, with her old boyfriend now a Knight of Hell.

"But wait—what's this? What toys have you brought me?" the only female Knight of Hell smirked, surveying the three kneeling figures before her. One was obviously Julie, while another was tall, handsome Sam Winchester, and the last one was the trench coat-wearing angel, Castiel. All three looked caught between anger and panic, and their hands were tightly bound behind them.

"These are the prizes I promised," Dean Winchester explained. "Three enemies of yours that I'm fairly certain Beelzebub would like to get his hands on, and I'll give them to you. All you have to do is guarantee Crowley and I our safety."

Apollyon's eyes flicked to the shorter demon with contempt. "I don't think so," she spat, more at the former king of hell than the only Knight of Hell not allied with them. "See, you, Dean, we actually want. We could use someone like you. Dangerous, powerful, practically invincible, and now evil…but that traitor no longer is of any use to us now that you're a demon."

"Are you really upset I betrayed you?" Crowley smirked, crossing his arms. "I'm a _demon_, Apollyon. I did what I needed to do to survive. Wouldn't you have done the same?"

"I would have killed him," Adramalech growled, still glaring at the figures in front of him. "And his brother, and the angel, and the bitch. And you too, Crowley." All five of them had worked together to chop him up and bury him, where he had rotted in agony for months. Sure, Dean Winchester was now necessary to their plans, but these others surely weren't, and Adramalech wanted them to _suffer_.

"Are you really still upset about what we did to you?" Dean sighed dramatically. The weakest of the Knights nodded, eyes fiery with anger and hate. "Well, in our defense, you did try to kill us first. And besides, I didn't know any better. I was still human then, remember?"

"Fine," Adramalech spat. "You can live."

"Really? Oh, thank you," Dean said sarcastically.

"But those other three can suffer as much as I did—more, actually," the Knight of Hell growled, eyes malicious. "And why not Crowley, too? I gave you your chance to come out of this in one piece, and you threw it away when you tricked me."

"Oh, calm down, brother," Apollyon sighed. "You are the least of these people's worries. They've got Beelzebub to worry about. Now why don't you keep your mouth shut until you have something useful to say?"

Adramalech glared daggers at his fellow Knight of Hell, but there was nothing he could do to her. The Knights knew better than to attack each other, since there were only four left, unless you counted Dean Winchester. But that didn't mean he had to be happy with her, and Adramalech took Apollyon apart a dozen different ways in his mind as she continued to speak with Dean Winchester.

Apollyon approached Dean and his prisoners slowly, watching to see if any of them flinched back or tried to attack. Sam Winchester glared steadily at her, Julie Carters kept glancing back and forth between the Knight of Hell standing beside her and the one approaching, and Castiel frowned, seemingly focused on someone or something else. He was probably trying to figure out why he sensed another presence. Behemoth was here for backup if necessary, so it would be best if the angel didn't realize a third Knight of Hell had come.

"These are quite the prizes you've brought us, Dean," she said smoothly, trying to distract the angel. It worked, and he glared at her as well. Apollyon walked down the line of kneeling captives, studying them.

"Remember me?" Apollyon smirked as she walked past Julie. "I sure remember you. That was a fun time we had together, tearing your pretty boyfriend over there apart, huh? Although I guess it's ex-boyfriend now that he's a demon."

"Go to hell, you sadistic bitch," was the hunter's snarled response.

Apollyon shook her head. "Better teach your girl to watch her mouth, Dean, or I may just have to cut out her tongue."

"Try it, see how that ends for you," Sam growled, and Apollyon turned to him now.

"And there he is, the ever-protective Sam Winchester." She reached the hunter and ran a hand through his shaggy hair, smirking at the obvious discomfort on his face. "Quite the handsome hero you are," Apollyon said softly. "I'm going to have some fun with you…"

She moved on the last captive. "And the leader of heaven, the great Castiel," the Knight of Hell smirked. "You don't seem so high and mighty now, do you? Wonder what heaven will do once we take you to Beelzebub and they're left leaderless. No God, no archangels, no leader at all…maybe it'll finally be time to take out the angels once and for all, while they're so weak."

Castiel just glared up at her with stormy blue eyes. "I really must thank you for these gifts, Dean," Apollyon giggled, walking over to the newest and possibly strongest Knight of Hell. She knew he could easily kill her, but she was confident he wouldn't, at least not yet. "They'll be such fun toys to play with, and yet…the thing I want the most you refuse to give to me."

Dean smirked at her. "And what's that, sweetheart?"

"You," she grinned.

"Well, I'm not exactly going to hand myself over to be tortured, now am I?" he pointed out.

"Oh, not you," she crooned, stoking his forearm. "Never you. I just wish you would join us. If you worked with the Knights of Hell, together we'd be unstoppable, and you and I could have so much fun…"

"If you, or rather Beelzebub, is willing to promise not to try to hurt me, then I'm all in," Dean replied. "I'll fight for your side, and you can show me some of those new tricks you promised me back when you were in her body." He nudged Julie with his foot.

"It's interesting, though," Apollyon sighed, calmly walking away from Dean and back towards Adramalech. "For over four months you've been a Knight of Hell, and yet you don't join us? Instead, you kill and torture every one of our underlings sent your way."

"Sent our way to kill us," Crowley muttered.

"Self-defense," Dean explained.

"But then why wait so long to come to us? Why go with Crowley at all, if you were just going to end up here anyway?" she pointed out.

"Well, when I first became a Knight of Hell, I thought going with you would mean being tortured and imprisoned, and Crowley offered me freedom. Now, we've had some good times, and I would never abandon my old pal, but I've realized now that I belong with my fellow Knights of Hell. However, after all I've done, I needed insurance that you wouldn't just torture and imprison me anyway."

Apollyon cocked her head and studied Dean. "How do we know we can trust you?" she asked slowly.

"I'm here, aren't I? I contacted you, and I brought a peace offering," the newest Knight pointed out.

"True," she said. "But how exactly did you come across these peace offerings?"

"They found out I was still alive and came looking for me," Dean explained. "They found Crowley and I, and when they realized I was a demon, they tried to capture me so they could 'save' me." He smirked drily. "So we captured them instead, and now they're finally proving themselves useful."

"We were trying to help you, Dean!" Julie Carters suddenly cried. "We came to try to save you! How can you do this to-?"

The Knight of Hell suddenly lashed out, hitting her hard across the face. Apollyon's eyes widened, and Adramalech smirked as Julie gasped in pain. Sam and Cas both cried out angrily, and Dean spat, "You can speak when you're spoken to. Until then, keep your mouth shut."

Julie lifted her head and glared at him. Apollyon studied that interaction, wondering…he really had hit her, and it had looked like it hurt. But this still could be a trick.

"Just take them off my hands, would you?" Dean sighed. "They're always like that, yelling about trying to save me, and she cries all the time. God, they're pathetic. Do what you want to them, I couldn't care less, just promise me that Crowley and I will be safe."

Apollyon and Adramalech exchanged looks, and then nodded at each other. "Alright," Apollyon said as they stepped forward. "We have a deal. You and Crowley work for the Knights, we get the humans and the angel, and everybody's happy. Well, except for these three. Do we have a deal?"

"Dean, how can you do this?!" Sam cried angrily.

"We have a deal," Dean said calmly before his brother was even done speaking. Apollyon stuck out her hand, and he shook it.

And then he pulled the First Blade out of his jacket and swung it towards her head.

Apollyon barely scrambled back in time to avoid being beheaded. Crowley whipped out an angel blade and lunged towards Adramalech, while the three "captives" suddenly leapt up, throwing off the ropes binding them and pulling out weapons. Within a couple of seconds, the game had changed entirely.

"What the hell?!" Adramalech cried angrily, pulling out his own blade to fight off Crowley and Castiel who had both begun to attack him.

"You tricked us," Apollyon growled, glaring at the handsome, deadly demon in front of her.

"Sorry, sweetheart," he shrugged, grinning. "Demon, remember?"

He lunged forward and began to spar Apollyon. She was fast and strong and a very experienced fighter, but he was even stronger, and just as fast. And she couldn't kill him. In fact, she couldn't even wound him. His defense was almost unbeatable, and it was clear that he would overpower her within a matter of seconds.

And then that Julie girl screamed, "Sam!"

The fighting stopped as everyone turned to see the newcomer to the fight. Huge Behemoth, almost seven feet of pure muscle, towered over even Sam Winchester. He held the hunter in a headlock, grinning evilly, while Julie stood by powerless.

"Drop your weapons, or I'll spill his guts right here," Behemoth threatened, pressing the machete gripped in his hands against Sam's stomach. The younger Winchester tried not to panic as he tried and failed to get free from the immensely powerful Knight of Hell.

Everyone hesitated to drop their weapons. "I'll skin him, I swear!" Behemoth warned them.

Castiel dropped his angel blade on the ground in surrender. Julie quickly dropped her blade, and even Crowley sighed and set his down on the ground. Dean didn't move though.

"I thought you were going to spill his guts," he pointed out with a smirk.

Behemoth grinned nastily. "I'll start with that. Then I'll skin him. But first I'll use the spells we know, spells that keep our victims alive through anything. I'll make sure your brother dies nice and slow and painful, Winchester."

Dean said nothing, and he still didn't move. It seemed that he was never going to put down the weapon, and Behemoth was growing increasingly impatient.

"Dean," Julie begged him quietly. "Please."

Resisting the urge to swear at all of them, he dropped the First Blade. "There. You happy? Now why don't you let him go, Behemoth? It is Behemoth, right?"

"That's right," the Knight grinned. "And you know, I don't think I will. I've heard a lot about this one. They say that our lord Lucifer himself tortured this one, and yet he's still here. He's a tough one, and I want to see what it takes to break him."

"Let him go," Julie begged. "Please, don't hurt him."

Behemoth just laughed at her, and then he suddenly threw Sam to the ground. Before anyone could stop him, he planted one foot on Sam's chest, grabbed his left leg, and then jerked it at a horrifying angle.

Sam screamed through gritted teeth as his leg broke. And it didn't just break—it shattered. The sheer brute force the Knight of Hell used caused the bones in his leg to shatter, and even after the deed was done, Sam was still moaning in agony. Julie screamed his name and tried to run to help him, but stopped when she realized Behemoth would just hurt him again.

Behemoth laughed cruelly and brought his foot down on Sam's broken leg, causing the man to scream again. "Stop it!" Castiel cried angrily, as unable to help as Julie.

"Hey!" Dean barked, and there was such power and anger in his voice that even Behemoth left Sam alone and faced him. "That's my brother you're hurting," the Knight of Hell growled.

"What do you care?" Behemoth asked, half-amused, half-confused. "Family means nothing to a demon."

"You're right," Dean growled. "But that's still my brother, and the only demon who gets to make his life miserable is me."

The First Blade suddenly flew off the ground and into his hand, and before anyone could move to stop him, he was running to fight Behemoth.

Behemoth forgot all about his victim on the ground when a new, stronger opponent came running at him. Machete and First Blade hacked at each other as the two Knights of Hell fought. While Behemoth had more raw power, Dean matched every single one of his strikes.

Meanwhile, Apollyon tried to go after Julie, who was kneeling over a wounded Sam. Castiel intercepted her, and a moment later, Crowley was there at well. While she was stronger than either of them alone, the two of them were able to keep her busy and on the defensive side.

Adramalech saw the woman kneeling over her wounded friend, and he went after her. Just before he reached Julie, though, she suddenly looked up and raised a gun he hadn't even noticed she was holding. She shot him in the chest, and Adramalech groaned, "Not again…" as he found couldn't move. Devil's trap bullet.

"Dean!" Julie yelled, and the Knight of Hell glanced up to see a trapped Adramalech. He nodded in understanding and turned back to Behemoth.

"You know, I'm really not sorry about this," he shrugged, and he raised his hand. An invisible force threw massive Behemoth across the room and into the wall where he lay, stunned, for a few moments. Dean grinned as he saw what his powers had done and chuckled. "God, I love being a demon!"

Then he turned around to face Adramalech. "Now, wait a minute-" the Knight of Hell started to protest, begging for his life, but Dean was not in the mood. Before Adramalech had done much more than snivel, Dean drove the First Blade into his heart and held it there as the demon twitched and screamed and glowed with a fire from inside him. Then the demon slumped to the ground, dead.

"One down, two to go," he muttered proudly to himself.

"Cas!" Julie shrieked suddenly, and Dean turned just in time to see Castiel and Crowley both go flying through the air to land on the ground, hard, several yards away from Apollyon.

"Guess it's my turn," Dean chuckled, advancing on the female Knight of Hell. Panic crept into her hot vessel's eyes as she gripped her blade tightly and prepared to fight the strongest Knight of Hell yet again.

Apollyon held her own for a bit, but there was only so much she could do. She was weaker than Dean, and, while he was filled with a new rush of strength from his previous kill, she was a bit worn out from all this fighting. She was a seductress, not a warrior. That had been Abbadon, but Dean Winchester had killed her, too.

At first, Dean met every one of Apollyon's strikes. Then he began to push her, wearing down her defenses, until it was clear that if she made one little slip-up, he'd kill her like he had her brother. Behemoth had teleported out of the hotel the minute he realized he couldn't win, and Apollyon would love to follow, but she needed a distraction to get away.

Finally, just as Dean knocked her blade out of her hand, she found her distraction. She was there, kneeling over Sam Winchester, gripping his hand tightly and assuring him that everything would be okay.

Dean prepared to kill the Knight of Hell in front of him, but she didn't look nearly afraid enough. In fact, she was smirking. "What's more important, Dean?" she asked smugly. "Killing me or saving her?"

Before Dean could ask what the hell she was talking about, Apollyon suddenly laughed. "Fetch, Dean!" she cried, and she waved her hand.

And Dean watched as Julie was thrown back through the glass wall out a five-story window, screaming.

He hesitated for half a second. Here was his chance to kill Apollyon and only have two Knights left to kill! Was he really going to throw it away to save some pathetic human girl?

"Dammit," Dean growled, dropping the First Blade.

As Julie tumbled through the air, in shock and pain, she was able to grab onto the ledge of the window. But it, like everything else in this grand hotel, was made of smooth marble, and her arms, back, and face were all scratched up from broken glass. Her grip was weak and her hands slick with blood, and she could barely hold on for more than a few seconds. Panic and fear were coursing through her, and she knew she had to hang on, but she couldn't. She was slipping, she was growing weak, she was letting go…

Julie started to scream again as her weak, bloody fingers finally could hang on no longer. But she had barely even begun to fall when a powerful hand clamped around her wrist and someone was hauling her up to the shattered window she had come crashing through.

"Hang on," Dean Winchester, a Knight of Hell, growled as he saved her life.

Julie found herself staring up at Dean as he lifted her single-handedly up through the window. He grunted with the effort as he wrapped his other arm around her waist and carefully lifted her back into the hotel, trying to avoid the bloody cuts all over her. He carefully carried her back into the safety of the hotel, making sure she was clear of the broken glass on the ground before he set her down next to a wounded Sam. She stared up at him in shock. He had saved her. He had just dropped everything and let a Knight of Hell go to save her.

Dean looked around and saw that Apollyon had also escaped while he was busy saving Julie. "Dammit!" he snapped again, wanting to kill something so badly.

Cas and Crowley were both picking themselves off the ground, Crowley rubbing a bump on the back of his head. "She got away?" he guessed as he glanced around and saw only one dead Knight.

"Yes," Dean growled.

"But we are all alive," Castiel pointed out gravely. "And one more Knight is dead."

"Could have been three," Dean muttered darkly. "And we won't be able to trick them again."

"Cas, help Sam!" Julie begged the angel, and he hurried over to their sides. Dean watched with a carefully guarded expression as Castiel laid a hand on his brother's forehead. Sam's face was a mask of pain, and his skin shone with sweat. His teeth were gritted in pain, but he suddenly relaxed as Cas touched him and his leg snapped back into place.

"Are you alright now, Sam?" the angel asked, concerned. Sam opened his eyes and moved his once-shattered leg experimentally. Then he nodded.

"I'm fine," he sighed. "Help Julie."

Cas touched Julie's forehead, and the various cuts all over her body vanished. "Thank you," she said, nodding at Castiel. Then her eyes lifted to meet Dean and she said in a softer, almost timid voice, "Thank you."

Dean looked away, and his face was stormy with anger.

"You sure you're okay?" Julie asked Sam after a moment.

He nodded. "Yeah. You?"

"Yeah." She still looked shaken from that fall, and so Sam pulled her into a hug. Julie pressed her face into his shoulder, and she didn't seem like she'd ever want to come out again.

Dean found his jaw clenching, seeing them together like that. _He _had saved her, hadn't he?!

Then Sam looked up at him, and their eyes met. After a moment, Sam just nodded gratefully at Dean, but there was a lot that was said in that one nod.

And for a second, the fact that two Knights of Hell had gotten away didn't seem so bad. Because for the first time in weeks, there was no contempt or hatred in Sam's eyes when he looked at Dean. He was looking at him like he had five months ago, when he would look at Dean and see his brother, and not just some demon.

And Dean had to admit…he had kind of missed that.

* * *

Crowley and Dean quickly caused the mess they had made to disappear and the five of them returned to their rooms to pack up their stuff. They needed to get out of here and to somewhere safe before Behemoth and Apollyon returned with Beelzebub. While Dean would probably survive that fight, it was unlikely the others would.

Crowley didn't speak to Dean as they quickly packed. Dean knew his fellow demon was frustrated with him for letting Apollyon go to save Julie, but try as he might, Dean couldn't regret what he did. He was glad the girl was still alive. And he could always kill Apollyon at a different time.

Crowley went downstairs to check out, while Sam and Cas took the majority of the stuff down to their waiting cars. Dean hung back, wanting to avoid talking to anyone, and didn't leave his room to go downstairs until he was sure everyone else would be gone by now.

Unfortunately for him, Julie had been doing the exact same thing, and they both left their rooms at the same time. Just as Julie opened her door, the one across the hall opened as well, and she found herself staring at the very demon she had been almost dreading speaking to.

Dean sighed. "Trying to avoid the others?" he guessed.

She sighed as well. "Yes."

"Well, I guess we both failed at that," he shrugged. He shut his door behind him, and Julie did the same. "I'll escort you downstairs, then."

"I really don't need an escort," Julie snapped.

"Right, like you didn't need someone to save you from falling five stories to your death."

Julie looked down and took a deep breath. "Thank you for that. For saving me."

"Don't mention it," Dean said, but it sounded more like an order than a polite response, like if she kept thanking him, he might attack her.

"Why did you do it?" Julie asked, ignoring his order. "Why would you save my life when you could take out a Knight of Hell? Isn't that more important to you?"

"Didn't want to see a grown man cry," the demon shrugged, "and if you died, I'm sure Sam would cry about it, and probably Cas, too."

Julie didn't believe him, but she didn't want to push it too far. "Well, thank you."

"Oh, don't thank me," he snapped. "It would have been kinder to let you die. Now they're going to think I'm still attached to you, and they'll probably take you and Sam hostage to try to get me to surrender or something. You know even better than me what they'll do to you two, and you know it would have been kinder to let you die quick and easy."

"Are you?" she asked softly.

Dean frowned. "Am I what?"

"Are you still attached to us?"

The Knight of Hell laughed. "You're joking! Juliet, did you miss the part where I became a demon? The only thing I'm 'attached to' is myself."

"Then why did you save me? And don't give me that 'didn't want to see a grown man cry' crap. And why did you step in and protect Sam if you didn't care about us?"

"I didn't 'protect' Sam," he smirked. "I'm pretty sure you saw how much pain he was in? If I was trying to protect him, I didn't do a very good job."

"But you stepped in and defended him and fought Behemoth to keep him from hurting Sam again!"

"I stepped in because Sam is no use to me dead, and I fought Behemoth because I want him _dead_, Julie," Dean snapped, and there was a dangerous edge creeping into his voice. "It's not hard to figure out."

"If all you cared about was killing the Knights of Hell, you wouldn't have saved me," Julie insisted coldly. "So clearly, you care about us a lot more than you're letting on."

Dean laughed scornfully. "You flatter yourself, sweetheart. I don't care about you or Sam or Cas or anyone but myself. I don't give a damn what happens to any of you."

"You're lying to yourself," Julie said coldly. "We both know that's not true."

Suddenly, Julie found herself being slammed into the wall, her back pressed against it and leaving her no way to escape. Dean's hands were slammed against the wall to her left and right, trapping her there. His eyes were dark and angry and absolutely terrifying, and Julie found herself fighting the urge to tremble in fear.

"_You're _lying to yourself," he growled in a low, terrifying voice. "You want to believe that I still love you, or that I could, but I don't. I don't love you or Sam or anyone. I'm a _demon_, which you seem to forget easily. I'm evil, and proud of it."

"You're not all bad," Julie insisted quietly, even though she knew the smart thing would be to shut up, _now_. "There's some good in you, even if you won't acknowledge it, but I know it's there. If you would just let Sam and I help you-"

"There is no good left in me," he snarled. "What little good was left in me started dying when I had to take up the Blade again to save your sorry ass, or when you and your friends tricked me into taking it up again instead of dying. If you had let me die then, I would have died with some good in me, and I would have died still loving you. But everything good in me, _your _Dean died over four months ago. What else is it going to take to get that through your thick skull?!"

Julie just stared up at him, caught between fear and anger and denial. He stayed there, towering over her, with her trapped against the wall, for several seconds, until someone entered the hall.

"There you are, Dean!" Eliza, the pretty employee cried as she noticed them. Dean pulled away from Julie to stare at the girl, who smiled suggestively at him. "I just got off my shift again, and I heard you were heading out soon, so I was wondering if maybe real quick before you left we could…you know…"

Dean turned to Julie, and a wave of fear ran through her at the evil glint in his eyes. He smirked. "You really believe there's some good left in me?" he asked her. "Well, if there was any part of me that was still human, would I do _this_?"

And before Julie could even realize what was happening, he whirled around and drove the First Blade into Eliza's stomach.

"_No_!" Julie screamed in horror as the poor girl's eyes widened in pain. Dean pulled the Blade out of her and the girl crumpled, gasping pathetically as she tried to breathe. Julie ran to Eliza's side and tried to slow the bleeding, but there was nothing she could do. This was a mortal wound.

He had murdered this innocent girl.

Julie turned to stare up at Dean in shock and horror, and saw the tiniest bit of remorse in his eyes. "I…I don't know why…" he stammered out.

Eliza finally quit trembling and lay still in Julie's arms. Julie felt a wave of disgust and something close to hatred rush through her. "Get out of here," she said quietly.

"Julie, I didn't-"

"Get the hell away from me, you monster!"

For a second, Dean looked hurt, and then his face hardened and he was back to his demonic self. He suddenly vanished, and Julie was sure he was down at the car, grabbing Crowley so they could disappear again.

She didn't care. He was evil, he had proven that. Julie may never have liked this girl much, but she hadn't deserved to die, and she had never done anything to Dean. He had just killed her because she was there, to prove a point.

Her Dean would never have done that. He really must be gone.

Tears began to sting Julie's eyes, and she wasn't sure if she was crying over the dead girl in her arms or the wonderful man that she had lost.


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter Forty-Three**

The demon in the other room made a pitiful moaning sound. It was a good thing Crowley had an iron stomach, because the _noises _Dean got out of his victims as he tortured them…

Dean asked the demon something, and when there was no reply, there was a sickening thunk and then a wail of agony. Crowley turned away from the room where Dean was working on his current victim and wandered off to find a scotch or something. It wasn't that he was against torture; in fact, he was a pretty big fan of it. But a little less than two weeks ago, Dean had cast aside all morals and standards he had. Even after the demons he was torturing gave him the answers he wanted, he just kept going and going…

Crowley knew why Dean had suddenly taken a turn back towards the dark side, and he had to admit, he wasn't really going to complain. The demon had been getting too chummy with Julie and his brother, and he was starting to go soft. Letting a Knight of Hell go to save a human girl?! Crowley had never had anything against Julie Carters, but he firmly believed Dean should have offed the Knight first, and if that meant he didn't save the girl…well then, she died a hero.

Thankfully, it seemed like she and Dean had gotten into a fight when left alone at the Hotel California. Because now Dean was acting like a normal demon again. Well, that wasn't entirely true—he had suddenly quit sleeping around for some reason. He was focused whole-heartedly on the destruction of the Knights of Hell, and he was prepared to kill or torture whoever it took to get to them.

But that was all he did. They didn't hang out at bars anymore, or pick up chicks. Dean just tortured and killed demons, and the moment he was done with his current victim, it was on to the next one. And it was driving Crowley crazy. The fun Dean Winchester he had roamed the country with for four months was gone. Now it was just a demon trying to bury the past guilt and shame that he was beginning to feel again by torturing and killing.

If only Sam and that girl could see what they'd done to him. They'd taken an excellent demon and ruined him, making him begin to question and hate himself. He was turning into his old human self, and it was beyond annoying.

Crowley was on his third or fourth drink when Dean came out of the room, his arms and shirt splattered with blood. He was frowning, and there was a spark of concern in his eyes.

"I assume that one is dead?" Crowley guessed.

Dean nodded. "I did get something out of him, though."

Crowley finished off his drink and stood up. Judging by the expression on the Knight's face, this wasn't going to be good. "What did you find out?"

"That guy was one of a dozen or so demons that had been given orders to watch the home of Jasper Carters," Dean said slowly.

"Jasper Carters…your Juliet's uncle?" Crowley remembered.

"She's not mine—that doesn't matter," the younger, stronger demon snapped. "Yeah, they're supposed to watch his place until either he shows and they can capture him and hold him captive, or until she and my brother drop by to visit, so they can grab them." Dean's eyes were dark and angry. "They want Sam and Julie."

"Why?" Crowley sighed, but he knew the answer.

"Well, Beelzebub wants to torture them, obviously. But ever since Apollyon and Behemoth saw them working with us, they think that I care about them now or something."

"Well, you did protect your brother _and _let Apollyon go to save the girl."

"Not helping!" Dean snapped. "Anyway, they think if they get their hands on those two, I'll surrender to save them."

"And will you?" Crowley asked suspiciously.

"No!" the demon insisted, but he was so defensive Crowley wasn't sure how honest he was really being. A dishonest demon. Never heard of one of those. "But we should make sure the demons can't take them, or Jasper and his family just in case."

"You're not serious!" Crowley cried.

Dean's eyes flashed dangerously for a moment. "Deadly."

* * *

Taylor sighed as she went through the cabinet, looking for some kind of food that didn't require her putting any effort into making it. The Carters' house had never been one for stereotypical eating arrangements, and Jasper almost always made food. But he and James were out doing a quick salt-and-burn a few hours south of here, and Taylor hadn't wanted to leave home and drop everything just to go torch some ghost. But now that she had been alone for over twenty-four hours and had already gone out and bought a burger a few hours ago, she knew she would probably just have to make some food for himself. Ugh. Effort.

Just as she was about to start making herself a sandwich, there was a knock on the door. Thank the Lord! Her father would be back to make her food and James would be here to entertain her. Watching television and napping eventually got boring, and she wanted someone to talk to.

Taylor rushed to the door and opened it. She didn't bother checking to see who was there through the peephole, since the house was warded against all supernatural crap. But she had _not _been expecting the two people in front of her.

Tall and handsome Sam Winchester stood in the doorway, with Taylor's cousin standing very close to him, practically leaning on him for support. They both looked pale and exhausted. "Hey, Taylor," Sam said quietly. "May we come in?"

"Uh…yeah, sure," she said, shaking off her surprise and stepping aside to let them in. "What are you guys doing here? You okay?"

"We're okay," Julie said utterly unconvincingly. As they stepped into the light of the living room, Taylor noticed a few bruises on the right side of the Julie's face, and the dirt and tears and blood on her clothes. Sam looked even worse, with dried blood on his left shoulder, and he was pale enough that he must have lost quite a bit of blood pretty recently.

"Really?" Taylor asked dubiously. "Because you look like crap."

"We were hunting a couple vamps in the next state over," Julie explained. "We took them out, but they got the jump on us and we took a bit of a beating before we beheaded them."

"Ouch," Taylor winced. "Well, I'm glad you guys are okay. I would help patch you guys up, but I'm no good at that stuff, and Jasper and James are both going to be out for a few more hours."

"Oh?" Julie asked.

"They're on some salt-and-burn a few hours away. Should be done about now, and then they'll just drive back and be here by morning hopefully."

"Do you mind if we crash here for the night?" Sam asked in a tired, worn voice.

"Not at all!" Taylor assured them. "You two know where the spare bedrooms are upstairs, and Julie, you know where to find the first aid supplies."

"Thanks, Tay," Julie whispered, pulling her cousin into a hug. Taylor hugged her back, a little surprised and alarmed by the look in these hunters' eyes. Their eyes were dull and lifeless, like they were zombies going through the motions of living. She was sure that it must be hard, with Dean being dead, but he had been gone nearly five months, and they didn't seem to be getting any better.

Sam nodded gratefully at Taylor as they went into the dining room and unloaded their supplies. It was pretty late, and Taylor had been thinking about just turning in after her snack, but now that there were two hunters in her home, she wanted to know what was going on. She crept into the kitchen and watched and listened through the crack in the adjoining door between the kitchen and dining room to see what was going on with those two.

Sam was sitting in one of the oak dining chairs, stripped down to a white undershirt and jeans. He had his teeth gritted as Julie peeled off the bandage on his bloody shoulder and inspected the wound.

"Damn, that vamp got you good," she muttered.

"I know, I felt it," Sam muttered. "Is it infected?"

"Doesn't look like it, but it's still bleeding," Julie informed him. "I'm going to try to stitch it up now. You need something to bite down on?"

"I'll be fine," he said. "I'm tough, I'm a man."

Julie shook her head and laughed lightly, but there was something missing to her laughter. They were silent for a few minutes, except for Sam occasionally grunting in pain, as Julie stitched up the nasty bite wound on his shoulder. When she was done, she wrapped it tightly in a sterile white bandage and cleaned up her supplies, rinsing her hands clean of Sam's blood. When she was done, she came back and sat in the chair across from Sam, who had pulled on a dark t-shirt, and the two of them sat in silence for a few moments.

"You okay?" Sam asked Julie after a long silence.

"I'm not the one who got bit by a vampire."

"No, but you did get thrown into a wall by one."

"Oh, shut up. He was twice my size, and you got chewed on by some skinny chick. What's your excuse?"

For a moment, they both chuckled, but there was no real humor there. Taylor wondered if it was just because they were exhausted and still grieving, but something was wrong with both of them.

There was another silence, and then Sam sighed. "What do you think he's up to right now?" he asked flatly.

"Probably banging some girl he met at a bar," Julie muttered sullenly. "Although at this hour, he may have already left her."

Sam didn't reply for a moment. "I just don't understand. I mean, he saved your life! And he fought off Behemoth for me and I…I don't know, I thought he was getting better! I thought there was hope."

"Me too," she admitted. "But…he killed a human, an innocent girl. All she'd ever done to him was sleep with him! He had no reason to kill her, except that I antagonized him. That was my fault."

"Julie, come on-"

"No, Sam, it was! If I had just left him alone, then Dean wouldn't have killed that girl, and he might still be with us."

Taylor backed away from the door, shocked. What the hell? She had no idea what they were talking about, but that had sounded like Dean was alive, and apparently killing girls he slept with?! Taylor wanted to go in there and ask them what the hell was going on, but then they would know she was eavesdropping.

"He might be, or he might not," Sam sighed. "All we can do now is keep looking for a way to save him, and killing every evil thing we come across along the way."

"Right. You're right."

"I know I am," Sam smirked, and Julie shoved his good shoulder jokingly. Then she settled into his side and they hugged for a long time.

Taylor left the kitchen, overwhelmed. She had no idea what those two were talking about, but it didn't sound good. And the way they interacted, always near each other, almost always touching, talking in such low, intimate voices…Dean had better come back from the dead quick, or else he may end up losing his girlfriend once and for all…

But all of those thoughts were brushed aside as Taylor heard a car pull up onto the drive. Now _this _had to be Jasper and James. She called to Sam and Julie, and they hurried into the living room, right as Taylor opened the door.

Jasper and James were both getting out of their car, talking, but they were too far away for Taylor to hear what they were saying. The three hunters as watched as Jasper and James approached the house.

But they were still a couple dozen feet away when four figures rushed out of the shadows and attacked them.

"Jasper!" Julie shrieked, just as Taylor screamed, "James!"

The two men were overwhelmed as four men descended on them, slashing at the two hunters with knives. They were both able to defend themselves for a few seconds, but it was clear that they would be overwhelmed and killed before Julie and Sam, who had started running towards them, could ever get close enough to help.

One of the men pinned Jasper's arms behind his back, and another prepared to stab him. Julie cried, "No!" but she was too far to help. And just as she was certain that she was about to watch her uncle die, something happened.

Two figures appeared out of nowhere, a tall man and a shorter one. The tall man's arm shot out and he decapitated the man about to kill Jasper, and the shorter man waved an arm, causing the man pinning him to fly backwards. Sam and Julie both stopped and watched in shock as the taller of the two new men swept through the ranks of men, killing them easily. And as each one died, a fire glowed from within them, revealing that they were demons.

Within a few seconds of the arrival of the two men, the four demons lay dead at the feet, with Jasper and James staring at the corpses in shock. Sam and Julie had eyes only for the taller of the two men.

"Dean?" Sam choked out after a heavy, loaded silence.

James, Jasper, and Taylor all whipped their heads to stare at the man. They hadn't recognized him because of the darkness and the chaos all around them, but now they could see that their savior was indeed the man who had died nearly five months ago. Jasper recognized the shorter of the two men as the strange man who had come to take Julie that one night that she had never come home, the night she died.

Dean Winchester smirked slightly as five stunned pairs of eyes landed on him. "You're welcome," he smirked cockily as he tucked the First Blade back into his jacket.

Everyone stared at Dean and this mysterious man with him in shock. Jasper was the first to speak, as he suddenly cried, "Dean! You're alive?!" Then he began to laugh and walk towards Dean to embrace him. "It's so good to see-"

"Jasper, no!" Julie cried, moving forward. She and Sam both rushed to stand protectively in-between Dean and the two hunters he had just saved.

"What?" her uncle asked, bewildered. "Juliet, that's _Dean."_

"Yeah, we know who he is," Sam muttered darkly, eying his brother suspiciously. Taylor joined the crowd and tried to walk past Sam towards Dean, but he put out an arm to stop her. "Trust me, Taylor, you don't want to go near him."

"Oh, come _on_, Sammy!" Dean cried in disbelief. "Crowley and I just saved your sorry asses, and you think I'm going to try to kill you and your very pretty friends?" He winked at Taylor, and she stared at him, stunned. In all the time she had known Dean, he had never once hit on _her_.

"Crowley?" James repeated, confused, just as Jasper cried, "Why on earth would he try to kill us?!"

"Exactly!" Dean cried. "Thank you, Jasper. Obviously I'm on your side."

"The only person whose side you're on is yourself," Julie snapped coldly.

"And mine!" the shorter man next to Dean piped up in a British accent.

"Really, Crowley?" Dean sighed, turning to shoot his companion a look. "_Now_?!"

"Well, I'm _sorry_, O great and noble Knight of Hell. I didn't realize simple demons didn't get lines in this scene," Crowley replied coolly.

"Wait, that's a _demon_?!" James cried, backing away and simultaneously pulling out a knife, like that would do much good.

"James, Uncle Jasper, Taylor, meet Crowley," Julie sighed after looking at how overwhelmed and confused the three of them looked. "He's the former king of hell-"

"And soon to be king again!" the demon snapped.

"And sometimes he can be a real ass," she finished, shooting him a cold look.

"You know the former king of hell?" Jasper asked slowly.

"Oh, we're old friends!" Crowley said brightly. "Moose, Squirrel, their pet angel, and darling Juliet and I used to hunt Knights of Hell together. You should be thanking me, Uncle J, for all the times I've saved your niece."

"What about when you got her killed?" Sam pointed out coldly.

"Good point," Crowley shrugged. "Well, you don't have to thank me for that time."

Everything exploded into chaos. Dean started laughing, while James yelled, "Hold on—you're responsible for her death?! You smug little bastard!" Taylor started trying to ask questions, but no one was listening, until finally Jasper broke through the noise as he roared, "_Wait a damn minute!_"

Everyone fell silent and stared at him. "Did…did that demon say…did he say that Dean was a Knight of Hell?" Jasper asked slowly.

There was dead silence. "Jasper, I'm sorry we didn't tell-" Julie started to say, but Jasper interrupted her.

"No. No, that's not what you're supposed to say. You're supposed to say that Dean is fine and that he's human and everything is okay." Jasper's voice was strangely calm, and it was clear he was trying to keep everything together.

"Well, Dean is fine," Dean threw in. "Better than I have been in…well, ever. But no, unfortunately, Dean is not human."

"I don't believe this," Taylor said softly.

Dean suddenly flashed his eyes all black, his favorite party trick, and the three hunters who had never seen that before backed away in shock. "Believe me now?" he grinned.

Sam and Julie held their breath, uncertain what their responses would be. There was a long pause that seemed to stretch an eternity, and then-

Suddenly James was running straight at Dean, and he tried to drive his knife into his heart. At the last second, Dean twisted, and the blade went into his shoulder. The demon growled in pain and anger, and James yelled, "_Run_!" to the other hunters.

Jasper and Taylor were too shocked to run, and Julie and Sam knew running would not help them. "You, my friend, are incredibly stupid," Dean told the brave and suicidal hunter as he pulled the knife out of his shoulder.

Suddenly James was sinking to his knees, making horrible choking noises as Dean killed him from the inside. Taylor screamed, but everyone was too stunned to move. Everyone except Julie.

"No!" Julie yelled, breaking free of the group and running to Dean and James. She reached the hunter right as blood began to leak from his mouth, and she yelled, "Dean, no! Stop! Dammit, Dean, _stop_!"

She grabbed his arm and shook the Knight of Hell angrily, trying to stop him. He should have snapped her neck with a gesture, but James suddenly stopped moaning and choking, and Dean pulled his arm free of Julie's grip.

"Let that dumbass know that if he tries to lay a finger on me again, next time I won't stop," Dean growled.

Julie stared at him for a moment, surprised he really had stopped. Then she dropped to her knees and felt James' pulse. He was barely conscious, but it didn't seem like he would die.

"How bad is he?" she asked Dean, uncertain if the demon would even bother to reply.

"He won't die," Dean shrugged. "He'll be out for a while, but it's not anything that will kill him. You're welcome," he added pointedly.

Sam, Jasper, and Taylor rushed over to James. "Take him inside and make sure he gets some rest," Sam snapped at Taylor and Jasper, and they were so overwhelmed that they followed his orders without question.

Sam and Julie found themselves standing face-to-face with the two demons they had been avoiding for almost two weeks. "So…" Dean said after the other hunters had left, smirking. "How've you been?"

"Why are you here?" Sam snapped. "Why would you save them?"

"We've been tracking demons," Crowley explained. "And when we heard that the Knights of Hell were setting a guard around Julie's family in the hopes of catching you two, well…this guy here decided we had better watch out for you two."

"That's not what I said!" Dean snapped. "I wanted to make sure they didn't take you in to get information on us," he added sullenly.

"What information would we have?" Julie pointed out, and Dean had no answer.

They had come to protect Sam and Julie, and her family as well. Dean had saved them yet again. And that went against everything Julie had been telling herself for days, that he was a monster and there was nothing good left in him.

"Anyway, as much as I would like to go back to pretending that you two don't exist, unfortunately, my work of saving you is still not done," Dean sighed, snapping Julie out of her thoughts. "There'll be another wave of demons here any minute, and a hell of a lot more of them once they realize you two are here. If you don't want that idiot and your family to die, you're going to want to get them out of here and to somewhere safe." He nodded at Julie.

"Are there any safe houses near here?" Julie asked Sam uncertainly.

He frowned. "Not for a couple states, I don't think."

"Great," she snapped. "What do we then?"

"Do you or do you not have an angel that will transport your little friends anywhere you want them to go?!" Crowley snapped, frustrated with the two hunters in front of him.

"Cas is probably busy," Julie pointed out.

"And he can come downstairs for five minutes and transport you and your family to safety so we can be done babysitting," the former king of hell snapped.

"Get inside," Dean said suddenly in a cold, hard voice.

"What?" Sam and Julie both asked, and they looked up just in time to see at least a dozen, if not more figures standing in a line along the edge of the property, all heavily-armed and glaring at them with black eyes.

"Get inside that house, call your angel buddy, and get somewhere safe," Dean ordered them, pulling out his First Blade.

"What are you going to do?" Sam asked, concerned.

"Fight these assholes off so you people can survive," the demon smirked. Crowley tried to back away, and Dean shot him a look. "And you're helping, 'bestie'."

The army of demons suddenly charged forward, and Sam and Julie had no choice but to turn and run back into the house. They shut the door behind them just as the sound of fighting broke out in the yard behind them.

Taylor was tending to a barely conscious James, while Jasper frowned at the two hunters. "What's going on out there?" he asked them.

"More demons," Julie explained quickly. "Dean and Crowley are going to hold them off to protect us."

"The same Dean that just tried to kill him?!" Taylor shrieked, gesturing to James. "The same one that's a _demon_?!"

"Yep," Sam said gruffly. "He saved us before and he's doing it again."

"Not a very good demon then, is he?" Jasper said, still looking overwhelmed by the thought of Dean as a demon.

"No, he's not," Julie said softly.

"Alright, here goes," Sam said quickly. "Castiel, I pray that you come down to earth and help us. We've got a bunch of demons on our tail, and Dean's fighting them off, but I need you to take Julie's family to safety in case this all goes bad."

"What the hell is he doing?" Taylor snapped, and James actually opened his eyes to shoot Sam a look like he was crazy.

Then the sound of fluttering wings silenced them, and a dark-haired man in a trench coat suddenly appeared by the couch.

Taylor shrieked, and Jasper backed away. "Dean is here?" Cas frowned, ignoring the other three hunters and asking Julie and Sam.

"Out front with Crowley, buying us time," Julie explained. "But I need you to get these three to the nearest safe house before you worry about him."

"Who the hell is that?" James moaned, staring up at this mysterious man who magically appeared in the house.

Castiel looked down at the wounded hunter and frowned. "What happened to him?" he asked.

"He tried to stab Dean, and that pissed him off," Sam muttered.

Cas reached out and touched James's forehead. Before the bewildered hunter could flinch away, suddenly, his body was healed. He sat up and stared at this magical stranger. "What the _hell_?!" he cried.

"James, Jasper, Tay, meet the angel that has pulled Sam, Dean, and I all out of hell and brought us back to life," Julie explained, patting her friend on the shoulder. "James, he just healed you, and you should be back to full strength. He's going to transport you to a nearby safe house, and you'll need to stay there until we let you know that it's safe to come home again."

The three hunters stared at her for a long moment. "Where are his wings?" James asked stupidly, and Sam laughed despite himself.

For a moment, Cas towered a dozen feet high, his eyes blazing blue, the dark shadows of majestic wings spread out far behind him as he blazed with power.

And then he was back to normal with the blink of an eye.

"Cas, that was _badass_!" Julie laughed. "You should do that more often!"

Her cowering, overwhelmed family didn't seem to think so, though. Regardless, Castiel stepped forward and ordered them to take hands. He took Jasper's hand and the four of them suddenly vanished.

There was a moment of silence. The fighting outside had already gone quiet, and Sam wondered if that meant Dean had already killed all the demons, or just abandoned the people inside the house.

Julie risked opening the front door and they saw the yard littered with bloody corpses, except for two figures who were still standing. Dean was wiping the Blade clean on the grass, and when he noticed the two hunters standing in the doorway, he approached the house. He couldn't enter, so he spoke to them from the porch.

"Well, that went well," he smirked. "Did Cas get the other out safely?"

"Yeah," Julie said softly, staring at Dean.

"What?" he snapped, frowning.

"It's just…you saved us. You saved us and my family. Why…why would you do that?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "Don't go thinking this means anything. I'm the same demon who murdered that girl, the same one you called a monster, remember? You're just no use to me dead."

Julie looked down. "Fine. Whatever. I was just trying to thank you."

"Well, you're welcome. Again." Dean turned his gaze to Sam. "Well, you two are going to want to get out of here as well. Head back to you bunker or whatever before more demons come along. My work is done here."

He turned and started to walk away, but Sam yelled, "Wait! Dean, just a minute." The demon sighed and turned back around. "I want to talk to you," his younger brother said firmly, but before Dean could refuse, there was a fluttering sound, and a third figure appeared next to Julie.

"Dean," the angel said carefully.

"Cas," the demon said, mocking his tone.

Castiel rolled his eyes, and Dean smirked slightly. "Thank you for helping these people," his old friend said stiffly.

"Don't mention it," Dean replied, really hoping they would just drop it. If he had known that they would make such a big deal of him saving them, he might not have.

"Alright, well, this had been a wonderful reunion, but I'm ready to go," Crowley snapped, interrupting them. "Dean?"

"Go ahead, Crowley," the Knight of Hell smirked. "I'll meet you back at the motel in a little bit. Apparently little brother wants to talk to me."

The former king of hell opened his mouth to protest, and then sighed. He knew he had no control over what Dean did, so he vanished and returned to the motel they were staying at to pout.

Sam turned to Cas and Julie. "Cas, why don't you take Julie back to the bunker?" he suggested. "I'll pray for you when I need you to pick me up."

"Hold on!" Julie protested. "You don't expect us to leave you here alone with-?"

"I do," Sam interrupted her firmly.

Julie looked helplessly between Sam and Dean, who smirked cockily. "I'll _try_ not to kill the guy I just spent my entire evening saving," he assured her.

"Sam, I don't like this," Castiel warned his friend.

"Too bad," Sam snapped. "You two go ahead. I'll be fine."

"Just some brotherly bonding time, no murder, I promise!" Dean chimed in. Sam shot him a look that said, _not helping_.

Julie sighed and gave in. She touched Sam's arm for a long moment and looked him in the eye. "Be safe, okay?" she whispered.

"I promise," Sam said, smiling at her. Dean watched that whole interaction with gritted teeth. Just get a room, you two!

Then Julie took Castiel's hand and they vanished.

Sam turned to his brother, who raised an eyebrow. "So…what did you want to talk about?"

"You," his little brother said flatly. "I've spent almost a month trying to figure you out, Dean, and I can't do it."

"I'm a man of mystery," the Knight of Hell shrugged.

"No, that's not it, trust me. The thing is…you don't make any sense. You try to convince us you're this evil demon, or you act like you're about to kill us, or you murder some innocent girl, and I really start to believe my brother is really gone. But then you come back, and you save Julie's life, or her family's, and I know you're not as evil as you pretend to be. So please, try to help me understand, because I'm sick and tired of trying to figure you out."

"You're never going to figure me out, Sammy," Dean smirked. "I'm a demon. I do what I want, and sometimes that benefits you, and sometimes it doesn't. Don't mistake me saving you for kindness, though. I only save you people because you're useful to me."

"You keep saying that," Sam said, smirking slightly. "You keep saying we're no use to you dead. But that's not exactly true. We're no use to you alive. Even when we're working together, all we do is get in your way, and you're either saving us or fighting us. There hasn't been a time we've actually done something to benefit you, and you know it. So there's another reason you keep saving us."

Dean gritted his teeth. Damn, if his little brother wasn't sharp. He was picking up on things about himself that Dean had been trying to ignore. He knew Sam was right, but he shouldn't be! Demons didn't care about people or save people, and definitely not Knights of Hell.

"I think that reason is because you still care about us," Sam said quietly after a moment. "I think there's still some small shred of human left in you. I know there is. And I think, if you let us help you, we could reach it."

Dean wanted to laugh off what Sam was saying, but he knew it was true. When he had seen Julie go sailing out that window, there was a small part of him that screamed out in anger and grief and with a need to save her. When he had seen Behemoth causing Sam to scream in anger, there was a part of him that was so filled with a protective rage that it had overcome him. When Dean looked at Cas, there was a small part of him that wanted to tease and hug the angel, while everything demon in him was ordering him to kill the threat.

The truth was, when he was around Sam and Julie and Cas, they brought out something in him that was almost…well, human. He wanted to make them laugh and smile, and he wanted them to accept him. He wanted them to love him again.

But they couldn't. He was a demon, and that wasn't going to change, no matter how much he wanted to be with them again. He couldn't ever be with them. There was no way to save him. Besides, they didn't need him. They had each other, and there was no reason they would want the mess that was Dean Winchester back in their life.

"Even…even if I did care…you couldn't help me," Dean got out after a long silence. "I'm too far gone. I've killed and hurt people, and not just demons. People. I'm a monster, remember? At least, that's what Julie thinks."

"She doesn't think that," Sam insisted. "Sure, she was really upset when you killed that girl, and rightfully so. But she could forgive you. We all could."

Dean snorted. "Right."

"She _could_!" Sam insisted. "Dean, come on! You and I both know there's probably nothing you could do to make her quit loving you."

This time, Dean full-out laughed. "Oh, Sammy, you're joking. She doesn't love _me_! She hasn't in weeks." Sam frowned at him, confused. "Oh, come on—you really don't see it?" the demon laughed, but there was something almost pained in that laughter. "She loves _you_, little brother."

Sam stared at Dean for a moment, and then he too began to laugh. This time, Dean was the one to frown. "Is that really what you think, Dean?" his brother chuckled. "Are we really going to do this again?"

"Hey, I'm not going to fight you for her this time. She's all yours, Sammy."

"She's all _yours_, and she always has been, and she always will be," Sam snapped. "Come on, Dean. You may be a demon, but you're not stupid. You know there's nothing that could ever make her quit loving you. I'm not saying it's smart, but it's true. For her, and me, and Cas. There's nothing you can do that will make us quit caring about you."

Suddenly, Sam found himself with his back pressed against the wall, Dean standing dangerously close to him. "What if I killed you right now?" the demon asked in a soft, dangerous voice. "Do you still think Juliet and Castiel would love me?"

"You won't," Sam said flatly, just stating facts. "I'm not afraid of you, Dean. We both know you're not going to hurt me."

Dean glared at him for a long moment, and Sam began to wonder nervously if he had just done something incredibly stupid. But no. This was his brother. Somewhere deep down, under layers and layers of demon, was Dean. And Dean would never hurt him. He had known that all his life, through thirty-three years of being taken care of by the man in front of him. Dean was never going to hurt him, demon or not.

And sure enough, Dean stepped away and let him go. "Call your angel," his brother snapped, turning away. "Go home. Move on with your life."

"Dean…" Sam protested, but the demon's shoulders tensed and Sam stopped. "Okay. Fine. Cas, could you come get me?"

A couple seconds later, Cas appeared next to his friend. "I'm beginning to feel like public transport," the angel sighed.

"And could you get the car, too?" Sam smirked slightly.

He and Cas started over to the Impala to transport it back to the bunker with them. Just before they reached Dean's old car, his little brother turned and looked back at him.

"Dean, just…if you ever change your mind, you know where to find us," Sam said in a carefully controlled voice. And then he, Cas, and the Impala all disappeared.

Dean stood alone in the empty yard, surrounded by demons he had slaughtered. Sure, their deaths had satisfied the Blade and the Mark, but they hadn't satisfied Dean. Nothing in the past five months, not the drinking or the sex or the gambling or the torturing and killing, had ever satisfied him like being with those he loved had.

And as he stood alone in the dark, Dean began to wonder…

* * *

Crowley looked up as the motel door opened and Dean walked in. He sighed in relief. He had begun to worry that the demon was never going to come back.

"There you are," Crowley smirked. "I was beginning to think they'd captured you or something."

But then he noticed the expression Dean Winchester was wearing. His mouth was set in a firm line, but there were conflicting emotions in his eyes, excitement and hope and longing among them. Human emotions.

No. This had better not be happening.

Dean marched into the room and instantly began to pack up his few belongings. Oh, no. No, no, no.

"What the hell are you doing, Dean?!" Crowley cried as he watched Dean quickly pack.

"Leaving," the Knight of Hell replied flatly.

"Where do you think you're going?" Crowley practically growled, knowing the answer.

Dean turned to shoot him a look. "I _know _I'm going back to the bunker to see if Sam was right and those three are willing to take me in."

"You're joking, right? Please tell me you're joking!" Dean didn't reply, so Crowley snapped, "You absolute moron! You really think they could ever want you again? You're a demon now, and they hunt demons. They'll just try to change you back to what you were."

"Well, to be honest, the fun of being a demon has kind of worn off," Dean snapped. "This hasn't been too satisfying either. Maybe humanity will end up being better."

"You're a fool," Crowley growled, following Dean through the motel room. "You can't be cured. You're a Knight of Hell! Don't you remember Cain? Don't you think he would have cured himself if he could?"

"Then they'll just have to learn to put up with the new, demon me," Dean shrugged.

Crowley shook his head his head in disbelief. "What on earth did Moose say to you to make you like this?" Then he smirked nastily. "Did he tell you they still cared? Because they won't. Not when they get to see what you're really like now. Sure, you saved them a couple of times, and they like that, but once they see what you're like now, what you're really like, they'll want to get rid of you."

"Then why do you want me to stay, Crowley?" the younger demon growled. "For protection? To use me? Because that's all I've ever been to you. A weapon, a tool. You tricked me into becoming what I am now, and you've been using me since you met me. At least they actually care about me."

"They don't," Crowley snarled. "No one can truly care about a monster like you. You'll just get them killed. Or worse, you'll slip up and kill them yourself, just like Cain. That's what you are, Dean Winchester! Even if you try ignore it, you're a monster, just like Cain!"

Suddenly Crowley went flying backwards and crashed into the wall. He hit his head, and when his vision cleared, Dean was standing in the doorway with his bag.

"You're right," he said flatly. "I am a monster. I have been for a while, maybe my whole life. But they're the ones that have helped me in the past. Not you, Crowley. They're my real friends, not you. I don't know what you were to me, and I doubt you do either. But now? You're nothing."

And then Dean turned and left him hurting and alone.

Dean waited for regret or even a tiny bit of guilt, but felt nothing except for a tiny ray of hope that Sam had given him. Maybe there really was still something or worth left in him. Maybe he really could find satisfaction and happiness with them. Either way, he was going to try. Sure, he was a demon, but what did that really mean? Where did it state that demons had to be all bad? They made their own choices to make them who they were, just like humans, and right now he was choosing them. Sam and Julie and Cas. The people who cared about him, people _he _cared about.

Damn, it felt good to admit that!

Dean kept walking through the dark streets of the town where he and Crowley had been staying. He was looking for a dark side alley he could duck into and disappear without being noticed. Finally, he noticed one, and he was about to walk into the shadows and teleport to the bunker when two men walked out of the alley and pulled out angel blades.

Demons. Great. He had no idea how they'd found him, but he hadn't been concerned about hiding either. Oh well. He could just kill them as easily he had every other demon he'd crossed paths and go to Sam and Julie and Cas.

And then a gunshot went off. Dean cried out in pain as he was hit in the shoulder from behind. He clutched at his wounded shoulder and tried to turn to see who was firing on him, but he couldn't move.

Devil's trap bullet. This couldn't be happening. Not to him. Not now.

And then, somehow, it got worse. A familiar voice chuckled as an attractive young man in all black walked into Dean's line of vision, fingering the pistol full of devil's trap bullets as he spoke. He grinned at the trapped, wounded Knight of Hell in front of him and then fired his gun again.

Dean groaned through gritted teeth as the bullet went into his leg just above his left kneecap. He glared up at the Knight of Hell in front of him and tried to move to reach for the First Blade, but he was effectively trapped.

The demon slowly approached Dean and pressed the pistol against his forehead. Dean waited for his brains to get blown out of him, knowing that even that wouldn't kill him. God, this was going to be horrible!

The Knight of Hell slipped his hand into Dean's jacket and pulled out the First Blade. He turned Dean's Blade over in his hands, grinning. Then he tossed the Blade to one of his underlings.

"This is going to be so much fun," Beelzebub chuckled as he looked at the now powerless Knight of Hell before him. And then he struck Dean across the head with his pistol as hard as he could, and everything went dark.


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter Forty-Four**

"Who wants coffee?" Julie sighed, walking over to the table with the coffee pot.

Sam and Cas were both too brain-dead to reply, so she went ahead and poured them both coffee. Cas made a face as he took a sip. "That is very bitter," he informed her.

"But you're awake now, aren't you?" Julie smirked, but there was no real humor in her voice or expression.

The three of them had been sitting around the bunker for several hours, feeling useless. They had watched the sun rise, eaten breakfast, played a little cards, talked about how the restoration of heaven was going, but nothing much had been accomplished. Really, they were just waiting and hoping for Dean to come.

Sam had seemed almost hopeful when he came to the bunker with Cas, after his conversation with Dean. He, at least, believed that there was hope for Dean's return. Julie wanted to believe that there was, but with every passing minute it was becoming less and less likely.

Sam must have noticed something bothering her, because he reached out and squeezed her hand for a moment. "It'll be okay," he assured her. "If Dean comes back, great. If not…well, we'll keep looking for a way to cure him, and once we find it, we'll save him, whether he wants to be saved of not."

Julie smiled slightly, but it was forced. She was just trying to please Sam. She hoped he was right. God, did she hope he was right. But nothing in their lives ever seemed that easy!

For the next couple of minutes, the two hunters and angel sat at the large table in the main hall of the bunker, sipping coffee in silence. A few books of lore were waiting to be gone through on the table, but they had read almost anything that could possibly be of any use to them. No one had ever cured a Knight of Hell. No one knew if it was even possible!

After a while, Julie excused herself and went to walk around the bunker. She loved the both of them, but she could not bear another second of sitting there in silence pretending that everything was okay. Julie wandered through the various rooms of the bunker, trying to focus on keeping moving and not think. Just walk around. Look at all of those interest books, study this ancient tech that somehow still worked today. Don't think about the fact that the man you love is a demon, walking around out there, probably having sex with other women or killing people…

Julie must have really lost all sense of where she was, because she found herself wandering into a room she had purposefully avoided for nearly five months. The room was very familiar to her, a place she had lived for months. Unfortunately, it was also the place where _he _had lived…

When she had taken her stuff out of her and Dean's old room, she had left all of his personal belongings, and anything too painful to keep in her new room. But now that she was in here, looking at a couple beer bottles and the gun he had left on the dresser nearly five months ago…suddenly she couldn't leave.

Julie slowly walked further into her old bedroom and looked around. One of Dean's old battered brown jackets was slung over one of the bedposts, and the bed wasn't even made. God. Five months that bed had been unmade. Five months that holy water had sat untouched next to the bed. Five months those bottles had sat there, and one of them still had a bit of beer left in it. _Five damn months _it had been since she had sat in here with him, five months since she had gotten the chance to fall asleep in his arms or wake up next to him, five months since she had seen a real smile on Dean's lips or the old light in his eyes.

Trying to ignore the tears beginning to sting her eyes, Julie continued to look around. She tried to find something that didn't fill her with the intense longing and pain she felt, thinking of the way things had once been, when Dean was human. Instead, her eyes landed on the bedside table, where Dean had always insisted on keeping a few pictures. He wasn't a very sentimental guy, but he had always kept a few pictures of loved ones by his bed or tucked away in the Impala's glove compartment.

And now Julie found herself staring at painful pictures. A handsome, dark-haired man and a pretty blond woman, both looking to be in their late twenties, arms around each other, with a baby in the woman's arms and a floppy-haired toddler clinging to his father's hand. John, Mary, Sam, and Dean Winchester. The family was all smiling up at the camera, even baby Sammy. There was a picture next to it, taken many years later, of a bearded, older man in a baseball cap, with two tall, handsome young men on either side of him. Sam and Dean, several years younger than when she had met them, both smiling. The older man in-between them, Bobby Singer, was squinting at the camera in an irritated way, but there was an unmistakable smile twitching at the corners of his lips.

Then there was a picture of two men she knew very well, ten years younger than now. Sam looked much younger, and his hair was shorter, brown bangs falling into his eyes as he tried to push his brother away. Dean was obviously taking the picture, holding his younger brother in place while he snapped a photo, grinning. The lines were gone from his face, and there was a more mischievous light in his eyes than when Julie had known him, but that was her Dean.

And then there actually was her Dean. The most recent of the four photos, a picture of Dean and Julie. He was taking the picture, and he had his other arm around her waist, holding her close. Julie was leaning into him, her head resting on his shoulder, and they were both smiling, although their eyes were on each other and not the camera. Julie had always loved that photo, even though her hair was a bit of a mess, and she hated seeing herself in photos, because Dean looked so honestly happy as he stared at her. He looked at her like a young Thomas Carters had beamed at his wife, Katrina, in the photo Julie always kept with her of her parents, taken less than a year before her mother was killed.

She was crying. Dammit, why was she crying? Why was it that she seemed to be able to do nothing but cry anymore?! She had cried more in the past five months than she had when her father died or any other time in her life. It was humiliating. She was twenty-eight. She had survived ten years of hell. She was a hunter, and hunters did not just mope around, crying over boyfriends who died and turned into demons. They _did _something about it!

Julie marched out of the room a couple minutes later, and you could barely tell she'd been crying. She walked through the bunker for a while longer, but she wasn't wandering aimlessly anymore. She was looking around for some book or some clue they had missed. There had to be something, some way to get Dean back!

Julie was walking past the door to the bunker, on her way back to Sam and Cas, when she heard a knock on the door. She frowned and found the angel blade tucked into her jacket before approaching the door. Whoever it was knocked again, a lazy knock. Who the hell would come knocking to the Men of Letters bunker anyway?

Well, she could think of one person. Or rather, one demon. But Julie refused to let herself hope as she warily opened the door. And then she forgot how to breathe.

There was a long moment, and then she finally choked out, "Dean?"

* * *

**Five Hours Earlier…**

Dean woke up roaring in pain.

"Son of a bitch!" he growled, spitting burning water out of his mouth. Of course, the water wasn't actually burning, but a face-full of holy water sure did hurt like hell. He tried to move his hands to wipe his face free, and found himself held up in a standing position by chains that held his wrists up. Great. At least he was no longer trapped in place by the devil's trap bullets, and they must have been removed from his body by someone else while he was unconscious.

"Well, somebody's awake," a familiar voice laughed, and Dean opened his eyes and saw the sexy blond Apollyon was possessing smirking at him from a few feet away.

Dean forced a smirk. "Yep. I'm sure you missed me. But you should know, sweetheart…just because you want to sleep with a guy, you can't just kidnap him."

Apollyon giggled. "Oh, I wish I got to sleep with you. Not yet, I'm afraid. And I'm not actually the one responsible for kidnapping you—that would be him."

She nodded towards Beelzebub, who stood next to his monstrous brother, Behemoth, setting down a bucket that had once held the holy water he had just splashed on Dean. "Right," Dean sighed. "Well, Beelzebub, buddy, same goes for you. Just because you think a guy's hot and you want to bang him…"

Beelzebub chuckled. "Good one, Dean. However, as much as I would like to keep making jokes, I did not 'kidnap you' just to chat."

"They never do," Dean sighed, glancing around the room. It was dimly lit, and there only seemed to be one door, which had about eight locks on it. There was a rather alarming array of knives, needles, and other, much more disturbing torture weapons lined up on a nearby table, and Dean was standing over a grate. He was sure his blood would soon be flowing into that grate, but there was nothing they could do to him to kill him.

Suddenly, Dean wasn't so sure that was such a good thing.

"I want him first," Behemoth said greedily, his eyes flashing. "He is strong, brother. When I fought him at the hotel, he proved a formidable opponent."

"I would have killed you, Behemoth, but I was holding back," Dean shrugged. "See, I'm a lover, not a fighter." He added a quick wink towards Apollyon, who smirked. Sure, the demon was dangerous and tried to kill her. But he was funny, and really freaking hot!

"You won't be fighting him, Behemoth," Beelzebub sighed. "Nor will you be torturing him. In fact, none of us will."

"Bummer," Dean said flatly. "But then, if that's the case, I'm not sure exactly why you brought me here and trussed me up, Beelzebub."

"Well, Dean, I had high hopes for you," the king of the Knights sighed. "When I first heard about you, I began my plan to make you a demon. Trick you into using the First Blade again, get you to kill more and more monsters and demons until eventually you either killed something so powerful, like Cain, that there was no going back, or until I could torture you until you broke. Then I would kill you, and your Mark would bring you back a Knight of Hell."

"Well, congrats," the newest Knight smirked. He was surprisingly cocky for someone chained up and pretty much powerless. "That plan worked. Yet I get the feeling the results weren't quite what you hoped."

"Well, I had forgotten how stubborn and strong-willed you were, Dean," Beelzebub sighed. "Of course you'd rather run off with Crowley and be free to do whatever you wanted than work with your fellow Knights. And then when I sent some of my demons to find you, you killed them! Every single one I sent died! Now, how do you think that made me feel?"

"Well, to be fair, you sending hitmen to try to kill me or take me in didn't feel too great either."

"Still, I knew if I could just talk to you, there was hope," Beelzebub went on as if Dean hadn't spoken. "So when you called my brother and sister, I thought we may finally have come to a truce. But then you killed my most pathetic sibling, tried to kill the others, and I find out you're working with your pet humans and angel again?"

Dean kept his face carefully guarded as he tried not to think about Sam and Julie and Cas. He had been on his way to be reunited with them, and now he'd probably never see them again. They'd never even know that he had realized he wasn't all bad and that he'd wanted to go back to them. They would think he had just disappeared…

"Well, then I knew," the king of the Knights sighed. "They had weakened you, Dean, made you go soft. If you hadn't, though, I would never have been able to catch you. I made sure you caught one of my weaker demons, and I made sure he knew of my plans to attack Juliet's little family. Then you would come blundering along and save them, and one of my demons could manage to use a tracking spell on you before they were slaughtered. Then I was able to find you and bring you here."

"Great plan," Dean snapped, hating himself for being so stupid and easily manipulated. The last time this demon had been able to play him like that…well, he had been human. "Now what?"

"Now I have to deal with this unfortunate issue of you going soft," Beelzebub sighed, picking up a large syringe from the table. "You were meant to be my greatest weapon, Dean Winchester. An indestructible Knight of Hell. But now, all you seem to do is get in my way. And all because they wormed their way into your head, Sam with those puppy dog eyes and Juliet with that pretty face and that sweet body…"

Beelzebub chuckled nastily, and Dean had to resist the urge to lunge towards the demon in front of him for what he had once done to her body, in hell and then on earth even. He had been as powerless then as he was now.

Beelzebub suddenly pushed the needle into his wrist and pressed down, watching the syringe slowly fill with dark red liquid. "So I had to find a way to break their spell, to turn you into the monster you were meant to be," the Knight continued calmly, removing the needle from his wrist once the syringe was full of blood. "And I think I've found it."

Dean watched warily as Beelzebub approached him. "I'm sure you remember when you and your brother came across the cure for a demon? I do believe, if I heard correctly, you tried to cure Crowley? Well, obviously, it wouldn't work on a Knight. No, there's nothing that can 'cure' a Knight of Hell but another Knight. But the blood of a Knight of Hell will do the opposite."

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Dean snapped defensively as Beelzebub stepped too close and grabbed his hair. The demon forced his head to the side and before Dean could try to fight him off, the demon plunged the needle of the syringe into his neck and pressed down, forcing his own blood into Dean's system.

Behemoth and Apollyon both watched with eager fascination as the young Knight of Hell groaned through gritted teeth and his eyes flickered black for a moment against his will. "How do you feel, Dean?" Beelzebub asked politely after a moment.

"Like if you do that again, I will peel the flesh off your bones bit by bit, cook it, and make you eat it," Dean Winchester growled suddenly.

Apollyon giggled. "God, he's hot when he's evil."

"Quiet, slut," Behemoth snapped, stepping forward. "I want to go next, brother!"

"Be my guest," Beelzebub smirked, handing the monstrous demon the syringe. While Behemoth clumsily filled it with his blood, Beelzebub spoke to Dean. "See, anything that gets demon blood in its system is inherently more evil. You should know that, what with Sammy's past. But the blood of a Knight of Hell! Well…you get enough of that in your system, and there's no going back."

"I _am_ a Knight of Hell," Dean growled.

"You're practically a baby!" Apollyon laughed. "We're talking real evil here, gorgeous."

Behemoth had finally gotten the syringe full of his blood, and he plunged it into the side of Dean's neck, pushing the trigger down and forcing the blood into his system. A demonic growling noise tore out of Dean's throat as the blood entered his system. It was a curious sensation, feeling the blood seep through him, clouding his mind with darkness and weighing him down. At first it burned…and then it began to feel so, so good…

Behemoth chuckled stupidly as he eyed Dean. "Is it working, Beelzebub?" the Knight asked after a moment.

"Hard to tell," the king of the Knights said. "Guess we'll just have to keep going." He swiped the syringe from Behemoth and held it out to Apollyon. "Would you like a turn, sister?"

She ignored the syringe and picked up a dainty silver blade from the table. She slowly made a thin cut along her wrist and then held her bloody wrist to her mouth, drinking a bit of her own blood until her lips were covered in the dark red liquid. Behemoth frowned stupidly, unsure how this could possibly help, but Beelzebub smirked at his sister's touch.

"You're kidding," Dean sighed as Apollyon approached him and grabbed his face in her hands.

In answer, Apollyon kissed Dean. And she didn't just kiss him. She forced his mouth open and bit at his lips, ignoring his attempts to break free of her. When she finally pulled away, her blood was smeared on his mouth, and he had been unable to avoid swallowing a little.

She laughed. "That was fun, wasn't it, Dean? Care to try again?"

Instead of replying, he spat a little bit of her blood into her face.

Apollyon wiped her face clean and then nodded towards Behemoth. The monstrous demon stepped forward and grabbed Dean's head in his hands. He tilted Dean's head back and forced his mouth open, while Apollyon widened the cut on her wrist until blood was pouring from it.

She held her wrist out over Dean's mouth, and he was unable to fight off the immensely powerful Behemoth. Demon blood, hot and thick and disgusting poured into his mouth, and he choked and spluttered, but he had no choice but to swallow.

It went on like this for hours. The demons took turns forcing him to drink their blood or pumping it into his neck or wrists. Every once in a while, they'd take a break from their transfusions to tear into him for a while, allowing Behemoth to pummel him until he was black and blue, or letting Apollyon cut him up with her little silver knife. Beelzebub only watched, smiling, as over time, the young Knight resisted less and less, and his eyes grew darker and darker, until finally he wasn't being forced to drink their blood anymore. He was choosing to. He w_anted _this.

And that was when Beelzebub knew his plans were finally working.

Apollyon's vessel had lost so much blood that it would have died if the woman she was riding hadn't already died two weeks ago. Dean had been infused with blood from all three Knights, but he seemed to enjoy drinking Apollyon's the most. Beelzebub watched with a sick fascination as Dean Winchester drank deeply from Apollyon's wrist while she stroked his hair, smirking proudly, as if it was her that had conquered him and not her blood.

Dean stopped drinking her blood and sighed, satisfied. "I have to admit, I can see what Sammy liked about drinking demon blood. There's something about the _power _it gives you…"

"Your brother never drank the blood of a Knight," Beelzebub pointed out. "Otherwise, there would have been no way for you to save him. He would be gone, just like you are now."

Dean grinned in response, and his teeth were stained red.

"Free him," Beelzebub ordered Behemoth, and his brother stepped forward with a key and unlocked the chains holding Dean in place. The various wounds they had inflicted on him had healed quickly, and as he stood up on his own and rubbed some life back into his wrists, the Knight of Hell looked pretty good for what he had just gone through. Especially after he wiped the blood from his mouth. He looked…stronger, somehow.

"Dean Winchester, you are now officially a Knight of Hell," Beelzebub smirked.

"Is there an actual knighting ceremony?" the former hunter smirked.

"Well, you get that back, so that's something." Beelzebub gestured for Behemoth to give Dean the First Blade, and he obeyed.

Dean turned the ancient Blade over in his hands, smiling slightly as he studied it. Then his eyes turned entirely black and he smirked up at the three Knights before him.

"That was a really dumb move," he informed them.

He lunged forward so quickly Beelzebub barely saw it, and he plunged the First Blade into massive Behemoth's heart. The demon roared in agony as his insides glowed with fire, and the Knight of Hell collapsed, dead.

Apollyon and Beelzebub gaped at Dean, too dumb-founded to comprehend what had happened. "Did you really think you could control me?" Dean chuckled, testing the weight of the Blade in his hands. "I mean, I do have to thank you for saving me. I would have gone back to those humans and pretended to be one of them if you three hadn't given me your blood. And congrats, Beelzebub! I'm full evil, just like you planned. But I'm still Dean Winchester, and if you really thought you could control me, you're even more of a dumbass than I thought."

Apollyon was the smarter of the two Knights in that moment, and she vanished as soon as Dean took a step towards them. Beelzebub hesitated for half a second, hating to run when the culmination of his plans stood before him. But to stay here was suicide, and so he teleported to safety as well.

Dean shook his head, smirking. He didn't care that they had gotten away. Behemoth was dead, and they would soon join him. But right now he had a couple other people in mind that he really wanted to talk to right now. Talk to, torture to death…what was the difference?

Dean stretched his arms, enjoying the new strength inside of him. And now, finally it was gone. All the doubt, the concern, the annoying nagging voice in the back of his head saying he shouldn't kill this person or betray this one. No more pain, no more guilt. Only him doing whatever he wanted to whoever he wanted.

And right now, he wanted to do whatever he wanted to Julie Carters and Sam Winchester.

* * *

**One Hour Later…**

"Can I come in?" Dean asked Julie. He kept glancing behind him like something was following him.

Julie finally snapped out of her shock at seeing him there and quickly said, "Yeah, of course!" The demon stepped inside the bunker. The magic of the bunker prevented any and all supernatural creatures from entering unless they had permission, which allowed Cas and other allies to come and go as they pleased, but kept out enemies.

"Is something wrong?" Julie frowned when she noticed that he was still fidgeting even after she closed the door.

"I had a few demons on my tail," Dean explained. "I think the Knights must have known that I was planning on joining you three, because they've been attacking me non-stop."

"Wait…you're joining us?" she asked carefully, daring to hope.

Dean looked down for her, and the demon's face softened slightly. He smiled a tiny bit and nodded. "If you'll have me, I…I'd like to come back. I'm tired of being separated from you three, and I know you sure could use an invincible Knight of Hell on your side."

Julie couldn't stop herself from smiling a little. She felt like singing. He had come back. He was really back! Sam must have been able to get through to his brother, because here he was, asking to come back into Julie's and Sam's and Cas's lives.

"Of course we'll have you," she got out after a moment. "I just…I can't believe you're really here."

"Yeah, well, I had to come to my senses eventually," Dean shrugged. "Crowley's way of life wasn't doing me much good. Time to try something new, I guess."

"Well, I'm glad you chose to try this and not join the Knights or something," Julie muttered.

Dean laughed. "Yeah, that would be crazy."

There was a beat. "I should go let Sam and Cas know you're here!" Julie realized. She turned to head back to the main hall, but then someone grabbed her arm.

"Wait," Dean said softly. "Couldn't we just…wouldn't you rather we get some alone time first?"

Julie frowned. She wasn't expecting this. "What…what do you mean?"

"I know you love me," the demon whispered, stepping closer to her. "I know you want me. And I want you, Julie, I want you _bad_. Let's forget about them. Let's run off, just you and me, sweetheart."

His grip on her arm was becoming too tight, and she tried to pull free. "Dean, what the hell? No! I'm not leaving them."

"Not even for me?" he asked teasingly.

"Get off me," she snapped, trying again to get free of his grasp.

"I don't think I will," Dean said with a smirk, and for the first time she noticed that something seemed very wrong with him. He had the presence of pure evil that all the other Knights of Hell had, something he had never really had before. Something about him had changed, and not for the better, like she had thought.

Julie suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs, "Sam, help-" She barely got out those two words before Dean backhanded her hard, causing her ears to ring and momentarily stunning her. Then he slammed her into the wall and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Keep your mouth shut, bitch," he growled, his eyes going completely black. For a second, Julie just stared up at him, terrified, but then his eyes went back to green, and he smiled at her. It wasn't a real smile, and it made her skin crawl.

"Sorry about that," he apologized. "I'm just not used to you behaving like such an idiot. If you knew what was good for you, you would do whatever I want you to. That is, if you want to live."

He smirked, amused at the terror in her eyes. With the hand not clamped over Julie's mouth, he stroked her hair. "I wasn't lying, you know, about wanting you. I want you, Juliet, and if you don't give me what I want, I might just take it." He stroked the side of her face, and then his fingers trailed down her neck, then lower, towards her breast. It was Dean touching her, and she had always enjoyed that, but this thing in front of her was a monster. There was nothing left of Dean inside him; that was becoming clear.

All of the sudden, there was a blinding white light and Dean collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Julie found herself staring, wide-eyed and trembling, up at Sam and Castiel. They both stared at the fallen demon who had been tormenting her, looking angry and confused.

Sam moved first. He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Julie. "Are you okay?" he asked her. "Did he hurt you?"

"No, no he didn't…" Julie got out, even as tears rushed to her eyes. She clung tightly to Sam, afraid to let go and think about the monster lying at her feet.

"What happened to him, Cas?" Sam asked. "I thought he was getting better!"

"His soul has been corrupted even further," the angel said gravely, as if each word pained him. "And by Knights of Hell by the look of it. They must have captured him and done something to him to make him like this."

"Like what?" Sam cried angrily. "What happened, Cas? What could make him do this?"

"I don't know what they did," Castiel admitted softly. "But…he's gone. All traces of something human left in him, everything that made him Dean…it's all gone."

* * *

Sam turned the syringe over and over in his hand nervously, trying to focus on that and not the unconscious man a few feet away. If you could even call him a man anymore. Cas and Julie had both assured him that there was nothing left of his brother inside the thing strapped into a chair in front of him, but Sam was having a hard time really believing it. The last time he had spoken to Dean, there had seemed to be something almost human in him, and it had filled Sam with hope.

But then Dean came to the bunker, not to rejoin them, but apparently to try to rape Julie and eventually surely try to kill the two hunters and angel inside. Sam was just grateful that Julie had managed to scream for help and that he and Castiel had been able to come to her rescue in time. He shuddered to think of what that demon might have done to Julie if they hadn't gotten there in time…

Sam looked up as someone entered the cell where Dean was being held. He nodded slightly as Cas as he approached, but he was more focused on Julie, who stood in the doorway uncertainly. He had been very worried about her. Ever since they managed to stop Dean and save her, Julie had been quiet, speaking only to tell them what had happened. She was pale and almost seemed like she was in shock. And who could blame her, after what had happened?

After a moment's hesitation, Julie decided not to come into the room and instead hovered nervously just outside. Cas reached Sam and handed him a gallon jug full of a dark red liquid that sloshed around as he walked.

"The blood of a human, blessed by a priest," the angel sighed. "Don't ask me how I got that."

Sam nodded gratefully at his friend, glad he wouldn't have to repeat the disastrous attempt to cure a demon with his own blood that had nearly killed him a couple years ago. Granted, then he had already been dying because of the trials, but he still would much rather use this easier way to cure a demon.

The question was, could this really cure a Knight of Hell?

"Do you think it'll be enough?" Sam asked the angel uncertainly, even as he filled the syringe with the blessed blood.

"I personally don't, but kudos to you boys for trying."

Sam whirled around and saw that Dean was no longer unconscious. His eyes were open and he was grinning cockily at them. He tried to move his arms, but they, like his legs, were securely chained down by demon-proof chains. He was sitting in the center of a devil's trap, just to be safe.

"Are you going to come in or just keep standing there in the doorway, sweetheart?" the Knight of Hell called to Julie. She winced slightly as he stared at her. "Oh, come on," he chuckled. "You're not really scared of me, are you? You know, that really hurts a demon's feelings."

"Leave her alone," Sam snapped, trying to get the demon's attention on him and not Julie. She was already shaken up enough as it was.

Dean smirked. "You know, I was really stupid earlier. I actually believed you when you said there was nothing going on between you and her. But look at you, Sammy, being all protective of your girlfriend. It's cute."

"Shut up," Sam growled. For some reason, everything this demon was saying was pissing him off. Probably because this demon used to be his brother, and knew exactly what buttons to push to drive Sam over the edge.

"That's not very nice," the Knight of Hell scolded, far too calm and cocky for someone trapped and chained up. "You should have some respect for your big brother."

"You're not my brother," Sam said flatly.

"You wish that was true. But the truth is, I'm all that's left of your precious brother. And I'm glad it's you that's got me captured and not the other Knights again. Because I know you're too weak to hurt me, aren't you, Sammy?"

"We will not hesitate to do what is necessary to save you, Dean," Cas said firmly.

Dean smirked. "Can't save me, Cas, old pal. At least, not by your definition. Truth is, I've already been saved! Say what you will about the Knights of Hell, but they gave me a gift. They finally got rid of everything human in me, and I'm up so high I'm never coming down."

"We'll see about that," Sam muttered, and before the demon could keep on talking in that smug, infuriating way, he stepped forward and drove the syringe into his brother's neck, forcing the purified blood into his brother's system.

But Dean did not react like Crowley had, or any other demon should have. Besides wincing slightly when the needle broke his skin, the Knight didn't react at all.

Sam pulled the syringe away once it was empty and stared at Dean, waiting for some reaction. The demon shrugged. "Sorry, Sammy. What did I tell you? It just won't work on me."

The hunter had no response. This had been his fear, that the cure would do nothing, and now it seemed to be happening. "Did it do anything, Cas?" Sam asked the angel uncertainly, hoping that Dean was just masking the affects.

"Does it look like it did anything?" Dean smirked, flashing his eyes black. Man, did he love to do that.

"I'm sorry, Sam," Cas said in a heartbreaking voice as he stared at the demon before him. "I'm afraid that this cure won't do anything to a Knight of Hell."

"What did I tell you, kids?" Dean smirked. "There's nothing you can do to 'save' me. So I suggest you let me go now, and I _might _consider sparing you." Then all humor dropped and his voice grew dark and cold. "Otherwise, I promise you, I _will _get out of here. And once I do, I'll hunt down each of you one by one and I will strip the skin from your bones and paint this bunker with your entrails, and I will do it with a smile on my face."

Julie turned away from the horrible scene before her and left. She felt like she was going to be sick, seeing what the man she loved had become. Nothing with even a hint of Dean left in it would talk about brutally murdering Sam, Cas, and Julie with a smile on its face like he just had.

She had known. She had known that he was gone when he pinned her against the wall and threatened her, with the intention of doing God knows what. She had known that there was probably no way to save him, but to have seen actual proof…it was the worst thing imaginable. It broke her.

She waited for the tears to come yet again. It seemed like all she did now was cry, and now that she knew Dean couldn't be saved, she had more than enough reason to cry. But the tears never came. She felt empty and hollow inside, her will to do anything, even cry, gone now that Dean was.

But there was something else too. Julie knew that she could not go on while Dean was a demon. If there was anything in her power that she could do to get him back, she would do it. And she knew there was nothing in the lore, no book that held the cure. The truth was, there was no cure. They all knew it, but refused to admit it.

Except…maybe there was. She and Sam had avoided the subject because it was out of the question, a last resort that probably wouldn't work even if they did try it. It was stupid, risky, and suicidal, quite literally. They had learned the hard way never to resort to this.

And yet…somehow Julie knew she had to try. Now, while Sam and Cas were busy dealing with the demonic monster Dean Winchester had become. Otherwise, Sam would notice her disappearance and send Cas to stop her.

But she couldn't be stopped. This was about the last thing in the world that Julie wanted to do. The only thing that she hated more than the thought of what she was about to do was the thought that never again would Dean Winchester smile at Cas or joke with his brother or hold her in his arms. Never again would Dean deny that he was good, even though he was the greatest man in the world. And Julie didn't want to live in a world where Dean had become the thing he feared most. She couldn't live in a world without the real Dean Winchester. She just couldn't anymore. No matter what it took.

So, filled with a resolve and purpose she hadn't felt in five months, Julie gathered her supplies and set out for the nearest crossroad.


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter Forty-Five**

Julie hugged herself to try to keep warm as a cold breeze chilled her to the bone and blew her hair into her face. She had been standing here waiting for over a minute, and not one demon had the decency to show up, but instead left her standing alone in the dark and cold, stuck with the memory of Dean snarling threats with his black eyes.

This was just the kind of dick move a demon would pull, leaving her alone with her thoughts to freeze. And to top it off, it began to drizzle. Great. If a demon didn't show in another thirty seconds, she was going to bail.

"Come on already!" Julie screamed suddenly with an anger that surprised herself. "One of you sick sons of bitches show your face! I know you're just waiting for me to show."

"Somebody's upset," a low, smooth attractive voice purred from a few feet away. Julie's blood ran cold as she recognized that voice, and memories of agonizing years in hell suddenly rushed her.

She whirled around and found herself staring at Beelzebub, standing there tall and handsome in his dark suit, somehow untouched by the light rain.

Beelzebub. He was here, and she had no protection other than an angel blade. She really hadn't thought this through, had she? That in summoning a demon, she was sending up a flare telling the Knights exactly where to find her?! She had been hoping for Crowley, who might be a little sympathetic, or for some pushover demon she could get to agree to a deal. But this demon would probably just kill her before she could even try to make a deal. She scrambled back and pulled out her blade, but in her heart, she knew she was already dead.

"Oh, calm down, darling," the Knight of Hell sighed. "I'm not here to hurt you. You summoned a demon to make a deal, and that's why I'm here. I wouldn't _dream _of hurting you. Again."

Julie frowned, but he wasn't moving to attack her, so maybe he was telling the truth. Either way, he had her right where he wanted, didn't he? Willing to sell her soul and return to hell just for one little favor.

"You shouldn't worry like this, Juliet," he advised her. "You'll wrinkle prematurely, and we wouldn't want to ruin a pretty face like yours, now would we?"

She ignored his banter and cut to the chase. "Fix him," she snapped. "I know you can. Fix Dean. Take away the Mark, make him human again."

"Sorry, sweetheart," Beelzebub said, shrugging. "Even I can't do that."

"You're lying," Julie guessed.

"You're right," he grinned, and she blinked, a little surprised. "I can save your boyfriend. I can take everything demonic out of him, remove the Mark of Cain and the First Blade as well and leave him human and alive once more." Julie felt hope begin to bloom in her chest, and then he crushed it. "But I won't."

"What?"

"Why should I? What could you possibly offer me that's more appealing than Dean Winchester a twisted, murderous demon—his worst fear?"

"And your worst enemy," Julie countered. "He's already killed two of you Knights, and that's not counting Cain and Abbadon. He'll come for you and your siblings next."

"But that's long after he's tortured you and dear Sam and Castiel to death, and I at least want to see that first," the Knight smirked. "So I repeat—what can you give me that's worth more than watching that happen?"

Julie swallowed and looked down. He was just toying with her. He knew what she was offering just because she had summoned a demon here, but he wanted to force her to say it.

However, the words caught in her throat as she tried to force them out. For a moment, all she could see was Dean's expression as he held her and begged her to stay with him as a hex bag tried to take her life. All she could see was the panic and fear in his wide green eyes as he stared down at her. She hadn't even died then, but the experience of almost losing her had been horrific for him. Imagine if she did this and she really left him.

But she didn't have a choice. It was either this or let him go on being a monster, and she could not do that any longer.

_I'm sorry, Dean, _Julie thought as she said calmly and coolly, "My soul."

Instead of causing fear to course through her like she expected, those words made her stand taller and stronger. As hellish (literally) as this was going to be, as awful as the act she was committing was, it felt good to finally be doing something useful to help save Dean.

Beelzebub grinned a shark's grin. "Now we're talking," he chuckled. He slowly began to circle nearer and nearer to her as she spoke, but Julie somehow knew he wouldn't kill her. He had better things to do with her.

"That's quite a price you're willing to pay," he commented, watching her, waiting for her to break.

"I will do anything," Julie said flatly. "Just fix him."

"Anything?" the king of the Knights repeated. "Would you kill that pretty cousin of yours you've got hidden away? Or your beloved uncle? What about the angel, Castiel? Or precious Sam?" His eyes glittered with malice.

Julie glared at him, refusing to reply. But they both knew the answer. "So…not anything," he smirked after a moment. "But you would give up your soul and spend all of eternity back in hell with me and my toys for some pretty boy hunter?"

"Without hesitation," she said coldly, and she meant it. She knew exactly what hell entailed, every horrific detail, and she was willing to go back, even though the mere thought of it paralyzed her and filled her head with nightmares, if it meant that Dean became Dean again.

This time, Beelzebub's grin reminded her more of a cat as it watched its prey, prepared to pounce. "You and your precious Winchesters. I swear you walked out of some fairy tale. The tragic, tortured heroes and their fair maiden who would do anything for love." He smirked. "It's beautiful…and pathetic."

"Fair maiden, my ass," Julie snapped. "If I didn't need your services I would hack you up into pieces right now and bury you all over the country with a smile on my face."

The demon just laughed. "And there's the fire I so enjoy. The fire that kept you going for ten years in hell. But how long can you keep going this time around. How long before you give in and become the very thing you're saving your boyfriend from now?"

"Do we have a deal or not?" Julie snapped, refusing to acknowledge the very excellent point he had made. "Sam and Cas are going to realize I'm missing any minute, so let's get to the point."

"Oh, they don't know you came here to sacrifice your soul to save him?" Beelzebub laughed. "How romantic."

Julie glared at him in silence, ignoring the cold rain that was slowly soaking her hair and face and seeping through her clothes. The demon composed himself and smirked. "I do believe we have a deal," he said smoothly. "I will save Romeo from his demonic fate and return him exactly the way he was before the Mark, and in exchange, you, Juliet, will give me your soul."

"Deal!" Julie said quickly before he could change his mind. "Alright. Let's get this over with, and then I'll see you in ten years."

Beelzebub threw back his head and laughed. His dark eyes landed on her, dancing with cruel amusement. "You flatter yourself, darling. You don't get ten years. You don't get _five_!"

"Fine. Four years."

"Guess again."

"Three. That's the lowest I'm going."

"Liar," the demon said slowly, smirking. "You'd die today if it meant saving him."

Julie tried to ignore what he said, even though she knew it was true. "Fine. One year, and then you can have me," she got out, a little part of her that had dared to hope for some time with Dean dying.

Beelzebub smiled slightly and took a step towards her, surely to kiss her and seal the deal. He got very close to her, and then he said sweetly and calmly, "No."

"What?" Julie asked, surprised.

"You overestimate your worth to me," he explained airily. "If I wanted to take you now, I could, and you couldn't stop me. Luckily for you, Dean Winchester as a demon has been nothing but a thorn in my side. I can't kill him, and yet I've now made him even more powerful, thinking that he would join me. It was a foolish mistake, but I won't make it again. I am more than happy to remove that demonic part of him and leave him an easily breakable human, but I need the power of a soul to do that, so yours will have to do."

Julie knew then that this was a huge mistake. Beelzebub wanted this. She wasn't costing him anything—in fact, she was giving him what he wanted!

The demon eyed her, smiling nastily. "And as for you, well…I miss having my favorite pet in hell, that's true. I could just take you downstairs now, but your real worth to me is the irreparable damage your loss will do to our dear Mr. Winchester. I want to give you enough time with him that your death will utterly destroy him, but I also don't want to wait too long to finally get my hands on you again. So you don't get a year."

Julie knew she should call off this deal. She had played into Beelzebub's hands. She was giving him exactly what she wanted, but to walk away now meant never saving Dean. He would go on as a monstrous Knight of Hell, and probably kill her and Sam and Cas and everyone else good. And she couldn't allow that.

So as much as she hated it, Julie finally got out, "Fine. How long do I get, then?"

"Six months."

Julie blanched. "No."

"Then enjoy chopping up that demon you've got locked away and hope that he doesn't find a way to get back, because you know Dean Winchester even better than I do," Beelzebub said coldly. "You know he'll escape, and then he will kill you and your precious Sam and Castiel, and he'll enjoy every second of it. You've got a ticking time bomb tied up in that bunker, and he will kill you without a second thought."

The Knight turned and began to walk away. Julie was a hardened hunter, and she knew what she should do. She should let the demon go, return to the bunker, and do her best to get rid of the vicious monster waiting there.

But in her mind's eye, she saw Dean's face, grinning at her as she laughed at one of his jokes. She saw him and Sam bickering, watched him kneel next to a small child and comfort them, watched him rush to Castiel's side to tend to his friend. She felt his gentle touch and she remembered the feeling of falling asleep next to that wonderful man. She heard him say in a trembling voice, "I love you."

And Julie said, "Wait."

Beelzebub turned slowly, grinning. "Do we have a deal?"

"You will not lay a hand on Sam, Cas, or Dean," she ordered. "You will make sure Sam and Cas do not see you or realize what you are doing, but you will not do anything to harm any of them. You will do it right now, not later, and you will restore Dean to his normal, human self with no Mark of Cain or anything demonic about him. Are we clear?"

"Don't hurt your boyfriend, or your bestie, or your pet angel," Beelzebub recited, rolling his eyes. "Fix precious Dean, but don't get seen. Got it."

Julie swallowed. Her heart was pounding. She was beginning to remember glimpses of hell: her voice cracking as she screamed in agony, every part of her on fire, her flesh tearing, bones breaking, the agonizing wails of the damned all around her. Fire, pain, blood everywhere, bone and skin torn and broken. Watching Sam and Dean die in horrific ways, seeing her family tortured to death, watching helplessly as Cas was murdered, hearing the man she loved calling her a bitch, getting ripped apart by those she loved. She wanted to curl up in the fetal position and sob and scream until she couldn't anymore. She couldn't go back, not ever.

And then she saw Dean laugh. His whole body shook with laughter, and his green eyes danced with light and happiness. Dean picked her up and kissed her, smelling of sweat and motor oil. Dean's body moved against hers. Julie screamed his name and sobbed as Sam held her back from his bloody, beaten corpse. His eyes flashed as black as night as he slammed her against the wall, about to hurt her.

No more. She was terrified at the thought of returning to hell, but she could not bear another second in a world where her Dean was gone, and only that monster lived on.

And without another word, Julie grabbed Beelzebub's face and kissed him. She thought only of Dean as she committed the act that would sell her soul. Dean. _I love him_, she thought. _I'll do anything for him, even this._

She fought back the repulsion and hatred she felt for this demon, as well as the fear and pain the very sight of him instilled in her, and just kissed him. She had only meant to kiss him briefly, just enough to seal the deal, but his arms went around her, holding her to him, and she could not get away. He pressed her back against a tree and kissed her too hard, her hands too grabby and rough. She fought and tried to pull away, but she couldn't. He just kept kissing her and kissing her.

Finally, he released her, and Julie scrambled away from the demon, wiping her mouth. The Knight just grinned at her. "Not bad," he smirked. "Dean's a lucky man. Well, for six more months at least. And then you're all mine." He winked, and as he did so, both eyes flashed entirely black.

"I'll see you soon, Jules," he said softly into the darkness, and then he was gone.

Julie stood alone in the dark, hugging herself, as the rain came down on her. She shuddered at the way he had called her Jules. He had called her Juliet so often that it hardly even bothered her anymore. But Jules, the pet name for her that only Dean used, coming out of _his _mouth…it unsettled her more than just about anything he could have called her.

It was a reminder that in six months, she would no longer be Dean's. She would belong to him, then.

Visions of hell flashed through her mind, interspersed with memories of Dean holding her and then their big fight where Dean told her to leave him so she would never get hurt again because of him. Well, look at her now. Selling her soul to save him, going to hell so that he could be human again. She remembered the way he had kissed her when she returned from the dead, and she remembered him later saying, "Never leave me again." And Julie remembered promising not.

Alone in the dark, she silently began to cry.

* * *

The second Dean woke up, he knew something was different.

He remembered everything that had happened. He had gone on antagonizing and threatening Sam and Castiel until Sam finally lost it and knocked him out just so he wouldn't have to hear the demon talk anymore. As Dean remembered the pain in his brother's expression and the way his cruel words had made Cas flinch, he felt guilty and sick to his stomach. God, he was such a monster!

Hold on. He felt…_guilt_?! Since when had he cared about hurting anyone? He was a demon? Right?

Dean looked around, confused, head spinning, and then he started noticing things. Like the chains that were binding him down, all unlocked, and the way someone had scraped away some of the paint on the floor, breaking the devil's trap. Had he done this unconsciously, so that he could get free and attack his three loved ones in the bunker?

He didn't think so. For one thing, he was pretty sure he'd remember doing that. And he didn't want to attack them anymore. When he thought of Sam and Cas, all he wanted to do to them was find them and apologize and beg for them to forgive all the horrific things he'd done. When he thought of Julie, he wanted to do the same things, but he also wanted to hold her and kiss her for hours, never letting her go.

What the hell?! These weren't a demon's thoughts. These were the thoughts that had filled his head as a human. These were human emotions he was feeling, guilt and pain and sorrow and love and longing…

And that's when Dean noticed his arm.

Dean was wearing a red, button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, partly because that was his style, and partly to show off the Mark of Cain. As a demon, he had been proud of that thing. And now…it was gone.

He stared at his arm in disbelief, and then ran a hand over the now-smooth skin of his forearm. This wasn't possible! There was no way to get rid of the Mark of Cain, right? Only an extremely powerful force could do that, and even then, they would have to transfer it to someone else, because someone always had to bear the Mark.

After a moment, Dean decided not to worry about how the Mark was gone and how he was human, because he was now certain that he somehow was. Yes, those things were basically impossible, and they would take some getting used to. But all he cared about right now was finding Sam and Cas and Julie and finally getting them back.

Dean stood up and walked carefully over to the table where a canteen of holy water lay. He unscrewed the lid with shaking hands and splashed a bit on his arm. Nothing. His skin didn't burn like it should.

He was _human_.

Dean practically sprinted through the main hall of the bunker, barely pausing to glance into each room he came across. He couldn't find Sam, Cas, or Julie anywhere, and all he wanted was to wrap his arms around them and share this wonderful news with them. Still, he couldn't find them anywhere, and then he noticed the front door. Maybe they were outside. Either way, it couldn't hurt to check out there.

When Dean stepped outside, he doubted there was anyone out here. It was raining, and pitch black. The only way he could see much of anything was because of the yellow lights around the door of the bunker, casting a wide circle of light out in front of him. Dean peered out into the darkness, but he doubted anyone would be out in the rain.

He was about to turn and go back inside, and then she walked into the light.

Julie was hugging herself tightly, ignoring the rain slowly soaking her clothes and hair. At least it hid the silent tears that she had shed back at the crossroad. But now she had to be strong as she went back to the bunker and faced whatever waited for her there. Either Dean would be human, and she would have six months to live, or he would still be a demon, but at least her soul would be safe.

And then she saw him standing there in the dim light surrounding the door to the bunker.

Immediately, she stepped back defensively and her hand went for her knife. If that was a demonic Dean, she was doomed. And if it wasn't…well, she was still doomed.

Dean started to move towards her, and she pulled out her angel blade. Immediately, he backed off and put his hands up in surrender. Julie's heart was pounding so hard it almost hurt as she stared at him, waiting for him to speak. But he just stared at her, as if he was in shock, his green eyes shining through the darkness all around them.

Then finally he called softly, "Julie…" His voice was Dean's, but then, the demonic Dean had the same voice…

"Christo," she suddenly blurted, tense and ready to run if he flinched.

But he didn't. Praise God, Dean Winchester didn't even blink! There was a moment of silence as they stared at each other, trying to wrap their minds around what this meant. And then, slowly, Dean began to smile an awed, relieved, heartbreaking smile.

"Julie, it's…it's me," he said softly, gently. "It's really me."

Julie couldn't speak. What could she say? She was unable to speak or move, and she wondered if she had gone into shock. It had worked. Her Dean was back, and he six months had begun.

Dean studied her, waiting for her to speak, but she just stood there, frozen. And then his face crumpled as all of his guilt and shame hit him. "Oh, god. Julie, I am so, so sorry. The things I said to you…the things I did…I'm sorry. It wasn't me doing that, but…it was. I…I can understand if you and Sam and Cas never want to see me again. I just…god, I'm so sorry, Jules."

Dean waited for her to scream horrible things at him and run away from the monster in front of her. But instead…she smiled.

It was that one word, the word that had just chilled her to the bone when Beelzebub used it. Finally, _finally_, that word pierced through Julie's clouded thoughts and emotions like a light from heaven above. She knew right then she wouldn't be angry with Dean or herself. She wouldn't be afraid of what was to come. She wouldn't even think about it. She would just be happy and relieved. She would be in love with the man in front of her, the wonderful man she had finally gotten back.

Her smile widened into a grin, and Julie took a step towards Dean. Tears shone in her eyes, even as she beamed at him.

"What?" Dean asked, bewildered. She should be screaming and running from him.

"Jules," the woman he loved repeated softly. "You called me Jules."

That demonic Dean had always called her Julie or Juliet to spite her. But never once had he called her Jules. That name was for Dean alone, a sign of his love for her. And that one word let her know that this was real. This was him. Her Dean.

Dean finally understood, and he smiled a little himself. And then they were running in the rain towards each other. They collided, and Julie grabbed Dean's face and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back, clutching at her to remind himself that this was real. She was real. Julie pressed at Dean's soaked chest and his face and his hair, clinging to him, drinking him in. Afraid to ever let him go.

Julie had no idea how long they kissed, but she was light-headed when they finally pulled apart. Julie touched Dean's cheek and stared up at him, ignoring the heavy rain drops pouring down on them as she stared up at him. For the first time in five months, she knew him. She recognized the look in his eyes, and she knew this was Dean. And god, did she love him!

Dean stared down at Julie, unable to take his eyes off of her. Her hair was soaked, as were her clothes, but she was still the most beautiful thing in the world. And she loved him still, despite everything he had done…

Julie frowned as guilt suddenly clouded Dean's expression, and suddenly the moment of joy was gone. He tensed up and started to pull away from her, but she wouldn't let him.

"What?" she asked. "Dean, what's wrong?"

"Everything I did to you…to Sammy and Cas…I was a monster," Dean choked out as guilt and pain overwhelmed him.

"Don't," Julie insisted. "Don't worry about that right now. I forgive you. We all forgive you, you know that. And besides, that wasn't you."

"But…it _was_," Dean insisted, and his voice broke as he admitted it. And Julie didn't argue with him. She knew as well as him that the monster she had just sold her soul to get rid of was indeed him, or rather him at his worst.

"Come here," Julie whispered, pulling Dean close and pressing his head into shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly, and he hugged her back. They embraced for a very long time, and tears rushed to her eyes as she felt his body begin to shake with silent sobs.

She stroked his hair, whispering, "Dean, it's okay. That's over now. You're not that monster anymore. You're okay, honey, you're okay."

And they stood there, holding each other and taking comfort in the other's embrace until Dean finally composed himself. He finally pulled away and wiped at his face, and then gave up when he realized the rain had washed away his tears. Dean took a deep breath and then sighed. Then he forced a smile onto his face and took Julie's hand. "Come on," he said. "Let's go tell Sam and Cas the good news."

* * *

Sam steeled himself as he and Cas turned the corner to the cell where they were keeping Dean. After Sam had knocked the demon out, the two of them had left to look for Julie and try to figure out what their next step was. They couldn't find Julie anywhere in the bunker, though, and they had no way to save Dean. In all honesty, they both knew there was no way to save Dean now, but they couldn't force themselves to admit it. Because once they did, they would have to do to him what they had done to Adramalech, and pray to God he never found a way to put himself back together. And Sam could not imagine doing that to his brother, demon or not.

Sam tried not to think as he approached the cell. He wasn't ready to face that monster again, but they needed to make sure he wasn't trying to escape. If the Knight of Hell got loose, they were all dead.

And so, when Sam reached the cell and saw the door open, his heart leapt into his throat.

He and Cas both ran inside to see the devil's trap and chains on the chair broken, and a certain demon nowhere to be seen. "No," Sam gasped as he realized what this meant.

"We're not safe here," Cas said darkly. "We need to get out of here _now_."

"Julie!" Sam cried suddenly. "Cas, we've got no idea where she is. We can't leave her here with him on the loose."

"I hate to say it, but he may already have her-" the angel started.

"Then don't say that," Sam growled, trying to force down his panic. "Come on. We have to find her."

He pulled out his gun, loaded full of devil's trap bullets, and led the way through the bunker, on high alert. He forced himself not to think about the fact that the monster he was hunting was his brother and the person he was trying to save was his best friend and the only person he had left besides Cas. This was just another hunt. Just another monster to stop.

Sam wasn't sure if he felt relieved or even more worried when he finally heard Julie's voice. She was around the corner, in the main hall, and he signaled for Cas to hang back as they listened to what was going on.

Julie was talking to someone. Normally, Sam would think she was talking to Dean, and he would rush around the corner to save her from that monster, but her voice was warm and happier than he had heard it in five months. He frowned and listened intently to what she was saying.

"You're soaking wet!" she scolded someone, but she was obviously more amused than irritated. "Just take the damn towel."

"Hey, _I'm_ fine. You're the one who decided to take a walk in the pouring rain," a familiar voice replied, and Sam's heart sank. That was Dean. That demon had her. He had no idea what was going on, but the demon that had been his brother had Julie, and he had to save her.

Sam suddenly came around the corner, gun at the ready. Dean and Julie were standing surprisingly close to each other, both with damp hair and clothes, and Julie was trying to force a white towel on Dean. Sam pointed his gun at Dean and snarled, "Hey! Get the hell away from her!"

"Whoa, Sammy!" Dean cried, throwing his arms up in surrender and automatically moving protectively in front of Julie at the sight of a weapon. "Put that thing away before you shoot someone's eye out!"

Sam kept his gun trained on Dean as Cas came around the corner behind him, but he was confused. When Dean had seen the weapon pointed in their direction, he had moved in front of Julie to protect her so quickly that he hadn't even thought about it. To protect her was his natural instinct. And that was the opposite of demonic Dean's instinct. And there was something about Dean's expression, something softer in it that he hadn't seen for five months…

"Sam, no!" Julie cried quickly, stepping past Dean and moving in-between Sam and Dean. "He's not a demon anymore!"

"What?" Sam cried, unable to believe that. It couldn't be. Dean was a Knight of Hell, and there was no way to save him. Right?

Castiel stepped forward to stand next to Sam. His friend was staring at Dean in awe and disbelief, but he was smiling ever-so-slightly. "Sam, put the gun down," the angel said slowly.

"But, Cas-" Sam started to protest, head spinning.

"Dean's soul is human, Sam," Cas said slowly, and a grin spread across his face as he said that.

Sam slowly lowered his gun, hands trembling, head spinning. Dean and Julie relaxed, and Dean smiled slightly at the angel in front of him. "Hey, Cas. Sorry about threatening to kill you and all that crap. You know I would never really kill you. Even though you did give me one hell of a headache when you knocked me out earlier…"

"Stop talking, Dean," the angel told his best friend, grinning, and the two of them stepped forward and embraced, despite the fact that Dean was still pretty wet from going out in the rain. Julie grinned at them as they hugged for a few seconds, before finally releasing each other.

Dean clapped the angel on the shoulder, leaving a wet patch on his trench coat. "I owe you, man. For stopping me, and for looking out for these two."

"Of course, Dean," Castiel assured his friend. The angel was still a little overwhelmed at this sudden turn of events, but he was just grateful to look at Dean and see the old Dean, the one he had pulled out of hell, the one he had braved Purgatory with, the one he had fallen from heaven and died to help. His best friend in the world, human again.

But Cas knew who Dean really needed to be reunited with, and it wasn't him. He stepped aside and watched with Julie as Dean and Sam stared at each other.

"Hey, Sammy," Dean said carefully after a long pause, giving his little brother a weak smile.

Sam gaped at him. He had put his gun away, but he still seemed to be shocked. "I don't…how…?" he got out, wide-eyed and pale.

"I don't know," Dean admitted. "I just woke up and the devil's trap and the chains were broken and I…I was human."

There was a beat. Then Sam laughed a little in disbelief. Dean laughed too, and then in the next second they were tackling each other in bone-crushing bear hugs, Sam not caring even a little that he was now soaked as well. Julie smiled and gave Cas a one-armed hug as they watched the brothers reunite, trying to blink away the wetness in her eyes.

"I missed you, Dean," Sam muttered as they hugged.

"I missed me too, Sammy," Dean sighed, pulling away from his brother to get a look at him. "I was an _ass_."

"You can say that again," Julie muttered, and Dean turned and shot her a look. She smiled angelically at him, and he softened, unable to be annoyed with her or anyone right now. He was human, and with the three people he loved most!

"I hate to ruin this, but I am wondering how exactly this is possible," Cas pointed out after a moment. "Dean…there should have been no way to cure you."

"You don't have to tell me," Dean sighed. "I thought I was going to be a demon forever. And it's not just the demon part of me that's gone, either."

He held out his arm to show that the Mark of Cain was gone, and Sam and Cas both stared in disbelief at his Mark-free arm. Julie forced a shocked expression onto her face, although internally she was grateful that Beelzebub had upheld that part of the bargain too, and they wouldn't have to watch Dean slowly turn back into a demon.

"How?" Sam cried. "I mean, that's great, but _how_?!"

"You tell me," Dean shrugged. "I'm just glad to be human again."

The four of them investigated the cell where Dean had been held, looking for clues to what may have done this. The place reeked of sulfur, but there had been a Knight of Hell held captive in here, so that didn't mean anything. The only real clue they found was that the First Blade was gone.

Julie silently cursed herself for not specifying that Beelzebub must leave the weapon while he was in here. She wasn't too thrilled about the idea of the Knight of Hell with such a powerful weapon, but at least he had given her Dean back. That's what mattered, and for tonight, she was not going to worry. She was just going to be happy that the man she loved was finally with her again.

Sam and Cas seemed to share her sentiment, and they were less concerned about how Dean had become human and instead were just grateful that he was. Cas did suggest that perhaps God or some other higher power had taken pity on them and spared Dean, but the others doubted that highly. None of them were too concerned about that tonight though—all that mattered was that Dean was human again. But Dean was having a harder time being so okay with it, at least after the joy of being reunited with those he loved had worn off. So, after they gave up searching for clues, he sat Sam, Cas, and Julie down so he could address them.

"Look, guys…I know these past five months must have been hard, with me being dead and then a demon and all, and I just…I wanted to apologize," Dean started carefully. "If I had known what was going to happen when Metatron killed me…well, I never would have let him."

"Whether or not dying would turn you into a demon, you should not have let Metatron kill you!" Sam snapped. "Dean, there is no reason you can give us that justified doing that."

"I was trying to keep you safe, Sam!" Dean snapped. "I was just going to get worse and eventually turn into a demon and kill you all if I kept on living with the Mark and Blade. I thought dying would save you, but apparently it just sped up the process, and I'm sorry for that."

"Even if you hadn't turned into a demon, your death wouldn't have saved us," Julie said quietly, yet intensely. "That _destroyed _us, Dean. Promise me you'll never do that again."

"I…I won't," he said, but she wasn't sure if she really believed him. Oh, well. She couldn't talk. She had just sentenced herself to die to save him, so she wasn't really any different.

"Anyway, I actually wanted to apologize for what I did as a demon, though," Dean continued. "What I did to you guys…the thing I became…I was a monster, and what I did was unforgivable. So if you want me to leave, I completely understand and I'll leave-"

"You're an idiot, Dean," Sam calmly informed his brother.

Dean frowned. "What?"

"It's going to take a lot more than an attempted murder and a lot of death threats to get us to ever want you to leave," he replied, and the others nodded.

They refused to let Dean apologize any further for what he had done as a demon, and instead decided to go to bed. It was getting really late, and Dean desperately needed rest, although he denied it. They all did, actually, except Castiel. They all promised to see each other in the morning, and Sam and Cas retired to their rooms with the happy thought of getting to spend the next day with the real, human Dean Winchester.

Dean and Julie went into their old bedroom, the one Julie had entered just a few hours earlier. Then, she had cried, looking around at all of Dean's old things, things he would never again use, because he was gone, a demon now. Now, she felt like crying tears of joy as she watched Dean toss out the old trash she had refused to move and finish off one of those old beers, making a face at the taste.

"How long has this been in here?" he moaned spitting the beer back into the bottle and tossing it as well.

"Five months," Julie admitted.

Dean turned to face her, and there was sadness in his expression. "Jules…look, I'm sorry about going and dying on you. I never wanted to leave you. And, about all that stuff I did to you as a demon, all the stuff I said, all those women-"

"Just stop, Dean," Julie snapped, stepping close to him. "If you apologize one more time, I actually _will _be upset with you."

"I don't understand," Dean admitted. "How can you three forgive me for everything I did?"

"Because we know you would never do that if it weren't for the Mark and then that demon blood," she replied. "Because we know what kind of guy you really are." She brushed his cheek with her palm. "Because we love you."

"I don't deserve you," Dean said.

Julie groaned and turned away. "_Why _do you always have to do that? Why can't you just accept a compliment? Dean, you're wonderful and kind and good and I love you, and losing you and then seeing you as a demon just made me realize that even more. I just don't know how you can't see that yourself!"

"Seeing me a monster just made you realize how good I am?" Dean repeated incredulously.

"Yes," Julie snapped. "Because I saw how completely different you are from that thing. And even as a demon, there was still some goodness in you. Seeing you a demon made me realize…it made me realize how much I loved you and how much I needed you." She looked down, suddenly unable to meet his gaze. "I would do anything for you, Dean," she admitted softly.

Dean stepped closer to her and put one hand on her waist, gently lifting her chin to look at him with the other. "I love you too, Jules," he admitted gently. "And you know I'd do anything for you."

"I know," she whispered, staring at him with an odd expression. "I know."

Dean tilted his face to kiss her, and the moment their lips touched, nothing else mattered. He could forget about being a demon. He could move on, as long as he had her. Her, and Sammy and Cas, but _her_. His Jules. Even as a demon, he had still wanted her, still cared about her, at least up until he got pumped full of demon blood. As long as he had this wonderful woman, everything would be okay. Demons and angels and apocalypses…he could handle it all, as long as he had her and his beloved brother and best friend by his side.

Julie kissed Dean back, surprisingly fiercely. Normally, she would be happy just to be near him, but right now she needed him bad. She needed to be with Dean, to make up for five months' worth of lost time, and to distract herself from what was coming in just six months…

A couple hours later, Dean and Julie lay under the sheets, all tangled limbs and bare skin. Dean had drifted off a while ago, absolutely exhausted, and now Julie watched him sleep peacefully, wishing she could join him.

Julie trailed her fingers over the broken anti-possession tattoo on Dean's chest, thinking of how they'd need to get that redone soon. She traced the muscles in his arm, down to the now bare skin of his forearm. She touched the inside of his arm proudly. The Mark of Cain was gone from his skin and his mind now, because of her. Dean was human now, because of her, and he was happily reunited with his brother and best friend and her all because of what she had done.

She had saved him. Julie had saved Dean. That was all that mattered. He was happy and human and surrounded by people he loved, and everything would be okay.

Until six months from now, when Dean would have to go to sleep alone and wake up alone and spend every day in the same misery she had spent the past five months in. How could she do that to him? How could she put him through the same hell she had endured?

How could she say that she had saved him, when really all she had done was buy him six months of happiness before she destroyed his life all over again?

And lying in bed with Dean's arms wrapped around her, a place she had dreamt of being for five long months, the tears finally began to fall.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Alright, please don't kill me! I hate to do this to Julie, but I've known since the beginning of the story that this was something her character would probably end up doing. And I promise that this selling your soul storyline, which has been done about a thousand times before, is not going to be just like when Dean sold his soul. I also promise it won't be _all_ dark and depressing after this. I hope you all are enjoying so far, and I hope you'll continue to keep reading and reviewing. Thank you all for all of your support so far, and I promise there is much still to come!


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter Forty-Six**

Waking up had always been a bit of an ordeal in Dean Winchester's life. He was definitely not a morning person, and his life had not taught him to appreciate getting up each day. When he was a kid of four or five, he would often wake up to his baby brother wailing in the middle of the night, with Dad too busy grieving or off hunting to take care of the kid, and so Dean would have to get up and try to soothe the baby. Growing up, he got used to waking up in crap motels with little to no money or food, waking up hungry, with Dad off on a hunt and unable to feed his sons. Waking up wasn't much better as an adult, though. He often woke up with a splitting headache and a hangover, or in the bed of some woman whose name he could not remember no matter how hard he tried. Other times, he woke up tied up by enemies or in a jail cell, or worse, he had to wake up and be reminded that another friend or loved one had just died. There were those hellish months where he would wake up in the morning and know that Sam was dead, and it took every ounce of his strength to even haul himself out of bed.

But all of the sudden, waking up was suddenly a pleasant experience. For the past three mornings, Dean had woken up to find Julie Carters right beside him, arms around him, or with her head on his chest, and he had decided that there was no better way to wake up.

Dean rolled onto his side and kissed Julie awake. She wasn't much of a morning person herself, which was nice. He'd been with plenty of women who would get up early in the morning and wake him from the precious few hours of sleep he actually got, and he appreciated that Julie rarely woke him up early. But today, at least, he was sure she was eager to get up.

When Dean pulled away, Julie was definitely awake. She ran a hand through his hair and smiled sleepily at him. "I could get used to waking up like that," she smirked.

Dean kissed her again and pulled her as close to him as he could. All of the sudden, he rolled so he was straddling her, and she laughed breathlessly and tried to push him off of her. He caught her wrists easily and stopped her, and she laughed and protested (but not very hard) as he kissed her neck.

"Alright, enough," Julie protested after a couple minutes of goofing around and kissing. "We should actually be out of bed before people start showing up."

It had been three days since Dean had been restored to his humanity, and Sam, Dean, and Julie had invited all of their friends who had known about Dean's demonic state over to be reunited with the old, human him now that he was back. Jody Mills, who Sam had told about this mess because of how close she was with them, and Taylor, Jasper, and James would all be coming to the bunker today to spend some time with the hunters and see for themselves that Dean was now human, as well as Castiel and Hannah. They had let Matthew Bones and the other two hunters who had come across a demonic Dean know that he was now human again as well. Julie was eager to see her family and her friend Jody, who she hadn't seen in months, but she was also eager for Dean get back into his normal routine. Things had been a little tense the past couple of days as Sam watched Dean carefully, unsure if he would suddenly turn back into a demon, and Julie tried to wrap her head around the fact that each day she was getting closer to hell.

"Do we have to?" Dean muttered, trying to pull Julie back onto the bed when she got up.

"You're the one that wanted to see all your friends again," she pointed out.

"Or I could see you naked again," Dean shot back, smirking.

"Nice try, but you're not going to get to see that until you get up and socialize like a good boy," Julie snapped, but she was only teasing him. Nothing Dean could do could really annoy her. She was just too glad to have him back.

Dean sighed and got up. "Good boy," Julie smirked, reaching up to pat his head. That, apparently, was the wrong thing to do, and Dean suddenly grabbed her by the waist and tossed her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing. Julie screamed in annoyance, and then laughter as she tried and failed to get free.

"Let me go!" she protested, beating on his back.

"If I let you go, you are getting in the shower with me," he shot back.

Julie pretended to consider it. "Alright, fine," she sighed, as if that wasn't exactly what she wanted, too.

It took them thirty minutes to actually get out of their bedroom, hair still damp from the shower, Dean still teasing her and jokingly trying to pull her back into their bedroom. Sam walked by right as Dean smacked Julie's ass, and she slapped his hand pretty hard. Sam snorted with laughter and told them to hurry up, because the others would be here soon.

Dean walked ahead of Sam and Julie, eager to see his friends again. Sam hung back to study Julie. She had been smiling at Dean, but as soon as she was out of his eyesight, something happened. Her shoulders sagged a bit, and her smile faded. For a moment, there was some kind of sadness in her eyes as she watched him hurry away, and then she forced a smile back onto her face when she realized Sam was watching her.

"Well, come on, Sam!" Julie said quickly. "Let's go talk to our guests."

She started following after Dean. "Julie, is something-?" Sam started to ask his best friend, but she interrupted him.

"Everything's fine. I'm just a bit tired. Come on, we've got guests to entertain."

Sam followed behind Julie, unconvinced that she was actually fine. But then again, how could anyone be fine right now? Four days ago, her boyfriend was a demon who murdered and tortured and slept with dozens of other women and attacked her, and now he was back to his loving self. It had to be hard to adjust to, so he gave her the benefit of the doubt.

Sam, Dean, and Julie began to set out platters of food on the large table in the main hall of the bunker. Julie and Sam had cleaned the place up a bit, after trying and failing to force Dean to help, and it looked pretty nice. Not that hunters cared about places looking nice, considering what they did for a living. They had just finished setting out the food when the first knock on the door came.

The three hunters looked up. Julie laced her fingers with Dean's and squeezed his hand gently. "Ready?" she asked him softly.

She half-expected him to make a joke, but Dean Winchester just took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm ready," he answered honestly.

* * *

Jody Mills parked her truck behind the other car already sitting outside the Men of Letters bunker, a large, dark truck. Trucks were just a popular choice among hunters, she guessed. Except for the select few that liked to drive Impalas…

Jody brushed her short, brown hair out of her eyes and took a deep breath as she reached the door. Sam had assured her in his phone call that Dean was back to normal and doing great and wanted to see her again, but she had been going around for the past month with a picture in her head of a friend a demon, and that was hard to shake.

But for Dean's sake, she would put those thoughts aside and just be there for her friend. It must be much harder for Sam and Julie, who had been there to see him as a demon before he was saved, yet they were there for him, and she would be, too.

She knocked on the door and then waited outside for a few seconds, hands stuffed deep into the pockets of her dark jacket. After a few seconds, someone answered the door, and Jody found herself looking up at a grinning Sam Winchester.

"Jody! You made it!" he cried happily, pulling her into a hug.

"Of course I made it," Jody got out as he practically crushed her ribs. He let her go and she smiled. "I wouldn't miss seeing you three again for the world."

"Well, come on in!" Sam said brightly, letting Jody into the bunker. He was in a much better mood than the grieving Sam she had known the past few months. He led her to the main hall of the bunker, chatting brightly about how Alex was doing and what hunts she'd been on lately, until they reached a room full of people.

Jody only recognized two people: a pretty, blond young woman and _him_. She hadn't seen Dean in months, but he looked surprisingly good for someone who, until three days ago, had been a demon. He was chatting with a dark-haired man in a trench coat, and a pretty, dark-haired woman next to him. Julie Carters stood a couple feet away with her back to him, talking to a sandy-haired young man, a pretty blond a year or two older than her, and an older man. Julie and Dean were in separate conversations, yet they seemed unable to be more than a couple feet away from each other. Yep. That seemed like them, alright.

Dean spotted Sam and Jody as they entered the main hall of the bunker, and he quickly excused himself from his conversation with the dark-haired man and woman. "Jody!" he called, heading towards her. All of her fears and doubts melted away when the older woman saw that this really was him, and by the time Dean reached her, she threw her arms around the younger man.

"It's so good to see you, Dean," Jody muttered as they hugged. She was having a hard time keeping her emotions under control. "We missed you. A lot."

"I missed you too, Jody," Dean replied carefully, releasing her. "Thank you so much for coming."

"Of course!"

"Hey, Jody," Julie said brightly, appearing next to Dean.

"Julie," the older woman replied fondly, pulling the pretty young woman into a hug. She adored Julie, and she wished so much that this wonderful girl hadn't had to go through what she did when Dean died.

"How are you, sweetie?" she asked Julie when they pulled apart.

"I'm good," Julie said, a little unconvincingly. Then Dean put his arm around her waist, and Julie smiled and leaned into him. "At least now that he's back," she added, and Jody truly believed her now.

Jody noticed that the five strangers in the room had come up behind the three she knew, waiting a little uncertainly to be introduced. Sam noticed as well, and began the introductions.

"Jody, this is Julie's cousin, Taylor, and their friend, James Hawthorne. And this is Julie's uncle, Jasper."

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure of being introduced," Jasper said with a charming smile, stepping forward gallantly. He was pretty good-looking for a guy who had to be about fifty.

"Actually, Jasper, you just were," Dean pointed out with a smirk.

"Dean, you are ruining my pickup line," the older man snapped, but there was fondness in his eyes as he looked at Dean. Of course. At this point, Dean would be like a son-in-law to him, with how close Dean and Julie were, and how long they'd been together.

"He's probably just saving you a rejection," Jody replied, and several of the others laughed. Jasper put a hand to his heart like he'd been shot, and Jody couldn't resist a slight smirk.

"And you should meet Cas and Hannah," Julie interjected, hauling the trench coat-wearing man forward by his arm. The dark-haired woman followed uncertainly. They seemed a little awkward and out of place here, but their names explained why. "Jody, meet Castiel and his lieutenant, Hannah," Julie said with a smile.

"So…you're _angels_?" Jody got out slowly, slightly awed.

"I still can't believe _he's_ the ruler of heaven," the blond guy, James, muttered under his breath.

"I do not want to be the ruler of heaven, but the past few years have been chaos, and it fell to me to take the lead," Cas informed the hunter gravely.

James stared at the angel, wide-eyed. "How did you hear…?"

"He's got super angel hearing," Dean informed James, slinging an arm around Castiel's shoulders as he spoke. The angel stood there, stiff and unsure what to do, and Jody couldn't help but smile at how awkward this powerful being was around Dean. "Trust me, it can be a real bitch sometimes."

Jody studied James's face as Dean addressed him. His jaw clenched slightly, and his expression became carefully neutral. It was pretty clear that this new guy didn't like Dean much. Jody wondered absently what the story behind that was.

"Anyway, Hannah, Castiel, this is Jody Mills, a hunter friend of Sam and Dean's," Julie explained.

"And yours, or at least I thought," Jody said, feigning offense.

"Of course!" Julie amended, smiling. "She's great; you two will love her."

Hannah looked rather uncomfortable to be here at all. Castiel smiled carefully at Jody. "Sam and Dean have mentioned you often, and they have high praise for you."

"Well, isn't that nice of them," Jody smirked. Then she just stared at the two dark-haired, blue-eyed people who weren't actually people in front of her. "I'm sorry, this is just going to take a little getting used to. I've always pictured angels as chubby babies in diapers with little halos, you know?"

Dean roared with laughter. "Pretty accurate description of you, don't you think, Cas?"

"I could smite you with a touch," Castiel pointed out, but there was nothing truly threatening in his voice.

The seven hunters and two angels continued to chat for a while. Sam, Dean, and Julie were very chatty, and talked with almost everyone (Dean and James steered clear of each other as much as possible). Jody spoke to everyone, or at least attempted to. The angel, Castiel, seemed nice enough, and liked Jody if for no reason other than the fact that Sam and Dean and Julie did. Hannah didn't seem very chatty, but Jody did get her to say that she was Castiel's lieutenant and ran heaven when he was down here helping Sam and Dean. Jasper, on the other hand, was very chatty, and charming too. He hit on Jody quite a bit, and while she played hard-to-get, she had to admit, it was kind of nice. It had been a while since she'd had any kind of a romantic life, what with raising a troubled teenage girl and hunting on the side. That James guy and Taylor mostly just talked together on the sidelines, but they did both greet Jody and ask a couple polite questions about her and her life.

After an hour or so of just talking and hanging out, the nine of them sat down to a huge brunch which Sam, Dean, and Julie had all worked together to make. Jody watched the way everyone sat down. James and Taylor sat down next to each other, and Jasper sat next to his daughter, right next to Jody. Across from Jody sat Castiel, right next to Dean, who was laughing and teasing the angel as they sat down. Hannah sat next to her fellow angel, and on the other side of Dean was Julie. She was busy talking to Sam, who sat next to her. Julie and Sam were just as close as they had been when Jody had once warned Dean to keep an eye on them, closer actually. Yet somehow, she was no longer worried about the two of them getting together. The tension between them was somehow gone, and Jody smiled when Julie then turned in her seat to ask Dean a question, and his whole face lit up. He was clearly just as crazy about her, if not more so.

The food was delicious, and Jody was pretty damn hungry. The angels didn't eat, but the hunters gorged themselves on breakfast food and sandwiches, eating more than seven people probably should have been able to. As they ate, Jody asked Jasper Carters more about his life, and he told her his whole story: his parents being killed by ghouls, him and his younger brother, Thomas, turning to hunting, Thomas's wife's death, and then Thomas's and how he raised Julie and Taylor on his own until tall, handsome, mysterious Dean Winchester swept in and stole Julie's heart. He explained that James was actually Julie's ex, and Jody finally understood the tension between him and Dean.

As she talked to Jasper, she realized there was more to him than just the flirty, horny hunter she had thought he was. He had levels of real emotions under that flirty humor, and she found herself actually liking him a little. She had come here to make sure Dean was okay, not to meet a guy, but it seemed that may be happening…

The atmosphere was light and happy as people ate and chatted. Jody found herself watching Julie and Dean, unable to look away. Dean had turned his seat a little bit so he could be closer to her, and Jody watched as Julie teased Dean on his eating habits, scolded him for inappropriate comments, and rolled her eyes at his joke, trying to hide her smile. All of her teasing only seemed to encourage Dean, who seemed to be living only to make her smile. Of course, he also talked quite a bit with his brother and the angel beside him, but it was clear that Dean's focus was on Julie.

It warmed Jody's heart. She had worried what Dean's former demonic state would do to their relationship, but it seemed only to have strengthened it. And as Jody watched the two of them interact, she found herself wondering wryly when Dean would finally get the balls to just marry the girl. They were already an old married couple, and they'd been together for quite a while. It was clear they loved each other, and she doubted it would be much longer before Julie became Mrs. Winchester.

After the meal, they sat down to play cards. Hannah sat out so that there was an even number, and they made Cas swear not to use his special angel powers to win. Dean wanted to play a new, more complex card game, but James argued with him, wanting to just play poker.

"That's too complicated," James snapped when Dean tried to explain the rules.

"Buddy, this is _not _complicated," Dean said condescendingly. "Defusing a bomb is complicated. Sudoku is complicated. Shower sex is complicated. This stuff is nothing."

When he mentioned shower sex, Julie smirked and looked down at the table, blushing slightly. Jody and Jasper both caught that, and Jody smirked. "Bet you can't guess what those two were up to before this," she muttered.

"I'd really rather _not _think about what that man has probably been doing to the girl who is practically my daughter," Jasper pointed out, and Jody smirked even wider.

"Fine," James snapped. "If you can play this, I can play it, _buddy_."

"That's the spirit," Dean smirked, dealing out the cards. "Do you want a couple practice rounds to get used to it?"

"Just deal the damn cards," James replied icily.

Julie shot Sam a look. "This is about to become a fight between these two, isn't it?" she asked so everyone could hear.

James and Dean both ignored her. "Alright, Jimmy. Your funeral."

"Yes, it is," Sam answered Julie calmly.

"_James,_" the ex-boyfriend snarled at the current one. "And while you're at it, let's make this a little more interesting. Twenty bucks says I'll win this hand."

"You're on, Jim."

_"__James_!"

"I'll call you James if you win," Dean smirked cockily. "How does that sound?"

The others wisely chose not to play that round, and it turned into a heated competition between the two men. Of course, Dean won handily, and made twenty bucks. A pissed-off James stewed in his corner for a half-hour or so, until he finally moved on when he realized all the others had already forgotten about their little pissing match.

Jody had to admit, she was having fun playing cards. The hunters sat around, beers in hand, getting increasingly vulgar as more and more beers got out of the cooler and more money was bet. Jody felt a little uncomfortable swearing in front of two angels until Dean swore wildly at Castiel when he managed to win a hand in poker, to which the angel only smirked.

Eventually, it was time for dinner. Sam and Julie dug out food from their kitchen and managed to feed the starving group of hunters. Then the hunters sat around in the living room, knocking back beers and swapping stories of old hunts. Hannah went back to heaven to make sure things were going well, but Castiel stayed behind to spend more time with his friends.

"So, Jasper and I, we were hiding out behind the house while Taylor was the bait, right?" James recounted with an animated expression. He seemed to be in a better mood now that he was full of beer. "And so this dumbass vampire lumbers up to her and hits on her, and then he goes to bite her, but of course, we swoop in, shoot the thing full of dead man's blood, and behead it."

"Took you long enough to do that," Taylor muttered sullenly, but she was smirking a little.

"Then we thought we were done, but then this other vampire comes out of the shadows and goes at me, and I think I'm going to die," James recites, caught up in his own tale. "At least until Tay shoots him in the chest with dead man's blood."

"Good for you, Tay!" Julie said brightly. "Are you actually taking hunting seriously now?"

"Against my will," her cousin muttered sullenly, pulling her pink crop top a bit lower to show more of her cleavage as she spoke.

Dean and Julie sat in the same chair, with Julie on his lap, leaning back into him. Dean's arm was around her shoulders, and every time he went to take a drink of his beer, he would reach across Julie to do so. He did this as she tried to congratulate her cousin, and earned himself a dirty look.

"Hey, Sammy, you remember those vamps that caught us a year or so ago, right?" Dean said suddenly, remembering. "You know the chicks that chained us up and tried to get us to do a strip tease?"

"What?!" Jody cried, eager to hear this story.

"So there was this next of female vamps who would take hot guys and then keep them around to use as snacks and basically sex toys," Dean told the group. "So of course, they're looking for hot guys, they snag me, and they accidentally caught Sam while they were at it."

Sam rolled his eyes and threw a cushion at his brother. It hit Julie, though, who chucked it back at Sam before he could apologize.

"Children, please, I'm trying to tell a story," Dean scolded them. "Anyway, these horny vamps caught me and Sammy-"

"How did a couple vamps catch you if you two are such good hunters?" James interrupted coldly.

Dean stared at him, surprised he'd be stupid enough to use that tone. "One of them pretended to be a victim, and when we tried to help her, the others jumped on my little brother and threatened to kill him if I didn't surrender," Dean answered coldly, and the tension in the room began to build.

"Anyway…Julie and that cop guy, Jim Morgan, came in and saved us in the end," Sam finished quickly, wanting to brush past that tense moment.

"Jim Morgan?" Jody asked, frowning. "I know that name."

"It's not an uncommon name," Sam pointed out.

"No, I worked a case with him a couple months ago!" Jody suddenly remembered. "Yeah, he's a pretty nice guy, funny, decent-looking, used to be a cop."

"That's him," Sam admitted.

"'Used to be a cop'?" Julie repeated, confused.

"Yeah, he's a pretty new hunter," Jody explained. "I ran into him hunting some werewolves, and he'd never hunted one, so I gave him some help."

"Wow," Dean said. "Guess he was cooler than I thought, if he's into hunting now. Although he did hit on my girlfriend and get me locked up…"

"He got all of us locked up," Sam pointed out. "And that's too bad. He seemed like a decent guy, and I wouldn't wish this life on anyone."

"What a downer you are, Sammy," Dean smirked. "We could use some new hunters. Like that Leah chick from that ghost hunt. You said she just kind of accepted all this and moved on just like that? We could use people like her."

"Leah?" Jasper frowned, perking up. "Hang on. What's her last name?"

"Jamison," Sam answered instantly, and then regretted it when Dean and Julie both shot him a look. It had been months since he'd met the girl, and he'd only known her a couple of days. He shouldn't remember her last name, and he definitely shouldn't still think about her occasionally, and wonder what could have been…

"No way," Taylor said. "She was cool!"

"Wait…you guys know her?" Sam asked slowly.

"Yeah, she got in touch with us a few weeks ago," Jasper explained. "She was a beginner hunter, and someone had suggested she work with us to get some experience. We hunted a changeling with her and she got to see her first exorcism with us."

"Who would have guessed?" Dean said. "Well, Sammy, looks like you did get that girl into hunting after all."

"You guys got her into hunting?" Jasper repeated. "She just said that a hunter saved her from a ghost and explained the whole deal to her, and she was intrigued."

"That was Sam," Julie explained. She forced herself not to think about what had been happening to her and Dean and Cas while Sam was saving Leah and then getting laid, but she couldn't help it. Suddenly, Asmodeus and Beelzebub were cutting into her skin, laughing as her blood ran onto the floor, breaking her bones, bruising her body, making her scream and sob…and that was nothing compared to what was coming in just under six months.

_God. Stop it. You're having fun. You're with family and friends and Dean. Everything is okay right now, and that's what matters._ She told herself those things over and over as the others continued to discuss the topic of Leah Jamison.

"That girl was hot," James commented, smirking. Taylor clenched her jaw and glared at the floor. "I mean, sure, she's young, but I would totally hit that."

"Sam did," Dean commented, and then winced when Julie elbowed him in the gut. "What? He did!"

"Really? _You _slept with her?" James asked, surprised. Sam wasn't sure if he should be offended by that question. All he knew was that he was glad James was no longer commenting on how attractive Leah was, because he didn't really feel like breaking the guy's face in. If anyone was going to do that, it was Dean. He quickly changed the subject and got the others telling old hunt stories, uncomfortable with telling the whole group about his sex life.

After a couple more hours, things began to wind down. Castiel said his goodbyes to the others and returned to heaven. James, Jasper, and Taylor decided they were about ready to head out, and Dean took them into the kitchen to pack up some food for the road. Jody was about to start saying her goodbyes when she noticed Julie.

All night long, the girl had been bright and happy, smiling and laughing and making jokes along with the rest of them. But the moment Dean left the room, something happened. Her shoulders sagged, and the light went out of her eyes. Suddenly, she looked a thousand years old, and she sank into her chair and took a long swig of beer. Something was very clearly wrong, though.

Sam noticed, also, and Jody took his arm and pulled him out of earshot. "Sam… is everything okay with Julie?" she asked slowly.

"I don't know," Sam admitted. "Most of the time, she seems fine. I mean, whenever Dean's around she's so happy and everything seems great. But every once in a while I catch her like that and…I'm worried."

"It can't be easy," Jody said. "She's been through so much with Dean being a demon. You all have."

"It wasn't easy," Sam said coldly. "But I don't think that's it. There's something else wrong, but she won't tell me what."

Jody sighed. "I don't know, kiddo. But I do know one thing. That girl loves you. She'll tell you what's wrong if you just ask her."

Sam hugged Jody. "Thanks, Jody. For coming and for supporting us through everything and just…thanks."

"Don't mention it, Sam," she smiled fondly at the young man. She patted him on the arm and then went to say goodbye to Julie.

The young woman got up and put a smile back on, hugging her and thanking her for everything. "If you ever need anything, you let me know, okay, sweetie?" Jody insisted, trying to give Julie a good time to confess to whatever was bothering her.

But Julie just nodded. "I will. Thanks, Jody."

Jody found Dean and said goodbye. He hugged her tightly for a long time. "Thank you," he said, and he seemed a little emotional as he choked out the words. "I know with me dying and becoming a demon, things got pretty bad. I just wanted to thank you for being there for Sammy and Jules, and for me now."

"Of course, Dean," Jody said with a smile. "If you three ever need anything, don't hesitate to call."

"Unfortunately for you, we might just take you up on that offer," he replied with a smirk, and Jody left.

Julie went out with her family to say their goodbyes there, leaving Sam and Dean alone in the bunker. Dean took a swig of beer and sighed, exhausted. "Thanks for making me do that, Sammy," his older brother said after a moment. "That was good for me."

"It was all Julie's idea," Sam replied.

They were silent for a moment. "How are you two doing with this whole you being human again thing?" Sam asked carefully.

"You know…we're actually doing really well," Dean admitted. "I thought, after everything I did as a demon, all those things I said, all those _women_…well, if I were her, I'd have a hard time forgiving myself. But she's honestly been so amazing about it…"

Sam smiled when he saw the honest happiness in his brother's expression. "You really love her," he said when Dean couldn't find the words.

"I really do," Dean admitted. "And she loves me. Somehow. I don't know, Sammy, I just…I mean, I'm so happy with the way things are now, but I feel like I owe her more than just what I'm giving her. After everything she's done for me…I just feel like she deserves more than what I'm giving."

"Dean, she doesn't want anything but you," Sam assured his brother.

"I know. You're right. I'm just being stupid."

There was another moment of silence. Then Sam finally just asked, "And how are _you _doing with this whole being human thing?"

"You know…I'm actually doing okay," Dean sighed. "Sometimes I feel so guilty I think I'm going to lose it, but then you or Julie will be there for me and remind me that things are okay. And I need to thank you. You stuck with me when you honestly should have just given up and killed me."

"Dean, I wouldn't do that," Sam snapped.

"And that's a problem we need to work on. But I do want to thank you for being there for me."

"Of course! You're my brother."

Dean smiled slightly. "Did you ever think it would be like this, Sammy? Me thanking you for not killing me when I was a freaking _demon_?!"

"Well, the girl was a surprise," Sam admitted. "I never really pictured you settling down. And I guess the demon bit was a surprise, too. But you always are thanking me for saving your ass."

Dean shoved his brother's shoulder jokingly. "You wish. It's the other way around, bitch."

"Jerk."

Dean smiled fondly at his brother. "You know…I know things are going to be crazy now, and we'll have to get to work on how to get rid of the last two Knights with no way to kill them, but…I think things are going to be okay. As long as I've got you and Julie, I'm going to be okay."

"For once, I think you're actually right," Sam smirked. "We're going to be okay, Dean. We can do this."

"I can't do it alone, though," Dean admitted. "I can't do this without you or Jules."

"You won't have to," Sam assured him. "We're never going to leave you, Dean."

Dean smiled at his little brother gratefully, and Sam smiled back.

But just around the corner, Julie listened to their conversation and blinked back tears. Right now, Dean was happy, and everything was going to be okay. But that would only last as long as she and Sam stayed with him. And in less than six months, she was going to be torn away from him, and it would shatter Dean. He would never be okay again. Never.

God, what had she done?

She heard footsteps coming towards her and quickly came out of hiding. Sam and Dean both smiled when they saw her, and Dean stepped towards her. "Hey," he said gently. "Are the others gone?"

"All headed home," she said, forcing a smile back on her face. "It's just us now."

Dean put an arm around her. "I could get used to this," he said.

_Don't. In six months it'll be gone._

Julie knew she should tell them. She should tell Sam and Dean what she had done to save Dean, and then they could try to find a cure. Lying to them would only make it worse when her time came. But when she looked at Dean and saw a smile on his face and joy and hope in his eyes, she realized she couldn't take that away.

So, a few minutes later, when Sam got her alone and asked her gently what was wrong, she forced a smile, looked her best friend in the eye, and lied, "Nothing. Everything's fine."


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter Forty-Seven**

Sam, Dean, Castiel, and Julie sat around the long table in the main hall of the bunker, laughing as Dean won his third hand of poker in a row. Dean cheered in victory and knocked back another drink of his beer. "All those angel powers and I'm _still _beating your feathered ass, Cas," he laughed.

"Angels were not created to lie," Cas pointed out.

"Sure, _that's_ why you're so bad at it," Julie teased him. He shot her a look with those big blue eyes of his and she tousled his hair, laughing.

"Another round," Sam insisted.

"Do you really want to lose _all _of your money to your big brother tonight, Sammy?" Dean said cockily.

"Nope. I just know we've reached the point where you get so cocky you slip up and_ I _end up robbing _you_."

Julie whistled at Sam's challenge, and then laughed at Dean's expression. She was having such a wonderful time right now, with her two closest friends and the man she loved, just spending a night drinking and playing poker. And, in a couple hours, when everyone got tired of cards and went to bed, she and Dean would retire to their room and get to be alone together. Few things in life were better than those nights, and she was looking forward to it…

But, as Dean quickly and skillfully dealt the cards, Julie felt something tugging at the back of her mind. Something about this wasn't right. No, this was perfect. This night could not possibly get any better. But still, she felt as if there was something looming over her and overshadowing her joy at just being with the people she loved.

Julie pushed those thoughts away and just focused on Dean. He was very involved in the game, unlike her, but when he felt her eyes on him, studying the lines and curves of his face and the lashes rimming his gorgeous green eyes, he looked over and smiled. That same smile that he'd given her once in a bar months and months ago, a smile that had given her the feeling that something wonderful was about to begin…

And then the grandfather clock in the hall began to chime midnight.

Somewhere in the back of her head, she realized there was no grandfather clock in the main hall of the bunker, but that didn't matter. Because as the chimes echoed through the room, everyone stopped what they were doing to listen.

And that's when they all heard the howling begin.

A wave of pure terror rushed over Julie, like a bucket of icy water dumped on her head. Her heartrate suddenly doubled as she remembered what she had forgotten, that dark feeling overshadowing her joy.

Her time had run out.

At first it was one howl, far off. Then another answered, even closer. Dean frowned, and then his eyes widened in recognition as he recognized the sound. Julie knew he had experienced the same terror she was feeling now, years and years ago.

That had ended in forty years of hell for him, and the start of the apocalypse. And while her death may not cause another apocalypse, it would probably end in more than forty years of hell.

A third howl cut through the walls of the bunker as if it were right outside. Sam and Dean rose in unison, reaching for the guns in the waistbands of their jeans and frowning. "How are there hellhounds here?" Sam asked. "_Why_?"

"No," Julie choked out, panic clouding all of her thoughts. Her hands were trembling and she was shaking. She wasn't ready. She had been having fun, and they had been so happy. For six months they'd been so happy, and it couldn't just end now! _She wasn't ready_!

Castiel also rose to his feet, pulling out his angel blade. "There are many," he informed them. "And it's not just hellhounds."

Before Julie could ask what that meant, there was suddenly a loud bang. The howling stopped, and the three hunters and the angel waited in tense silence, wondering what had happened.

And then six or seven hellhounds suddenly burst into the room, huge ugly, vicious, horrifying beasts with demonic eyes and bloody saliva dripping from their horrifying teeth. Julie could swear there was dried blood and torn skin caught under their massive, sharp claws. Her heart almost stopped when they burst into the room, but they stopped several feet away, just watching her, and she could swear they were grinning.

"Are they in here?" Sam yelled blindly, and Julie realized the others couldn't see them. Of course, it wasn't their time to die…

Even through her panic and fear, Julie wondered why they weren't just tearing her to bits. And then their master stepped into the room and whistled, and all of the demonic hounds backed away to circle anxiously behind him.

Dean reached inside his jacket and pulled out the demon-killing knife, his eyes locked on that horrible demon before them. This monster he could see, at least. "Beelzebub," he snarled. "What are you doing here?"

"Just picking up Juliet here," the king of the Knights said calmly, stroking the head of one of those horrible beasts as he smiled at Julie. She wanted to back away, but she was frozen in fear.

"You will not harm her," Cas said coldly, stepping in-between Julie and the Knight.

"No? And who's going to stop me? A couple pretty boy hunters and their pet angel? I don't think so." Then he smiled nastily. "Besides. Juliet is going to come willingly. Aren't you, darling? She chose this."

"What?" Dean cried. "She didn't…" His voice trailed off as he turned slightly to look at her in confusion, and then realization, and then horror.

"You…you didn't," he said slowly.

"I'm sorry," Julie half-sobbed. "I did it to save you."

"No," Dean said in disbelief, shaking his head. "I don't believe this."

"Look, whatever deals she did or didn't make, you can't have her," Sam snapped, moving to stand with Cas protectively in front of Julie. "We won't let you."

"That's cute, Sammy," Beelzebub smirked. "Unfortunately, you are trying my patience. So get out of the way or I'll kill all of you just to get to her, and I don't think my Juliet wants that, now does she?"

"Don't hurt them," Julie whispered. "Guys, please…"

"No," all three of the people she cared about so much growled, and even Dean had moved to stand protectively in front of her. "I'd rather die," Dean added.

Beelzebub shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Suddenly, he was gone, and then he was standing right in front of Castiel. Before Julie could do more than scream, the demon drove his blade up into the angel's heart. "_Cas_!" Julie wailed as white light glowed out of the angel's eyes and wound, his voice drawn out in an endless scream…and then he collapsed to the ground. Where he landed, the dark outline of his once beautiful wings was burned into the ground, the sign of a dead angel.

"_No_!" Dean roared, running at the Knight of Hell. He and Beelzebub began to fight but the demon was too strong, and he forced Dean slowly backwards and away from Julie. And as he did so, three of the hellhounds lunged forward towards her.

Sam stood his ground, stabbing and slicing blindly in an effort to defend her, and he managed to kill one of the hounds, but it was too little too late. One of the massive monsters leapt onto his back and sank its claws into him. Sam cried out in pain as he fell, and then the two hellhounds dug into him, ripping into his skin with their teeth and claws as Julie screamed and sobbed, begging for them to stop.

Finally, the hellhounds stopped and backed away from Sam. Julie ignored them all and ran to her best friend, who was lying face-down on the ground in an ever-growing pool of his own blood. She reached him and gently turned him over, and immediately wished he hadn't. His stomach was a horrifying mess, and blood leaked out of his mouth. His warm, intelligent eyes stared up at the ceiling, seeing nothing.

Julie realized that tears were pouring down her cheeks. She held the bloody, ruined mess of her best friend in her arms, Castiel lay dead a few feet away, and Dean was over there single-handedly fighting a Knight of Hell, while seven hellhounds now circled her, waiting for the order to kill. She was going to die, and she had known that. But now Sam and Cas had died as well, because she refused to tell them what she had done or warn them, and Dean was probably going to die, too.

Dean looked past Beelzebub to his little brother lying in the arms of his sobbing girlfriend, blood oozing out of countless wounds on his body, and he completely forgot to fight. He whispered, "Sammy," brokenly and stood there, unable to do anything but stare at his dead brother.

That was all Beelzebub needed. He raised his hand and his powers threw Dean back into the wall, pinning him there. Julie looked up from Sam's body and screamed Dean's name as she saw Beelzebub advancing on the man she loved.

"You should have just let me have her, Dean," Beelzebub informed the powerless, grieving hunter he had pinned to the wall. "Otherwise, I might have let you and your brother and the angel live, just so you would have to suffer knowing that she sold her soul for you. But now, well…that sacrifice will be in vain."

And he drove his blade into Dean's stomach.

Julie screamed, a wordless scream of overwhelming horror and grief and anger and heartbreaking loss. In the space of a couple of minutes, she had lost everyone and everything.

Well, not everyone. Beelzebub had made sure that the wound wouldn't kill Dean instantly. He made sure Dean lived just long enough to hear Beelzebub say, "Alright, boys. It's dinnertime."

And the hellhounds descended on Julie.

* * *

When Dean woke up, he was confused. He was lying in a warm bed, tangled in sheets that smelled very strongly of laundry detergent. Julie lay next to him, the soft, smooth skin of her bare back pressed against his chest. There was really no more pleasant way to wake up than like this. But there was one problem, and that was what confused him. Normally, her warm skin would be radiating heat through him, but her skin was actually a bit cold and clammy.

It took Dean a couple seconds to realize that his girlfriend was trembling. Dean frowned and propped himself up on elbow to get a better look at Julie. Her face was twisted into an expression of grief and fear, and her lips were trembling and moving as if she were speaking. Her hands were clutching the sheets so tightly that her knuckles were white.

And then she began to scream, one long, high, startling, tortured scream that made Dean's heartrate double. He sat straight up and grabbed her thin shoulders, shaking them a bit roughly. Anything to get her to wake up and quit screaming.

"Julie!" he cried. "Jules! Honey, wake up! Jules-"

He stopped shaking her and calling her name when her eyes suddenly flew open. Dean knew she wasn't really seeing him, at least not at first. Because she still looked so terrified, and tears were silently streaming down her face. "Jules," he repeated, hoping his familiar voice would pull her out of whatever nightmare she'd been having.

It worked. Recognition came into her blue eyes and she frowned. "Dean? What…but…how? You're not dead?"

Dean didn't quite know what she was talking about, but he was sure she must have been remembering that horrible feeling she had surely experienced, finding him dead five months ago. He gently brushed her sweaty hair out of her face and whispered, "No, honey. I'm here. I'm back, remember? Everything's okay. I've got you."

Julie suddenly sobbed and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him back into a resting position and clinging tightly to him. Dean held her tightly, rubbing her back soothingly until she quit crying.

"Dean, I should tell you…" Julie started to say, but then she stopped. Dean frowned and pulled away from her enough that he could look at her face.

"What? What's wrong?"

Julie bit her bottom lip, suddenly looking like she regretted saying anything.

"Jules, whatever it is, you can tell me," Dean assured her. "Was it about that nightmare? What was it? Hell?"

"Might as well have been," she muttered.

Dean's heart broke when he saw all the pain and grief in her eyes. Usually, Julie was so good at hiding her pain, but then every once in a while her composure would break, and she would show the broken person inside. She was broken. When Dean had met her, she had already suffered a lot in her life, losing both parents to monsters, but she was still a tough, sweet, whole person. Now she was still tough and sweet, but she was broken inside. She had suffered in hell for ten years, lost the man she loved, and then been forced to put up with him as a demon. No one could expect her to be sane, let alone whole, but it still broke Dean's heart to see what becoming part of his life had done to Julie Carters.

"I should tell you…" Julie repeated slowly. Then she sighed and seemed to change her mind about something.

"Tell me what?" Dean frowned.

Julie raised a hand and ran it through Dean's hair, which was adorably mussed from sleep. She smiled sadly and told him, "I love you."

Dean blinked. He knew that's not what she had been about to say, but he wasn't going to push her so soon after that awful nightmare she must have had. "I love you, too," he told her, and he leaned in and kissed her gently for a brief moment.

When he pulled away, he glanced over at the clock and saw that it was already almost six o'clock in the morning anyway. Might as well get up. He wasn't going to be sleeping after seeing the woman he loved like that anyway.

Julie watched as Dean hauled himself out of bed and dug out some clothes. The tiniest of smiles twitched at the corners of her mouth as she considered moaning in disappointment when Dean pulled on boxers and then jeans. Instead, she said, "It's a little early to be getting up, don't you think?"

"Hey, I'm not the one who decided to wake the other up by having a nightmare," Dean pointed out jokingly, but instantly regretted it. He quickly returned to the bed and sat next to Julie, looking concerned. "Sorry. I didn't mean…"

"You're fine," she assured him, touching his arm gently. He was cute when he got all concerned.

"Can I ask what your nightmare was about?" Dean asked carefully after a moment.

For a second, Julie saw the image of Castiel's corpse lying on the ground, his wings burnt into the ground, and her a few feet away, holding Sam's bloody mess of a body, sobbing and screaming at Beelzebub as he stabbed Dean in the stomach. And then the hellhounds lunged for her, demonic eyes and sharp claws and blood and the stench of sulfur rushing at her-

"I was just remembering back when you died," Julie blurted out. "It was awful. Sam had to hold me back, and I couldn't quit crying and screaming and…"

Dean's face was a mask of guilt and pain. "God, I should never have gone in there alone. I should never have done that to you and Sammy and Cas…"

"No, you shouldn't have."

The two of them were silent for a long moment. Then Julie sighed and got out of bed. "Well, I guess if were getting up then I should actually get up."

She let Dean help dress her, although he made the process twice as long because he would often forget what he was doing and start undressing her all over again. Eventually, though, Julie got herself into a grey cotton t-shirt and jeans, and Dean pulled on a dark button-down shirt. Then the two of them brewed coffee and watched TV on the small television in their motel room until Sam stumbled through the adjoining door into their room and then frowned at them.

"You two are up. And it's just now six-thirty." Sam said thickly, still half-asleep.

"Yes," Dean said calmly, as if this was perfectly normal.

Sam studied them in confusion for a couple more seconds, and then just shrugged and went with it. He grabbed a Styrofoam cup and filled it with coffee before sitting on the edge of the bed next to Dean.

"Damn!" Dean swore when Sam sat down next to him. "Go sit over there, coffee breath!" he complained, gesturing to the spot next to Julie. "You're killing me."

"Well, I'm sorry we don't all wake up as perfect as you, Dean," Sam said, rolling his eyes.

"I wish everyone did. The world would be a better place."

Sam shot Julie a look that read _is-this-guy-for-real?!_, and she smirked. "You two are adorable," she informed them. "Like an old married couple."

Both brothers rolled their eyes. But, truth be told, they were enjoying getting back into their old routine. It had been almost a week that Dean had been human, and the three hunters had found a case and decided to take it as the best way for things to get back to normal. Sam had been a little concerned about the Knights of Hell coming after them if they left the bunker, but they were well-hidden and protected, and Dean assured them that with only two left, they would be wary to attack without a plan. Julie also seemed to believe that Beelzebub wouldn't attack them, but she had no good reason.

Today, they were supposed to be beginning their work on the case. They were in a small town in Illinois where, in the past three years, nine mothers had been found dead in their homes. Normally, this wouldn't be too suspicious, but all nine women had seemed to be in pretty decent health, and they seemed to have dropped dead of sheer exhaustion. Also, several of them had been reported to act strangely before their deaths, acting paranoid and always seemingly unnaturally tired.

The real tip-off that this may be something paranormal came when Julie stumbled across a very important fact: none of the women were actually mothers.

All nine women had taken in foster children just a few months before dying. And all of the children were from the same organization…

And so, the hunters had come to investigate. Mysterious, unexplained deaths with a strange connection were what a hunter lived for.

They had made a plan on the drive here yesterday. Sam would play the role of FBI agent investigating the most recent death, which had happened a little over a week ago. But, since they already had the foster home as a lead, Dean and Julie had scheduled an appointment and would not be playing feds today. Instead they would be playing their most difficult role yet: a married couple looking to take in a foster child.

"Shouldn't you dress more like a mom?" Dean pointed out as he took in Julie's t-shirt and old, worn jeans.

"Shouldn't you dress less like a guy who hangs around in bars all day, hitting on girls?" she shot back.

"Until he met you, that's exactly who he was," Sam pointed out as he buttoned up his white dress shirt. "Dean, can you toss me that tie?" he asked his brother.

"I don't know, maybe _I_ should wear it so any women at the foster home don't think I'm a drunk guy hitting on them," Dean said, directing the comment towards Julie.

"Give me that," Julie snapped, only jokingly angry, as she swiped Sam's tie from Dean. Sam did his tie himself, and Julie stepped in and straightened it, also fixing the part of his collar that was sticking up, although she practically had to jump to reach the collar of his shirt.

Dean watched them interact, touching each other so casually and moving as if with one brain, like they were one person. "Maybe you two should be the married couple," he teased them, only half-joking.

"I couldn't marry Sam," Julie replied. "He's too mature and focused. I like being the one in control of the relationship."

"Excuse me?" Dean cried, and Sam and Julie both laughed.

"It's okay, honey," Julie assured him, giving him a peck on the cheek. "You make a smoking hot trophy wife."

In the end, Julie did end up putting on a nice, purple sweater and a nicer pair of jeans before the three hunters left the motel room. Dean was forced to relinquish driving privileges to Sam, since he was just dropping them off at the adoption agency.

Sam pulled up to the foster home, a rather large, one-story, white building with a friendly-looking, well-decorated lawn. Dean made a face when he saw the welcoming building. "Give me graves and abandoned warehouses any day," he muttered.

"That's the spirit, honey," Julie said sarcastically, getting out of the Impala. Dean followed reluctantly, nodding at Sam as he sped away and half-wishing he was going with him.

Julie led Dean into the foster home, and found herself wishing that she had gone with Sam as well. The lobby of the agency had bright yellow walls with paintings of cute fluffy ducks waddling along them. A plush pink couch was tucked into the corner, while a table with seats far too small for any adult took up most of the floor space. It was covered in toys and coloring books. All this was a bit over-the-top, but not so much that it made Julie want to flee. At least not until the middle-aged woman with curly red hair behind the counter spotted them and beamed at them.

"Hello there!" she cried happily. Way too happily. "You must be our ten o'clock appointment. I'm Shauna and I am so happy that you're here!"

Dean took a step back towards the door, but Julie grabbed his arm and held him there. She forced a smile at Shauna and spat through her clenched teeth, "If I'm staying, you're staying, _husband_."

"Welcome to the Sunny Hills Foster Home," Shauna said brightly. Dean glanced pointedly out the window at the grey, overcast sky, and the absolutely flat, hill-less landscape, and Julie elbowed him subtly.

Shauna came out from behind the counter to bounce over to them. She was a rather plump woman, about forty, with warm brown eyes and wild red curls that bounced around her as she hurried over to them. She wore a blue t-shirt with the Sunny Hills name and logo printed on it, and the stained, worn jeans Dean often saw mothers of young children wearing.

"Hi, Shauna," Julie said as sweetly as she could, plastering a smile on her face. "I'm Julie Summers, and this is my husband Dean."

"So nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Summers," Shauna said sweetly.

"Please, call us Dean and Julie," Julie's "husband" said, partly to make a polite gesture, and partly because that wasn't their names.

"Well, I'm glad you two called," Shauna said brightly. Man, that woman had too much energy and happiness! "Here at Sunny Hills, we are always more than happy to meet a new couple interested in becoming foster parents."

"Yep, that's us," Dean said with a pretty fake smile.

"Well, that's just dandy!" Shauna told them, and Dean snorted. Julie shot him a cold look, as Shauna cocked her head, confused.

"Is there something funny, Mr. Summers?" she asked innocently, but for a moment Julie could swear there was an edge to her voice.

"Nope. Sorry," Dean said quickly.

"Well then, let's get started! Of course, there's quite a bit of paperwork that will need to be done, and I'll have to interview you to get a sense on what you'd be like as parents, and I'll need to do a home visit…"

Dean and Julie exchanged nervous looks. That was about the last thing they wanted.

"Actually, we did have a quick concern before all that," Julie said quickly. "We were looking into Sunny Hills to see what sort of success rate the kids had with their families, that sort of thing, and we noticed that several former foster mothers of these kids had died?"

Shauna sighed. "Ah, yes. It's horrible. Some of them cancer, some of them heart attacks, some of them even the doctors can't explain. It breaks my heart what losing another mother does to these kids." Then she frowned. "But surely you don't think it has anything to do with Sunny Hills?"

"Oh, no," Julie said quickly. "It was just concerning."

"Yes, very concerning," Shauna sighed. "But you two seem like young, healthy folks. I'm sure you won't go dying on these kids."

"I'm sure," Julie said lightly.

"I make no promises," Dean muttered.

"Hmm?" Shauna asked.

"Oh, nothing, sorry," he said quickly.

"My husband _thinks _he's funny," Julie explained, pinching his arm where Shauna couldn't see. Dean winced and then turned the grimace into a very fake smile.

"But, as Julie likes to remind me, I am not," he said through a forced smile.

Shauna laughed lightly, pulling out a stack of paperwork. "Well, I'll let you two get to work on that!"

Dean made a face at all of the papers. "Who knew getting a kid would be so hard?" he muttered.

Julie stepped on his foot not-so-lightly and smiled at Shauna. "Thank you," she told the cheery woman. "We'll get right to work…"

* * *

After almost an hour of paperwork and then an interview where Julie and Dean gave Shauna crap answers about their stable home and church-going, law-abiding lifestyle, Dean managed to escape and look around the foster home by saying he had to use the restroom. While he abandoned Julie to chat with Ms. Way-Too-Much-Caffeine over there (which earned him a dirty look), Dean finally had a chance to do some actual sniffing around in the building.

He wandered through bright yellow, cheery hallways, glancing into a bathroom with different sized toilets for people of all ages. He found a room full of cots and stuffed animals, currently abandoned, and another small, light blue room full of books and little cushions. The kiddie library was empty, unsurprisingly, but the next room Dean came across had four little boys in it, crowded around a table with a small train set. They watched the little remote control engine go in its endless circle with blank expressions, their eyes following the movement expressionlessly.

Dean frowned. Something was wrong with these kids. They shouldn't be this calm and focused. Only one kid, the youngest kid who looked to be four or five who sat on the edge of the group actually reacted by _oohing _when the glossy red train whistled.

"Hey, guys," Dean said casually, knocking on the doorway. "Mind if I join you?"

The three older, blank-faced boys looked up in unison. "Who are you?" asked the oldest, a cute blond guy who looked to be eight or nine.

"My name's Dean," he said kindly. "My…my wife and I, we're here because we want to take in a foster kid."

Immediately, the three older boys perked up. "What's your wife like?" a little guy with wild red curls and freckles asked eagerly.

"Is she young? Is she healthy?" the other kid asked. He was adorable, an African-American guy with big, dark eyes and smooth, gorgeous dark skin. Dean knew that Julie would take one look at him and immediately want him, even though they actually weren't taking a kid. But there was something off about the odd questions he was asking and the almost greedy look in his cute little eyes…

"Um…yeah, she's young and healthy, I guess," he said carefully.

"You should take me!" the little dark-skinned guy said eagerly.

"No, me!" the oldest, blond kid protested.

"I want to be their kid!" the curly-haired kid snapped at the other two.

"Me too!" the littlest guy squeaked.

The three boys turned and shot him a look. "We're older and better, Ryan," the oldest kid snapped. "We should get picked."

_Damn_! Dean thought, shocked. This place must be awful if the kids were this cruel and so eager to get out.

"No, boys, Ryan is right," a woman's voice said, and Dean turned to see a pretty, dark-haired woman standing in the doorway. She looked like she had some Native American blood in her, and she was very pretty, about Julie's age. "Ryan was just transferred here a couple weeks ago, sir," she told Dean. "We're very hopeful that someone will come along and give him a home very soon."

"Well, I might just be your guy," Dean said, smiling. "Ryan, buddy, do you care if I get to know you a bit?"

The kid stared up at him shyly. "Okay."

Dean took the little guy over in a corner and knelt in front of him. "You're new here, Ryan?"

"Yeah," he whispered.

"You like it?"

"…Yeah." Dean's expert eyes didn't miss the nervous glance the kid shot towards the other kids.

"You sure about that, Ryan?" Dean asked suspiciously. The little boy looked down, lips trembling. Dean realized he was scaring the little guy, and he backed off. "Look, I'm sorry, bud. I didn't mean to scare you. It just seemed like those other kids weren't being very nice to you."

"They scare me," Ryan whispered. His big brown eyes were wide. "They don't talk like other kids, and they seem scary. They don't laugh or play like my other friends at the last foster home."

"No?" Dean frowned. The pieces were beginning to come together. "Ryan… you ever seen these kids eat?"

"No," he said softly. "I eat alone. I do a lot of things alone. I don't think they like me much."

"Not your fault, bud," Dean assured the kid. _It's probably because they may not even be the same species as you_.

Dean started to stand up, but Ryan reached out and pulled at his jacket, and he crouched back down. "Mister?" he asked nervously.

"Call me Dean," he told the kid, smiling despite the serious situation.

"Mr. Dean…what _is _your wife like? Is she real young and pretty? Is she nice like you?"

Dean couldn't help but smile, genuinely touched that this little guy thought he was nice. "She's young and really pretty, and even nicer than me. You'd like her."

"Really?" Ryan smiled slightly. "Mr. Dean…would you and your wife take me? I don't like it much here, but you sound really nice."

Dean wasn't sure why he was getting so emotional. "I can't promise you anything, buddy, but we'd be lucky to have you," he told the kid, suddenly feeling guilty that they weren't actually taking in a kid.

Little Ryan gave him an honest smile as Dean stood up and walked over the pretty, dark-haired woman. "Ryan seems like a real nice kid," he told her.

"Oh, he is," she assured him, smiling, but there was something false about that smile. "I'm sure you and your wife would love him."

"Well, let me go ask her," Dean said, hoping to get away and do a bit more investigating.

"I'll go with you," the woman replied, foiling his plan.

"Well, thank you…"

"Miranda."

"Thanks, Miranda. Lead the way."

Dean followed the young woman down the hall, watching her suspiciously. They passed the bathroom again on their way back to the lobby, and Dean glanced in the mirror at them, half-hoping he would be wrong.

He wasn't. The pretty woman's reflection was horrible, sunken holes where her eyes should be and a great, gaping mouth that looked like it would suck your soul. Her skin was greyish and peeling, and Dean's stomach turned at her horrific true appearance.

Without a word, he suddenly pulled out his gun and pointed it at Miranda. She must have heard him somehow, because she whirled around, but Dean was ready and he slammed her into the wall, pointing his gun at her head.

"Let me guess: changeling mother?" Dean growled.

"Let me guess: Winchester?" she shot back, eyes cold and hard.

"Those your kids back in there, the creepy, soulless little sons of bitches?" Dean asked coldly.

"My children are beautiful creatures," the monster snarled at him, trying to lunge forward. She was very strong, but Dean managed to keep her pinned.

"But they've been killing innocent women, haven't they?" Dean asked coldly. "This is your deal, isn't it? You have a foster home where all of the kids are monsters, and when they're taken in, they suck the lives out of their foster moms?"

"Wow, you're really not as dumb as you look," the changeling mother smirked.

"What's with Ryan, then? He seemed human."

"We usually leave a couple cute, human kids around. Some cute little couple comes in and takes them in, and then we switch them out with one of our children. It works out well. Our kids get to eat, and so do we…"

She grinned nastily, and Dean felt slightly sick at the thought of this monstrous bitch eating that poor, sweet little kid. "You're not getting your hands on him or anymore kids," Dean snarled. "No one else is dying."

"You sure about that?" Miranda smirked.

In answer, Dean put his gun away and pulled out a knife. It wasn't wise to fire a gun in a building full of kids and end up tipping off the monsters as well. He didn't have any fire on him, but he could at least stab the bitch and slow her down, and then find Julie and make a plan.

"That won't kill me," she told him.

"No, but it'll hurt like hell," he told the monster, and then he slit her throat.

The monster made a horrible gurgling sound, and Dean took off running for the lobby. He just had to find Julie and then he'd be able to figure out a way to kill all these sons of bitches.

But when Dean reached the lobby, it was empty. He stepped into the room, looking for signs of struggle. One of the chairs was turned over, and he saw a bit of dark liquid on the ground that looked horribly like blood.

No.

"Julie?" Dean yelled, ignoring how stupid it was to be yelling in a house full of monsters like this. "Jules?"

"She's ours now, Winchester," a familiar voice said. He looked up to see happy, happy Shauna advancing towards him, smiling nastily. "Just like you."

"Really, Shauna?" Dean sighed. "You too? I knew you were too happy and nice to be sincere."

"Surrender, or I'll kill your wife," she snarled at him.

"I don't think so," Dean snarled. "Give her to me, or I'll kill you and all your evil little kids."

But even as Dean spoke, Miranda appeared in the other doorway, her bloody throat already healing. The three little boys were behind her, and two older, teenage kids appeared behind Shauna.

Dean had no way to kill them, and not even a way to slow them down, at least not for long. He knew what he had to do, but he hated it so much.

"I'm sorry, Jules," he muttered, overwhelmed with guilt. And then he turned and ran out of this death trap to his car, and sped off to find Sam.

* * *

Sam was exhausted. He hadn't been sleeping so well, even with Dean back. He spent a lot of time worrying about Julie, who didn't seem to be okay despite all of her assurances that she was, and he spent the rest of the time worrying about Dean and what his spell as a demon must have done to his brother.

This job was not helping. He had spent the past hour or so at the home of a dead woman, where her grieving husband had barely been able to answer his questions through his tears. Sam hated forcing obviously hurting people to give answers, but it was kind of in the job description.

The husband of the most recently dead woman hadn't had a lot of helpful things to say. He did mention that the foster child seemed a bit cold and distant, but foster children were often that way. He had no idea what had caused his wife's death. In fact, Sam would have considered the whole thing a waste, but the man had managed to give the name of one of his friends, who had also taken in a foster child about a month ago from the same organization.

So Sam drove over to the Jackson home. He was greeted by a nice woman in her mid-thirties, who had been very polite, although she wasn't quite sure why an FBI agent was at her house. He explained the situation to her, and she invited him in. She left him alone in the kitchen, and returned a couple minutes later with an eleven-year-old girl, Casey, who was their new foster child.

Mrs. Jackson left Sam alone with Casey. She sat down at the table and stared at him blankly. "Hey, Casey," he said kindly. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I just have some questions. I'm not sure if you've heard, but some of the other foster parents in town have been dying mysteriously, and I just wanted to ask you some questions to make sure nothing happens to your foster parents either."

"Why do you have to ask me?" she asked flatly. "I'm just a kid."

"Well…yeah, you are just a kid, but that doesn't mean you don't know things," he said slowly, confused.

Before he could begin to question the girl, his phone began to ring. "I'm sorry, Casey. Do you mind if I take this?"

She shook her head, and Sam picked up. "What is it, Dean?" he asked, frustrated.

"The kids," Dean snapped, and he sounded out of breath. "They're changelings."

"_What_?" Sam asked in disbelief.

"They're changelings, Sam!" his brother snapped. "I was at the foster home, and I ran into two mothers, and they know who I am and that I know about them. They lend their kids out to people so that the kids can feed, and then they eat the real ones."

"That's horrible!" Sam cried.

"It gets worse."

"How?"

"They've got Julie," Dean said, and he sounded anguished. "We got separated, and I got out, but they've got her, and they could be killing her for all I know. God, Sammy, they've got Jules!"

"Calm down, Dean," Sam told his brother, although his heart was racing as well. "It'll be okay. Look, as long as we're on the loose, they won't risk killing her. They need her as leverage. So we need to just-"

But Dean would never know what he needed to just. Because before Sam could get another word out, the young girl sitting across from him suddenly stood up, lifted her heavy oak chair, and hit Sam across the head with it. The chair shattered as it collided with Sam's head, and the hunter fell to the ground, unconscious.


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter Forty-Eight**

"Dammit, Sammy!"

Dean punched the side of his car as he reached it. It was a testament to how truly upset Dean was that he would even think of hitting his Baby. But the minute he had heard that crash on the other end of the phone and then the line had gone dead, he knew something was wrong with Sam. He had sped to the house Sam had been investigating and followed his tracks to the Jackson home. But both Sam and the little girl had gone missing, and Dean was certain that she had been a changeling, and now had his brother.

It would be almost funny, the idea of an eleven-year-old girl taking out his six-four, buff, badass brother, but nothing was funny right now. Those sons of bitches already had Julie and were possibly torturing or killing her right now, and they had just gotten their hands on his baby brother, too.

He'd only had the two people he loved most back for a week, and he could be about to lose them forever.

Dean fought back his blinding grief and panic. He had to move fast, before those changelings hurt Sammy and Jules. Changelings. How did you beat a changeling? It had been so long since he'd hunted one; they weren't exactly common. But he knew fire could kill them.

Okay. Fire. He had a couple mini flamethrowers in the trunk, and plenty of lighter fluid and matches. He could Molotov cocktail these sons of bitches, burn the rest with flamethrowers, and get his brother and girlfriend out of there. He just had to find the mothers and burn them. That wasn't so hard. Right? He could do this. He'd faced worse odds and had harder tasks before.

But then why were his hands shaking? Why was his heart racing, and why couldn't he think of anything but Sam and Julie lying cold and stiff on the ground by the time he got there?

Dean knew why. He'd only been human a week, and he hadn't quite adjusted to human emotions yet. They were so strong, compared to the dulled, almost non-existent emotions he'd felt as a demon. And when he thought of what those monsters could be doing to his beautiful Julie or his little brother, he wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. He felt so damn guilty for failing the both of them that he just wanted to sit there feeling sorry for himself and hating himself some more.

But he was _Dean Winchester_, dammit! There was a reason those monsters knew his name. It was because he faced monsters like them, and worse, on a daily basis, and he _always _won. He wasn't going to back down now, not when Sam and Julie needed him.

Dean clenched his fists until they stopped shaking. Then he marched to the trunk of the Impala and unlocked it. He found all of his blowtorches, flamethrowers, lighter fluid, and matches, and even grabbed a machete for good measure.

Those monsters were going to regret ever laying a hand on his loved ones.

* * *

Sam woke up in a dark room, probably a basement. The back of his head hurt like a bitch, and his arms were tightly tied to a sturdy supporting beam. He was sitting on a cold, hard floor. He tried to look around at his surroundings, but there was almost no light in the room, and he couldn't make out much more than the shapes of other supporting beams and some odd boxes up against the walls.

Taking deep breaths to keep himself calm, Sam ran a physical assessment. His suit jacket had been taken, as well as the gun tucked into his waistband, the knife in his jacket, and the knife in his shoe. He was weaponless and tied up, basically powerless against these…what had him again?

Changelings. He remembered now, Dean's panicked phone call. The kids were changelings, and so were the women running the foster home. Damn, he had been stupid! He should have realized the second Dean mentioned changelings not to trust the girl sitting across from him. She was pretty damn strong, if she could knock him out, but then again, she hadn't even been human.

There was something else, though, one other problem. And it was a big one. It took Sam a moment to remember, and when he did, he breathed her name into the darkness.

"Julie."

These monsters had her, too. As horrible as that thought was, it provided a tiny bit of comfort. She might be down here too, in this dark basement. Sam risked calling her name. "Julie? Julie, are you down here?"

There was a moment of silence, and then a voice called, "Who's there?"

It was much too young to be Julie, but it did sound like a girl. He recognized the voice as that girl, Casey, and his muscles tensed, ready to fight.

"Who's Julie?" another girl asked, and she sounded a couple years younger than Casey.

At almost the same time, a young boy said, "You don't sound like a kid."

Sam's head was spinning as he tried to deal with the info-dump these faceless kids had just given him with a few words. "Um…I'm not a kid," he answered slowly. "My name's Sam. And Julie's my friend. I thought she might be here. But…where is here? And what are you kids doing here?"

"The mirror monsters took us here," the younger girl's voice came in a soft, scared whisper.

"They took us from our new homes," the boy said, and he too sounded scared. "Then they put us in these cages." So those must be the odd boxes up against the wall. "I think they're going to hurt us," the kid added.

"They took Billy," the girl, Casey, said. Sam realized this must be the real Casey, and not the changeling who had attacked him. At least she was still alive. "They took him upstairs and…he never came down. I'm afraid they're going to do that to us."

"I won't let them," Sam said firmly. "Look, kids, I promise, nothing bad is going to happen to you." He paused. "Well, at least nothing _else_ bad is going to happen. I'm going to get out of here, and get you kids to safety, but I need to find my friend first."

"Is she the nice lady?" a small voice asked softly. This child sounded even younger, a boy of four or five. He sounded absolutely terrified. "The nice man's wife?"

Sam frowned. "What?"

"The nice man told me about his wife, but then the mirror monsters took her, and they took me, too. I'm scared, mister. Are they going to hurt us like they hurt her?"

The "nice man" must be Dean, and his nice "wife" must be Julie. But that meant… "They _hurt_ her?" Sam growled protectively, pulling at the ropes binding him.

"They brought her down here," Casey said softly. "She was yelling at them and she said someone named Dean would stop them-"

"Mr. Dean!" the little boy suddenly squeaked. "Yes, that was the nice man."

"Do you really think he can stop them?" the younger girl asked, sounding as if she barely dared to hope.

"He's my brother, and he's about the toughest guy there is," Sam told the kids. "If anybody can stop these monsters, it's him." But something was still bugging him. "What were you saying earlier? What did these change…these mirror monsters do to Julie?"

"Well…" Casey swallowed nervously. "The two grownups, they said their kids were hungry. And then the weird kids, the mirror monsters…I think they bit her or something. It sounded like it hurt, and after a while she quit making noise…"

No. Sam refused to think that those changelings might have killed her. They wouldn't dare. But he was going to rip them apart for hurting her…as soon as he got free.

"Is she dead?" the littlest boy asked softly, sounding near tears.

"No," Sam said firmly. "She's not. Julie's tough, too. She'll be okay. We all will. I promise you, kids, I'm going to make sure we're all okay."

But Sam had barely finished speaking before a dim light bulb dangling from the ceiling flicked on, filling the dark, cold basement with weak yellow light. Sam saw four children trapped in what looked like dog kennels over against the wall, in varying states of dirtiness. Casey and the older boy looked like they had been there a while, but the younger boy and girl both were relatively clean and probably hadn't been down here long at all.

Sam glanced around the room, looking for a way to get free or whatever had turned on the light, but instead saw her. She was several feet away, also tied to a supporting beam, and her head was hanging limply, making Sam think she was still out.

"Julie!" he hissed, straining at the ropes binding him to try and reach her. "Julie, can you hear me? Julie, are you okay?"

His unconscious friend stirred slightly, and a soft moan of pain escaped her. Sam's heart was pounding painfully as he waited for her to fully wake up. "Julie?" he asked again.

She finally was able to lift her head. She looked pale and exhausted, and it took her eyes a moment to focus on him. Then she frowned. "Sam?" she asked weakly.

Before he could reply, footsteps thudded down the stairs. The two hunters and four children looked up as a young woman came down the stairs. She was pretty, with tan skin and dark hair, and she looked innocent enough. But the older of the two boys squeaked in fear and moved as far back in his cage as he could, so she must be a changeling.

The woman ignored the children and instead studied the two adults in front of her. The room was silent for a moment as the two hunters glared up at the monster before them.

"Will he come for you two?" she asked suddenly.

"Who?" Sam asked, feigning confusion.

She smirked slightly. "Do not play the fool, Winchester. I know he is your brother, just like I know you two have spent your lives trying to kill our kind. Now, will your brother come for you two?"

The two hunters remained silent. She sighed. "I believe that he will, and whether or not you admit it, I think you believe it, too."

"You'd better hope he doesn't come," Julie said coldly. "Because if he does, you and all your children are going to die."

"That is why you two remain alive," the changeling mother explained. "I do wish we had managed to kill him before he escaped, but we _will _kill him when he returns for you two."

"If there were fifty of you, you couldn't kill him," Sam snarled, confident in his brother ability to blow these monsters away.

"As I said, that is why you two remain alive. We will hold one of you hostage, and when he comes, he will surrender or we will kill you."

Sam barely kept himself from wincing. He knew that plan was pretty much foolproof, because Dean would do anything to prevent him and Julie from getting hurt.

"I only need one of you, though," she explained. "Come here, child." Sam noticed for the first time a young, dark-haired girl hovering behind the changeling mother. She stepped forward, and her eyes were cold and devoid of emotion, like her mother's. The mother stroked her child's hair as she spoke. "Most of my children got a nice snack from her," the monster explained, nodding towards Julie, who winced. "But she's still got some strength left in her, and my daughter here is _starving_. Now go ahead, sweetie. Eat up."

The changeling started to move towards Julie. "Leave her alone!" Sam snarled. "Don't you dare hurt her! I swear to god, I will kill you all if you even _touch _her-"

The child had reached Julie, and it forced her head forward, brushing aside her hair to expose the back or her neck. There were already several puncture wounds there, and Julie struggled against the monster, but she was still weak from those last feedings. Before Sam could go on threatening the monster, though, there was a loud noise upstairs, followed by an inhuman wail.

"Stop, child!" the changeling mother shrieked suddenly, and the changeling pulled away from Julie's neck. They were all silent, and a few seconds later, there was the sound of another person screaming in agony, until their voice petered out. This sounded like a small child, and the changeling mother looked pissed.

"He's here," she growled. "And he dares to murder my children."

"Dean!" Sam suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs. "Dean, we're downstairs! In the basement! We-"

The changeling mother reached him and struck him hard across the face, silencing him for a moment. Then she was forcing a dirty cloth into his mouth, gagging him quickly. The next thing he knew, she was sawing through the ropes binding him, keeping a tight grip on one of his arms.

The moment he was free, he tried to throw her off, but she snarled, "Resist me and my child will kill your friend over there." And sure enough, the child was still poised over Julie, prepared to suck the life out of her.

Sam had no choice but to let the changeling mother haul him to his feet. There was another dying scream upstairs, and the monster holding him growled angrily.

"I will destroy your brother," she hissed in Sam's ear. "He will suffer for this."

She started dragging Sam towards the stairs. Once they got upstairs, they would just wait for Dean to find them, and then he would surrender rather than watch his little brother be killed. And if Sam tried to fight, Julie would die.

Just as they reached the stairs, there was another dying wail, and this one sounded like an adult and not a child. Behind them, the changeling about to kill Julie suddenly gasped and then died. It must have been the monster's mother that had just died, and the children died with the mother.

Which meant that there was no longer any threat to Julie.

Before the changeling holding Sam's arm could process what had happened, he slammed her into the wall with his shoulder, hard. While she was still stunned, he grabbed her neck in a chokehold and slammed her head back against the wall as hard as he could, knocking the monster unconscious long enough to buy them a few moments.

The second the changeling mother collapsed, Sam pulled the dirty gag out of his mouth and rushed to Julie. He found the knife the monster had used to cut him free and cut his friend free as quickly as possible.

"Are you okay?" he asked Julie the second she was free.

"Not really," she admitted. "Those little bastards drained a lot of my strength."

He helped her to her feet, but she couldn't really stand on her own. Her legs were shaking with the effort of standing, even though Sam was taking the majority of her weight. She leaned heavily on his arm, and she looked on the verge of collapse.

It was silent upstairs. "Dean!" Sam yelled again. "Julie and I are downstairs in the basement!"

There was a moment of silence, and then Dean's muffled voice yelled back, "Sammy?"

Sam smiled in relief at the sound of his brother's voice. "Yeah, it's me! Who else would it be?"

"You should be thanking me, little brother, not giving me backtalk," Dean called back, and his voice sounded closer now. A few seconds later, Sam and Julie heard a door open, and footsteps came thudding down the stairs.

Sam grinned when he saw his brother. Dean had one of his homemade mini-flamethrowers strapped to his belt, as well as a small container of lighter fluid, and there was a machete strapped to his back. The elder Winchester had come to this rescue well-prepared, and Sam had rarely been happier to see him.

"You okay, Sammy?" Dean asked, grinning in relief as he took in his little brother. Sam didn't look hurt.

"I'm fine, Dean," Sam replied. But Dean didn't acknowledge his brother's response, because he'd just noticed Julie, leaning heavily on Sam for support, her skin very pale, looking like she was about to pass out.

"Jules," he said softly, taking a step towards her. She pushed off of Sam and collapsed into Dean's arms, too exhausted to even try to hold herself up. He held her tightly, refusing to let her go. It was clear that these monsters had done something to her, probably sucked some of the life out of her like they did to their human "mothers," and Dean wished he hadn't already wiped out most of the monsters, because they needed to suffer a hell of a lot more than they had for hurting her.

"Dean!" Sam yelled suddenly, and there was enough panic and concern in his voice that Dean managed to forget all about the hurting woman in his arms and look over to see that the other changeling mother had gotten back up. Somehow, while the three hunters were being reunited, she had picked herself up and gotten a gun.

Because now she was smiling nastily, pointing the gun straight at a small child who was cowering in a cage, looking near tears. A very familiar-looking child…

"Surrender now, boys, or I will kill him and all of these other pathetic little children," the changeling growled, and Dean knew she would do it.

He glared at her, but spoke the terrified little boy, the same child he had talked to the last time he'd been here. "Ryan, it's going to be okay. We're not going to let her hurt you or any of these kids."

The child nodded at Dean, and even though he was still crying, he looked like he believed him. Dean could not afford to let that little guy down.

"I will hurt him and all of these kids, unless you two put down your weapons and put your hands where I can see them," the monster snapped.

Grudgingly, Dean pulled his weapons off of his belt and threw them to the ground, even the machete on his back. Sam dropped the knife he was holding and both men put their hands in the air in surrender, glaring at the monster in front of them.

The changeling smirked at them and relaxed a little, slightly lowering her gun as she let her guard down a bit. She opened her mouth, probably to gloat.

Julie was still leaning heavily on Dean, but her hand slipped around behind him to the waistband of his jeans. For half a second, he thought she was trying to get his pants off him, and he frowned. Was this really the time?

But the next second she had pulled the gun he kept tucked into the waistband of his jeans out, and before the changeling could even realize what was happening, she shot the monster straight in the head.

Sam and Dean stared at Julie in shock as the monster collapsed, moaning in agony. She still looked like she was on the verge of collapsing, but she had just gotten that changeling with a near-perfect headshot. She smirked weakly at their shocked expressions. "You shouldn't underestimate me," she informed them. "Now go burn that bitch before she hurts those kids."

Dean gently sat Julie down on the ground before rushing over to the monster. She was beginning to pick herself up, so he snapped at the kids not to look and shot her again, incapacitating her for a few more seconds. He dragged her body upstairs to dispose of it where the little children wouldn't have to watch, while Sam worked on finding the keys to the cages and getting the kids free.

By the time Dean returned, all of the children were now free and huddled together, watching them warily. Julie was leaning against a support beam, eyes half-closed, looking like she was probably going to pass out any second.

"Mr. Dean?" the youngest boy, Ryan, asked timidly. Julie opened her eyes and watched as Dean carefully approached the scared little boy and knelt to talk to him on his level.

"Yeah, Ryan?"

"Are all the monsters gone now?"

"Yeah, they are. I promise you, buddy, they're not going to hurt you or any of these kids ever again." Dean addressed all the scared kids now. "We're going to make sure you kids find a nice, normal home and nice, normal families. You know, ones that won't turn out to be crazy monsters."

The oldest girl smiled weakly at Dean. "Thank you for saving us," she whispered.

"Yeah, thanks," Ryan added, and the other children murmured their thanks. Most of them were in various stages of shock, but somehow little Ryan seemed the most calm. Probably because he was almost too young to comprehend the horrors he had witnessed.

The little boy timidly stepped forward and awkwardly hugged Dean. Dean smiled a little and gave the child a reassuring squeeze. "You'll be okay, buddy," he told Ryan. "You're pretty tough, I can tell."

He released Ryan and walked over to Julie. She was smiling fondly at Dean, but she still looked half-dead. "You okay, honey?" he asked her gently, kneeling down next to her this time.

"I will be," she got out. "That…was adorable."

"What?" Dean frowned, confused.

"You and the…little guy. Real…fatherly moment. You'd make…a good dad."

Dean rolled his eyes. "You're delirious. Come on, Jules. Let's get you somewhere where you can sleep."

He scooped his girlfriend up in his arms, and she was too exhausted to protest. Sam gathered the kids together, after finding the weapons and suit jacket the changelings had taken from him.

Dean looked down and saw that Julie had already fallen asleep in the less than a minute he'd been holding her. He smiled fondly at her and turned to his brother. "Alright. Come on, Sammy. Let's get this girl to a real bed, and let's find these kids a real home."

* * *

"You're insane," Apollyon told her brother coldly.

"There's a fine line between insanity and genius," he countered calmly, smiling. He was perched on the throne in hell, where he ruled as king. Apollyon had always known that as the king of the Knights, her brother would eventually aspire to bigger things than just ruling hell. But to think that Beelzebub would go _this _big…she had expected him to take over earth or something simple like that!

"And you are definitely insane," she replied.

"Normally, if you talked to me with that kind of disrespect, sister, I would have you put on the rack for a couple months," Beelzebub said coldly. "But because you are the only other Knight of Hell left, I'll go a little easier on you."

"Exactly!" Apollyon cried. "We're the only two Knights left! Adramalech, Asmodeus, Abbadon, Behemoth, even Cain…they're all dead. All because of one Knight of Hell you thought would be fun to cure, I might add."

"Are you really still upset about that, sister?" Beelzebub sighed. "Making Dean Winchester human again was the only logical solution. Otherwise, he was invincible and more than capable of killing us both."

"There may have been a way to convince him to join us," she replied. "We didn't try everything. Hell, we barely tried _anything_!"

"We made the man full evil, and by all rights he should have been happy to join us. But there was still some spark of his old self in him, I guess, and he was never going to work with us, and he was certainly never going to agree to be ruled, no matter what we did."

Apollyon glared at him, because she knew he was right. Dean Winchester was stubborn above all else, and he would never join them, demon or not.

"Besides," the king of the Knights smirked, "when I made the man human, I got Juliet Carters' soul. In a little less than six months, that girl is mine, and those two brothers will be so devastated it will be quite easy for us to swoop in and take care of them once and for all."

"I don't understand why you would give the girl six months," Apollyon muttered. "She would have come with you now to save him."

"But it will be much harder on all of them to know that they had a limited amount of time. Give them hope, and then take it all away. Believe me, it's much more fun this way," he laughed. "And besides…this way we have time to plan for his rise. If we can raise our lord the day Julie Carters dies, those two will be so grief-stricken they won't be able to stop us. Or, even better, they'll be so intent on trying to protect her from the hounds that they won't even attempt to stop the spell."

"That would be a great plan, if it weren't for the raising him part," Apollyon snapped. "Once the girl is dead, it'll be easy to get the brothers, and then we can kill them, or at least keep them alive long enough to get the angel, Castiel, to surrender, and then kill all three. And then we can take over earth unopposed, and rule both hell and earth. With their leader gone, we may even be able to take over heaven! Nothing can stop us!"

"Until something can," Beelzebub said coldly. "Until another hunter or angel or something ever stronger rises up against us and overthrows us. There's a reason the Knights have never been able to rule the earth. It is not fate-"

"You cannot believe that bringing him back is _fate_!" Apollyon snarled. "Those two brothers and that angel were able to stop him before. An angel and two _humans _took down your precious lord, Beelzebub!" she cried viciously. "If it really was fate for Lucifer to rule, then he never would have been put back in the pit by a couple boys and a simple little angel, not even an archangel."

"You're just afraid that our lord will destroy you along with the other demons once he rules," Beelzebub spit.

"And you," she shot back. "You're a demon as much as any of us."

"Yes, but I am his most loyal follower," Beelzebub said smugly. "I am the one who he gave his backup plan, should the first attempt at the apocalypse fail. He thought it impossible, because each of the spells must be done by the first murderer with the First Blade, and Cain was lost to him. But now I have the Mark of the first murderer _and _the First Blade, and I will be the one to bring our lord back. He would not kill me after I bring him out of the pit."

As he spoke, Beelzebub rolled up his sleeve and proudly showed Apollyon the red Mark on his arm. The Mark of Cain. The First Blade rested on a pedestal next to his throne, guarded by dozens of enchantments. When he had done his part of the deal with Julie Carters, he had removed the Mark of Cain from Dean Winchester's arm, but someone must always be bearing the Mark, so he took it himself, as well as the Blade. And now he was virtually invincible, and finally capable of returning his lord Lucifer to earth.

Apollyon shook her head. "That Julie woman was a fool not to see why you were helping her. Almost as much of a fool as you for wanting to do this!"

"I did not ask for your opinion, sister," Beelzebub said coldly. "I am going to raise our lord whether or not you like it. It would be wise of you to assist me, so that our lord will see how you helped him and spare you."

"He will not spare me no matter what I do," the only other remaining Knight snarled. "He may be the father of all evil, but he is still an angel, and he finds us disgusting, pawns that he will destroy once he no longer finds us necessary."

"You, perhaps," Beelzebub said coldly.

"No. All of us."

The two Knights glared at each other. "If you do not wish to help me, then leave," Beelzebub said coldly. "I do not need your help, and if you oppose me, then I will kill you."

"I know better than to oppose you," Apollyon smirked. "I am going to hide, and if you do manage to raise him, let me pray he never finds me."

"That is a cowardly move," Beelzebub said, and there was almost respect in his voice. "But also probably your wisest choice you could make."

She smirked. "But before I do that, I will get my revenge on those Winchesters and their friends. I will find them and I will tear them apart, and you'll get the girl's soul a little early. Then they can't oppose you, and you have your favorite toy back in hell."

"I'd be glad to see them destroyed, and to have Juliet sooner rather than later," Beelzebub said. "But you will not kill the younger one, Sam."

"What? Why?" Apollyon cried.

"Don't you know anything?!" Beelzebub cried. "He's the vessel of Lucifer himself! If you do manage to capture them, kill Dean Winchester and his bitch, by all means, and make sure it's nice and slow for me. But give the boy to me."

Apollyon's eyes were cold. "Why?"

"So that I can make sure he is right there and ready to be possessed when I do raise our lord," Beelzebub said, smirking. "While I am completing the spells, which is going to take a few months anyway, I'll work on him until I break him. I'll get him to the point where he'll gladly say yes, and then nothing will be able to stop our lord."

"_Your_ lord," Apollyon spat, and without another word, she turned and left, thinking to herself that when she did get her hands on Sam Winchester, she would be making sure that he definitely was tortured. But it would be by her hands, and it would end in death, like that of Julie Carters and Dean Winchester as well.

And she would probably be doing him a kindness. Anything had to be better than being the vessel of Lucifer himself.


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter Forty-Nine**

"We are not spending a lot of time here," Julie informed Dean as they got out of the Impala and headed towards the gas station.

"Oh, come on!" he protested. "Can't we celebrate our victory?"

"You want to celebrate salt-and-burning a ghost by hanging out in a gas station in the middle of Louisiana all night?" Julie asked skeptically, and Dean rolled his eyes.

"Fine. But we're buying a bunch of crap and eating ourselves sick tonight."

"What a great way to celebrate," his girlfriend replied sarcastically as they reached the door.

The bored teenager at the cash register didn't even look up as they came in. It was a little after eleven o'clock at night, and they were the only ones here. Sam was relaxing back at the motel. He would have come on the supply run with them, but while Dean and Julie were salt-and-burning a corpse, the ghost of Jason Roberts, a ghost that had killed his cheating wife and then himself in a jealous rage and then come back to haunt and kill the family of the man his wife cheated with one by one, appeared and threw Sam into a large tombstone. Getting thrown through the air and slammed into a concrete slab was never fun, and Sam had decided he would just rest for tonight.

The hunt had been rather trivial, like all of their jobs since Dean was saved. The big baddies like the Knights had seemed to just vanish when Dean became human. That probably wasn't a good sign, but it meant that the three hunters had a chance to get back into the routine of hunting before any powerful, near-invincible demons attacked.

"Ooh! Oreos!" Dean cried as they wandered through the aisles and stumbled across the junk food. "Have you ever had these things? They're like crack!"

"Every American has had an Oreo," Julie snapped. "And they're about as healthy as crack. Find something that won't come back to bite you in the butt in a few years, when your metabolism suddenly dies on you."

"Like I'll make it that long," Dean shot back, joking, but then regretted it. Jokes like that just weren't as funny now that Julie really had lost him. Feeling a bit guilty, he put the Oreos back, but quickly found the Cheetos, and then the candy bar section.

A couple minutes later, Julie walked towards Dean with some sandwiches in plastic containers, bananas, a bag of oranges, and a pack of waters. "How did you do?" she asked him, afraid of the answer.

Dean held up a large bag of potato chips, another bag of Cheetos, and a handful of candy bars and bags of gummy worms. "How the hell are you in such good shape?" Julie asked in disbelief. "All you do is eat crap and get drunk."

"I stay pretty active," he said suggestively, and Julie rolled her eyes.

"You think you're getting laid tonight, don't you?"

"I get laid pretty much every night anyway."

"Just for that, no sex for you."

"Oh, come on, that's not fair!" Dean complained. "What if I put back the gummy worms?"

"The fact that you got gummy worms in the first place is the reason there's a problem," Julie sighed. "This is our _dinner_, Dean."

Dean put on a pitiful expression. "I was getting them for Sam. When we were kids, Dad wouldn't leave us with much money, and I was a kid. I didn't know what food was good, so there were a few weeks where Sam and I pretty much lived off of gummy worms and breakfast cereal, and he's liked 'em ever since."

Julie stared at him, unimpressed. "That whole story was crap," she said flatly.

"Damn," Dean swore. "How did you know?"

"Because I've lived with Sam for over a year, and I know for a fact that he doesn't like gummy candy. That would be you, Dean."

He sighed in defeat and put all the candy back. Julie made him put the Cheetos back as well, but she kept the potato chips and even let him get a couple pies at the checkout. The checkout kid watched as Julie smacked Dean's hand as he reached for even more junk food at the register and smirked.

"That guy giving you some trouble?" he asked flirtatiously. He looked to be about eighteen or nineteen, a tall, skinny guy with hipster glasses. Julie didn't miss the way his eyes kept drifting a little lower than her face.

"You have no idea," she smiled at the kid as she handed him their stuff. And then her smile vanished. "But nowhere near as much trouble as he gives guys that mess with me."

The kid blinked and then quickly rang their supplies up in silence. They paid and left, and Dean started laughing when the door closed.

"Did he really think he had a shot?" Dean smirked. "You're ten years older than him."

"_You're_ eight years older than _me_," she pointed out, stuffing their grocery bags into the backseat.

"Yeah, but see, I actually have a shot at getting you in bed tonight."

"Not with that attitude you don't."

The whole drive back to the motel, they kept up their easy, teasing banter. Julie played hard-to-get the whole time, partly because she enjoyed it, but also because it always made Dean even happier when he actually got her in bed that night. These past two-and-a-half weeks, he really had been getting laid almost every night. Sex had never been a rare occurrence between them, but it was a lot more frequent now. Dean was trying to make up for lost time, and Julie was trying to get as many experiences in that she could as her time quickly ran out.

They quickly reached the motel and entered their room, Julie laughing at some goofy comment Dean had just made. Sam looked up from the table where he had been sitting on his laptop. "Hey, guys. Did you get some food?" he asked, smiling.

"'Did we get some food?'" Dean repeated, scandalized at the thought that they wouldn't have gotten anything to eat.

Julie rolled her eyes and pushed past him, ignoring him. "_I _got some actual food," she informed Sam. "That idiot got some junk food crap."

"For your information, the food _this idiot_ got is delicious!" Dean replied, mock-hurt.

"And fattening," Sam pointed out as he saw Dean's two creamy pies.

The three of them sat down to sandwiches, waters, potato chips, and bananas (and an entire pie for Dean). They talked about insignificant things and teased each other, and Julie found that she wasn't even thinking about the fact that her time was limited. She was just enjoying the moment, and that was what she had to do for the next five-and-a-half months. She could worry about hell when it came time for that.

After eating a very late dinner, the three of them squeezed together on Sam's bed and watched television. Julie noticed Sam squirming a little uncomfortably and frowned. "You sure you're okay?" she asked her friend. "That couldn't have felt nice, getting thrown into that tombstone."

"I'm fine," Sam assured her. "Just a bit sore."

"Are you sure?" she asked again, concerned. "Because, Sam, if there's anything I can do to help-"

"Calm down," Sam interrupted her, smiling slightly. "It's nothing, really."

Julie knew, in comparison to some of the things he'd gone through, it really was nothing, so she relaxed. Dean found some football game that was in overtime and still going on, and he and Sam settled in to watch it. Neither of them had real time to follow sports, but they did enjoy a close game like this. Julie, on the other hand, had no patience for sports, so she shifted so that her head was resting in Dean's lap and began to drift off.

She was almost asleep when one of the players scored a field goal, and Dean half-got up from his sitting position, cheering since that was the team he had chosen to root for. He jolted Julie awake and she shot him a dirty look.

"Sorry," Dean said quickly, stroking her hair soothingly. She sighed and went back to her old position, and she was nearly asleep once again when one of the players on the team Sam was rooting for performed a pretty dirty foul on another team member. Dean moved again, shouting at the TV, again disturbing her sleep.

Julie propped herself on one elbow and shot Dean a murderous look. "You do that one more time and I'm leaving," she informed him.

"Sorry, Jules, I'll stop," he assured her, and she relented, returning to her comfortable position. But not even two minutes later, Dean moved again as he cheered and laughed at Sam, since his team had won.

"That's it!" Julie snapped, sitting up. "I'm taking a nap on Sam now."

Before Dean could protest, Julie rolled over and put her head in Sam's lap. Dean waited for Sam to look uncomfortable with this, but he didn't at all. With one hand, he brushed some of her hair out of her face, while he surfed channels with the other.

Dean waited for that old rush of jealousy, and he did feel a bit of it. But it wasn't a concern that Julie may love his brother more than him. He just wished that he and Julie were as close as she and Sam seemed to be. Of course, he and Julie were extremely close, and he had no doubt in his mind that she loved him unconditionally, him and no one else. But while he had been a demon, Sam and Julie had lived together for almost five months, and with no one but each other and occasionally Cas, the two had grown very close. They had a bond that Dean would probably never have with Julie, and he wondered if that was starting to bother him.

He decided it didn't. He was glad that Sam and Julie were able to be very close without things getting complicated like they had in the past. He wasn't sure what had changed. Maybe it was losing Dean that had made them realize nothing was ever worth risking losing him again, but he was glad that those days of conflicting emotions and fighting were gone.

After a little while, about one o'clock in the morning, Sam decided it was time for the two brothers to go to bed. He gently shook Julie's shoulder, waking her up, and then Julie and Dean said their goodnights to Sam and went into their adjoining motel room. Julie was still a bit sleepy from her nap, so she settled onto the bed while Dean went into their bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for bed.

Dean stripped down to his underwear and pulled on a pair of sweatpants while Julie changed out of her day clothes into a tank top and shorts. While he was in the bathroom, Dean stopped for a moment to stare at his reflection in the mirror. He looked like the same guy he had a few weeks ago, when he was a demon. For a moment, he was filled with doubt. They had been unable to find any reason why Dean was miraculously cured, and for a second, Dean feared he wasn't, and that the demon in him was just lying dormant.

He reached down to that spot deep inside him where his demonic powers had once lay, and tried to turn his eyes black. It had been such a simple task, and one he enjoyed as a demon, and he would know if his eyes turned black that this was all just a lie and he really was still a demon deep inside.

But nothing happened. Dean's eyes stayed green, and he relaxed slightly. His moment of doubt passed, and he returned to the bedroom, where Julie was waiting on the bed.

Dean sat next to Julie. She noticed that he seemed a little tense, and she moved to sit behind him. She rubbed at the back of his neck and his bare shoulders until Dean's muscles finally relaxed and he sighed. Once he was more relaxed, Julie continued to run her hands over the defined muscles in his back, but that was more for her sake than his. She moved forward and brushed kisses across the light freckles on his shoulders, then kissed his neck.

All of the sudden, Julie found herself lying on her back with Dean crouching over her. He had that dull yet focused look in his eyes that he had when he was getting turned on, and Julie smiled to herself as he bent even lower to kiss her. As she kissed him, she ran one hand through his hair and trailed the other one over his muscular arm until she reached his forearm, the place where the Mark of Cain had once been. It had been there all the time she had known him, twisting him from the inside, and it was gone now, thanks to her.

And it didn't matter what was coming in just a few months. She could make it through hell knowing that Dean was alive and himself. It was worth it.

* * *

The moment she woke up, Julie knew something was wrong.

They had been back at the bunker for four days, so this was her fourth morning waking up in their familiar bed next to Dean. She lay there, naked under the sheet, nestled close to Dean. This was the most safe place in the world to Julie, but she could still sense that something was wrong.

Suddenly, she felt the urge to puke. Clutching her stomach, Julie quickly rolled out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. She barely reached the toilet before she began to retch into it. By the time she was done being sick, her skin was slick with a cold sweat, and she felt absolutely miserable.

Julie spared a glance into the bedroom to see that Dean was still unconscious. Good. There was no need to worry him. She probably just had the flu or something.

Julie got into the shower, letting the warm water rinse her clean as her thoughts began to wander. Things had been going really well for the past three weeks since Dean became human, and for that she was grateful. And she was pretty sure neither of the Winchesters had any idea what she had done.

She knew she would have to tell them sooner or later, but she would much rather it be later. Although it would be nice to have the support of others through this, she didn't want to worry them, and Sam and Dean were both so happy right now. It was better that she take this pain alone, until she had no other choice but to tell them and ruin everything.

Then, Julie's thoughts turned to another concern that had been hovering in the back of her mind. And as bad as the thought of returning to hell was, this may actually be worse.

Dean and Julie had been having a lot of sex lately. A _lot_. And she definitely wasn't complaining. She loved Dean for him, but his good looks and the fact that he was really good in bed were very much appreciated pluses. She would have been happy to just be carrying on like this, having a lot of sex and not really worrying.

But the fact was, now that they were reunited after five months of separation, sometimes Dean and Julie got a little…_excited_. They would get caught up in the moment, and often they wouldn't be too great about using protection.

Julie had always been very particular about using protection. She had made it almost twenty-nine years in life without an STD or pregnancy scare. And Dean was usually pretty careful too, but they had not been doing so great at using protection these past three weeks.

That wouldn't be too much of a problem, and Julie wouldn't be worried at all, if it weren't for the fact that she was four days late.

Julie's cycle had always been very particular, and now it was four days late. That never happened. And she wasn't exaggerating. She couldn't remember a time in years that she had been more than a day or two late. And now she was puking into the toilet, but she hadn't eaten any bad food, and she hadn't felt sick at all last night.

All the signs were pointing in one direction. One very forbidden direction. One direction that, if it was right, could not have come at a worse time.

Julie pushed those thoughts away, because she was getting increasingly agitated. She stepped out of the shower and pulled on a bathrobe. Trying not to think about what these signs could mean, Julie stepped back into her bedroom, and then stopped to stare at Dean.

He was still asleep, lying on his side to face where she had been sleeping. His arm was sprawled out across her pillow, and his face was peaceful and five years younger in sleep. Julie had to fight the urge to go lie down next to him and stroke his face and kiss him sweetly and tell him she loved him a hundred times.

She did. She loved him so much. And maybe, in another life or at another time, the thought that she might be pregnant with his baby would make her so happy. In fact, Julie would like nothing more than to marry that man and have his children and have a family and a long, happy life with him.

But that couldn't happen. She had a little more than five months left, and then she was going to die and go to hell and leave him alone, heartbroken.

Tears began to sting Julie's eyes as she studied Dean's sleeping form. She didn't want to leave. She couldn't leave him. Why had she done this again?

Dean suddenly sighed and shifted a little, still fast asleep. When he moved, Julie could see the Mark-less skin of his arm.

That was why. She was going to die and suffer an eternity in hell so that Dean could be human. And that was worth dying for.

She just really hoped that an unborn baby wouldn't be dying with her as well…

* * *

Sam sighed as he sifted through yet another page of possible cases. Deaths and disappearances and odd behavior in livestock and famines…three women brutally murdered, a man found carved up in the woods, two little children who had been missing for a week…

Ugh. Some days he actually enjoyed hunting, and he would put a bullet through a monster's brain with a smile on his face, and he would feel satisfied with his work. But then there were days like today, when the morbid, dark nature of his work made him feel almost sick. You would think after a lifetime of this, all of these deaths and tragedies wouldn't bother him, but they still did. Even if none of these horrible things that were happening were actually because of monsters, they were still wrong. He still wished he could fix them all.

He needed a break. Sitting in front of his laptop watching pictures of poor, dead victims scroll by was not helping his mood. Sam closed his laptop, right as the door to Dean and Julie's bedroom opened.

"Hey," Sam called as his brother quietly shut the door behind him and walked over. He started to smile at Dean, but then noticed the concern in his brother's eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Dean sighed. "Julie's just not feeling well. She says it's probably just some bug or something, but you know…I still worry."

"Of course," Sam said. He couldn't help but be a little worried about his friend himself. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"She's just going to try to sleep it off. I'm going to get her some water and pain meds for her headache. I would stay with her, but she insists that she's fine. Bullshit, of course. She probably just doesn't want me to worry and leave you all by yourself."

Sam smirked. "Right, because as a guy in his thirties, I obviously don't know how to go on if I'm left alone by myself."

Dean rolled his eyes at his little brother and went into the kitchen. He returned a minute later with some pills and a bottle of water. "Do you think she'll mind if I check on her?" Sam asked, starting to follow his brother back to the room where Julie was.

In answer, Dean opened the bedroom door with his elbow and called, "Jules, you care if Sammy checks on you?"

"Of course not," Julie's voice called back. She didn't sound like she had a cold, at least.

Sam followed Dean into the bedroom. Julie was in bed, tucked under the covers and propped up by two or three pillows, Dean's doing for sure. Sam stood near the door, watching with a smile as his brother hurried over to the woman he loved and sat carefully on the edge of the bed. He handed her the water and pills and watched her, concerned, as she took them.

Sam smiled fondly at Dean. He had lost track of the countless times that he had been the one on the bed, being fretted over by Dean. When he was little and he was sick, his big brother had always been there to take care of, playing the roles of mother and father and brother and best friend and teacher and mentor all at the same time, because there was rarely anyone else to do it for him. It had gotten a little more humiliating as Sam got older and Dean had still insisted on taking care of him. When he reached his mid-twenties, Sam had finally told Dean he had to stop being such a mother hen and let his little brother take care of himself like the adult he really was. But watching Dean worry over Julie, Sam was reminded of all the times Dean had taken care of him, and for a second he almost missed them.

"I'm so sorry, Sam," Julie said, snapping him out of his thoughts. He saw that Dean had taken her hand and she was rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb while addressing Sam. "I just feel like crap, and I…I don't want to infect you two if I'm contagious."

"Don't worry about it, Julie," Sam said fondly. "And if you are contagious, you've probably got him sick already, the way he's all over you all the time." He nodded at Dean with a smirk, and earned a dirty look.

Julie smiled weakly. "Don't worry about me, guys. You two go have fun. Do…whatever it is brothers do. I'm just going to be sleeping anyway."

"Are you sure-?" Dean started to ask, concerned.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Julie interrupted him. "Now get him out of here, Sam, before he smothers me!"

Dean and Sam left Julie alone to get some rest. Sam knew he and Dean should probably get to work trying to find a new case, but the last thing he wanted right now was to have to return to looking through murders and disappearances until they found one so weird or gory they would have no choice but to investigate. It had been four days since they had been a hunt, and Sam was surprised by how well Dean was handling being idle, especially he had been a demon only a month ago and had been trying to keep moving so as not to think about what he had done. But Dean had Sam and Julie with him, and he seemed really, truly happy for the first time in a very long time. Maybe things would finally be settling down.

"We should probably look for another case," Dean pointed out as they stood there uncertainly.

"Yeah, probably," Sam sighed.

There was a beat, and then Dean said, "But we've got two cases of beer and that new X-box system, and they aren't going to play and drink themselves."

Sam smiled and rolled his eyes, but he was grateful that Dean was willing to take another day off. They deserved it.

A couple hours later, though, he regretted his decision. Whichever one of them thought it was a good idea to let Dean play a shooting game should feel ashamed of themselves. Dean had just discovered a new passion in life, and it was unlikely they would be able to tear him away from this X-box system ever again. It was really unfair, honestly, how good he was at this game. In two hours, Sam and Dean had advanced insanely far into this dark, bloody, violent game, and Dean was far too into it. As Sam watched his brother blow enemy's heads off with unnerving skill, he was disturbed by these all too realistic graphics. Maybe he would have been better off scrolling through actual corpses.

"You alright there, Sammy?" Dean chuckled. "I think you just lost a head."

Sure enough, while Sam had been watching Dean fire kill shot after kill shot, an enemy had found his player and blown his brains out. Sam sighed and finished off his beer. "Oh, well. I could use a break. My thumbs won't quit twitching."

"Suit yourself," Dean grinned. "I'll let you know when I beat the entire game."

Sam walked away, wondering how he could subtly break that thing before it became Dean's life. He walked back into the main hall of the bunker, considering getting a snack. But right as he reached the hall, the bedroom door opened and Julie stepped out.

"Julie!" Sam cried at the sight of his friend. She didn't look too bad now. Maybe a little paler than normal, but not flushed or clammy like someone with a fever might be.

She looked up, surprised and, for a moment, frightened. "Oh. Hey, Sam. Didn't realize anyone else was in here. Thought you and Dean were off doing something else."

"We were," Sam admitted. "Dean may have discovered a new passion for blowing away pixelated people." Julie frowned. "He finally started using that new X-box."

"Well, we're never getting him away from that thing," Julie said, forcing a smile and trying to make a joke.

"Are you feeling better?" Sam asked, concerned.

"Yeah, a little," she shrugged.

"Good," he smiled. "If something happened to you, the two of us wouldn't be able to make it without you."

He had meant it as a compliment, but Julie visibly flinched at those words, and her eyes looked haunted and guilty. Sam frowned as he studied her, thinking. Then he said slowly, "Julie…something's wrong."

"What? Oh, um…I'm just not feeling that well."

"You don't look very sick, Julie, just…worried." Sam took a deep breath. "Look, Julie, I can tell something's wrong. In fact, I've been getting the feeling that something's been wrong ever since Dean...got back to normal. You can tell me."

"Nothing's wrong, Sam!" Julie insisted. "Really!"

He raised his eyebrows, but didn't speak. Julie sighed. "Okay, fine. You got me. I'm still worried about Dean. I mean, I know he's human now, and I'm so thankful for that, but…I still remember what he was like as a demon. I guess I'm just having a hard time moving on."

And Sam wanted to nod and agree and tell Julie that everything was going to be okay and hug her for a long time. But he knew her too well for that.

"You're right," he said flatly. "Dean was a demon, and that fact is never going to go away. And we've got some tough times ahead, and he may have a hard time moving on, and we should all be a little worried. But that's not what's wrong."

"What? Of course it is!" Julie snapped.

"Come on, Julie," Sam sighed. "I know you better than that. I know you're not worried about Dean becoming a demon again. Somehow, you're not worried at all. But something is definitely wrong with you, and I waited almost a month to see if you would tell me. But it's clear you're not going to talk without some prompting, so I'm prompting." Sam's expression softened. "Julie, please. You can tell me what's wrong. I want to help you."

It looked like Julie was trying not to cry. She looked down at the ground and blinked furiously, and her hands slipped to her belly, although Sam doubted she even noticed.

Sam frowned. Why was she holding her belly like that?

"You're right," Julie whispered. "There's something wrong with…with me. Not with Dean. He's okay now, and he's going to stay that way, and that's all that matters."

Sam frowned. It almost seemed like she was talking to herself more than him, and about something he didn't understand.

"What's wrong?" he asked her gently, stepping closer.

"I'm not sick," she admitted. "At least, I don't think so."

"Then why did you…?"

"Well, when I woke up this morning, I started puking," she said flatly.

"So you _are_ sick?" Sam was confused.

"I don't think so," Julie said carefully.

"Then what…?" All of the sudden, he stopped. Because finally, the way she was holding her belly made sense. The puking made sense, and the weird moods and the secrecy made sense.

"Wait. Are you saying…?" he got out slowly, head spinning.

Julie looked down at the ground, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "I think I might be pregnant, Sam," she said in a tear-choked voice, but there was no joy in her voice, only sorrow.

"Julie, that's…that's amazing!" Sam got out, starting to smile. Then he grinned, and then he was laughing. "Julie, this is wonderful! I mean, we'll have to take care of the Knights before we bring any new Winchesters into the world, but this…this is great." He couldn't stop smiling. "Wow. I'm going to be an uncle."

"I don't know for sure, Sam!" Julie said quickly, and she still didn't look happy.

"Right, but still…" Sam suddenly frowned. "Does Dean know yet?"

"No, and you can't tell him!" Julie cried, worried.

"I won't," Sam promised, but the joy had faded from his voice. He had finally noticed that there was not happiness in her expression: only sorrow and fear and guilt and pain. Something was still very wrong.

"Why are you upset?" he asked, concerned. "Hang on. It _is _Dean's kid, right?!"

"What?" Julie cried. "Of course! I mean, if there is a kid. Who the hell else's would it be?"

"I don't know!" Sam said defensively. "I was just making sure. I don't understand why you still look so upset! Julie…you could be about to have a baby. Dean's baby. Isn't that a good thing?"

He stepped closer to her and smiled gently down at her. He expected her to smile back, but even more tears welled in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked, confused and very concerned. "Julie, tell me what's wrong!"

"I…" She had to stop because of the huge lump in her throat. She gasped for breath and then continued in a shaky, tear-filled voice, unable to look at Sam, "If I am pregnant, it'll be at least eight or so more months before I can have the baby."

"Well, yeah," Sam shrugged. "Sure. But how is that a problem?"

"Because…" A tear spilled down her cheek and Julie was literally shaking. Sam wanted nothing more than to comfort and hold this poor, crying, distressed woman, but she was about to finally tell him what was really wrong. "Because…in five months, I'll be dead."

Sam's brain just stopped working. He couldn't seem to process those words. "What?" he finally got out, and his voice was surprisingly cold. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on, Sam!" Julie cried suddenly, her voice breaking. "You know. You _know _Dean couldn't just be saved. We're not that lucky. Someone had to make a sacrifice to save him."

And finally the tears streaming down her face made sense. All of the sad looks she had given Dean behind his back made sense. All of the guilty silences when he spoke of the future, Dean's miraculous restoration to humanity…it all finally made sense.

"No," he said, his voice cold. "You didn't."

"I'm sorry," Julie whispered. "I didn't have any other choice."

"No!" Sam snarled. "Tell me you didn't."

Julie lifted her eyes to meet his, even as a silent tear ran down her face. Somehow, she had the strength to make these next words come out in a steady voice. Words that Sam couldn't bear to hear. Words that would change everything and ruin their happiness forever.

"I can't, Sam. Because I did. I sold my soul to save Dean, and in five months, I'm going to die."


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter Fifty**

"Sam? Sam, where are you going? Sam, come on! Talk to me! What are you doing? Sam? _Sam!_"

Sam was vaguely aware of Julie following after him as he took off through the bunker, calling after him. He ignored her, though. He had bigger things to worry about than whether or not she was upset and wanted him to talk to her.

Finally, Sam got far enough away from the room where Dean was probably still playing videogames that he felt safe. He slipped into a storage room and Julie followed him in, just before he shut the door.

"What are you _doing_, Sam?" she snapped, looking around at the cluttered room. It was small, dimly-lit, and full of boxes and old, odd-looking materials that looked suspiciously like ingredients for spells. This must all be left over from the Men of Letters that once lived here. But she couldn't figure out why Sam would come here immediately after being told that his best friend had sold her soul.

He was angry, that much was clear. He wouldn't look at or speak to her, and he hadn't so much as acknowledged her presence after she had admitted what she had done. But Sam was clearly on a mission, and if he wouldn't tell her what it was, she would figure it out.

"Sam, what-?" she tried again, but he started talking over the top of her.

"Castiel, if you can hear this, and you're not doing something majorly important up in heaven, I need you," Sam said, and it took Julie a moment to realize he was praying. "I've got bad news. Like, life-changing bad news. And I'm going to need your help to try to find a solution. So if you could just come down and-"

There was the sound of fluttering wings, and then Castiel was standing with them in the cramped little storage room. With all three of them in there, it got a little crowded and uncomfortable, but Cas didn't even seem to notice.

"What is wrong?" he asked Sam, frowning, blue eyes worried. Julie noticed he was gripping his angel blade, ready for a fight. She didn't think he had even noticed her in there.

Sam took a deep breath. "You know how it was bothering us, how Dean was miraculously saved and the Mark and the Blade just _disappeared_?" he said coldly.

"Yes, that is…concerning," the angel admitted, still a little lost. "It would have taken a great power to make Dean human again and remove the Mark, more power than we have on our side. But what does that have to do with-?"

"I know how Dean got saved," Sam snapped.

"What? How?" Cas asked, half-concerned and half-eager to know.

"Sam, please-" Julie started, not wanting Cas to find out what she had done like this. Her friend cocked his head in confusion, just now noticing her.

"She did it," Sam interrupted Julie again, and his voice was cold and angry.

There was a moment of silence. "I don't understand…" Cas said slowly.

"Julie sold her soul to make Dean become human again, minus the Mark, and in return she got six months to live," Sam practically growled, and then the room was silent.

Julie held her breath, waiting to see how Castiel would react. She expected her friend to look sad, or maybe a little angry, or, worst of all, disappointed in her.

What she did not expect was for the angel to suddenly grab her shoulders and slam her forcefully into the wall.

"Are you insane?!" he cried angrily, and Julie was pretty sure she'd never been so frightened of the angel before her. "How could you do this?!"

"Cas, I…I did it to save him!" Julie got out through her fear and shock.

"To _save _him?!" Castiel repeated incredulously, and she had never seen such fury in his eyes, at least not unless it was directed at a Knight of Hell or Metatron. "Do you even realize what you've done? You didn't save him! You just bought him another six months before he is _destroyed_!"

"Cas…I didn't…I didn't mean to…" Julie stammered, hating herself for the tears that were welling up in her eyes. He was still tightly gripping her shoulders, too tightly, and she would have been scared of him, but her guilt was overwhelming every other emotion.

A large hand appeared on Castiel's shoulder. "Cas, let her go," Sam said quietly.

"But, Sam, don't you see what she's _done_?!" the angel cried angrily. "Don't you understand what this will do to him?"

"Yes, probably better than even you do," Sam said flatly. "But I'm not going to pretend that I probably wouldn't have done the same thing if she hadn't beaten me to it. And you shouldn't pretend that you wouldn't have done it, too, if you had a soul to sell."

Cas hesitated for a moment, and then he released Julie and stepped away from her. He looked down, ashamed. "I...I apologize, Julie," he said slowly, in a shell-shocked voice. "I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have reacted that way."

Julie wiped a couple tears off of her face. "Don't worry about it," she muttered. "I probably would have done the same thing, if the tables were turned."

There was a long silence. "Sam, I…I am grateful that you told me what was going on, but…I don't see how I can help," Castiel admitted after a while. "I am an angel. I know about a lot of things, but I know very little about demon deals and how to find a way out of one."

"I know," Sam said. "That's not why I called you here. I wanted you to know, obviously, and I'm going to want whatever help you can give us. But first, I need you to do something for me."

"What?" Cas frowned.

"I need you to put Dean to sleep."

Julie and Cas both stared at him. "What?!" the angel snapped after a moment. "How would that help anything?"

"Dean doesn't know," Sam said flatly. "And unless there is no other choice, I don't want him to know. This news would destroy him, and we're going to do everything we can to try and find a way to save Julie before we tell him. But I'm going to be getting some more help to come here, and I need to make sure he doesn't find out what's going on. So I need you to put him to sleep."

"He won't be happy about you going behind his back," Cas said darkly.

"And he doesn't have to know," Sam replied. "You can be invisible, right? So just go into the living room, where Dean is, and just put him to sleep. Give him a good dream or something—just make sure he doesn't wake up until we're done."

"Done with what?" Julie asked quietly. "Sam, what are you going to do? Who are you going to get help from?"

The hunter smirked slightly, but there was no humor in his eyes. "I never thought I'd be saying this, but we need his help."

"Who?" Cas and Julie both frowned.

"The only thing in existence that knows the most about a demon deal," Sam sighed. "The king of the crossroads."

* * *

Castiel watched Dean sadly. The man was completely sucked into the game on the screen in front of him, his eyes flying around the screen as he searched for a new opponent to attack. Cas probably didn't even need to be invisible. Dean was so sucked into the game in front of him, he probably wouldn't even notice his friend standing there, watching.

Suddenly, a new enemy appeared on the screen, firing at Dean's character. His fingers flew across the controller as he caused his character to duck and roll behind a wall. A moment later, when the enemy had to reload, he jumped out from behind the wall and shot his opponent through the heart.

Dean smiled to himself as he moved on to the next level. Cas couldn't resist a sad smile at seeing the strange happiness this game brought his friend. But the angel knew that if Dean knew what his girlfriend had done for him, he wouldn't be smiling. In fact, he probably would never smile again.

That decided it. Dean couldn't know. As much as he hated going behind his friend's back, Cas knew that things would be so much worse if he knew.

So he stepped forward to stand next to the couch his best friend was sitting on, reached out, and gently pressed two fingers to Dean's forehead.

Suddenly, the man's eyes rolled back into his head, and he slumped forward. Cas easily caught him and laid his unconscious best friend across the couch. He stayed there a couple minutes, watching Dean sleep, until whatever was going on his dream caused him to smile slightly. Satisfied that Dean was okay, Cas returned to the main hall of the bunker, where Sam was performing the summoning spell that would bring _him _here.

Julie was standing back, watching nervously as Sam finished up the spell. Castiel noticed the way she was holding her belly and frowned. But before he could ask her what was wrong (besides the obvious fact of her soul being doomed to hell), a familiar, grumpy voice started yelling at them.

"_Really_, Moose? You could not have picked a worse time! I was about to get a completely hammered, gorgeous, European model to come home with me!"

"You know, I really don't care," Sam snapped standing up. "And you shouldn't be complaining, considering the fact that, after what you did to my brother, I've got every right to kill you.

Crowley rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "_I _didn't do anything to your brother. He was the one who took up the Blade again to get revenge for her"—he nodded towards Julie, who flinched—"and then decided to let himself die and become a demon. None of that was my fault! I just guided him along the way when he needed it."

As much as Sam wanted to drive the demon-killing knife into this smug little demon's heart again and again, he knew that he was going to need his help. So he took a deep breath and said, "Whatever. That really doesn't matter right now. What matters is that we've got a big problem, and we need your help with it."

"What makes you think I would help _you_?" the former king of hell asked coldly.

"Because if you don't, we'll kill you?" Sam suggested helpfully.

"Right, because threatening me is really going to help you get whatever it is you want."

"What I really want is to make you suffer for taking Dean away from us."

"Oh, you _want _to be able to blame it all on me, but you know it was all big brother's choice. Everything he did to make him that demon, he chose himself."

"Except when you forced him to take up the First Blade again," Sam pointed out coldly.

"Perhaps you're forgetting that _you helped me do that_!"

"Stop it!" Julie yelled suddenly, and the two of them stopped arguing. The hunter, angel, and demon all turned to stare at her. "None of this matters," she said quietly. "All that matters right now is that we need your help, Crowley."

"With what, darling?" he asked smoothly.

"With finding a way to save me," she admitted. "We need to find a way to get out of my deal with Beelzebub."

Crowley began to chuckle. "So it was _you _who sold your soul to get Dean back all shiny and new," he smirked. "When I heard the news that Dean was human again, and Mark-free, I just assumed Moose had returned the favor for when big brother sold his soul all those years ago for him. You remember that, don't you, Sam? Dean sold his soul to bring you back to life, and in return he was tortured in hell for _forty years_. All because of _you_."

"You bastard-" Sam growled, and he lunged at Crowley, about to throttle him, Castiel half a step behind him.

"_Stop it!" _Julie screamed, and once again, the three of them stopped fighting to turn to stare at her. She looked near tears. "I never thought I would be saying this, but that stuff doesn't matter anymore. What does matter is that we find a way out of my deal. Because if we don't, and I go to hell…Dean's going to lose it. He'll never be okay again, and I can't let that happen."

Sam and Cas sighed, all the fight going out of them. "Can you help us find a way to save her?" the angel asked the demon in front of him.

"If it were a normal deal with a normal demon, I may have been able to bargain a way out of it," Crowley admitted. "But you made a deal with the king of the Knights of Hell, sweetheart. There's no way I could outsmart or overpower him. Especially now that he's got the Mark of Cain and the First Blade."

"What?" Sam, Julie, and Cas all cried.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Crowley smirked bitterly. "Yes, when you made Beelzebub promise to remove the Mark of Cain from your precious boyfriend, you should have known that he would take it for himself. It can only be given to true killers like Beelzebub, or precious Dean, and the king of hell took it for himself. He's now as invincible as your Dean used to be."

Cas, Sam, and Julie exchanged worried looks. "So there's…there's no way to kill him?" Julie asked nervously.

"No known way," Crowley shrugged. "There may have been other weapons besides the First Blade that could kill a Knight, but they have all been lost over the years."

Sam sighed in defeat. "So there's no way to kill Beelzebub _or _save Julie?"

"Not that I know of," the demon admitted. "But I can start searching for one."

"Why would you do that?" Julie asked uncertainly.

"Because I'm going to need you four, and Dean especially," Crowley said, as if they were stupid. "I need those Knights gone as much as you, and with the right weapon, I believe you might stand a chance at stopping them. But if Juliet here is dead, Dean won't see any point in even trying to fight, and you two won't be much help either."

Sam and Cas hated to admit it, but it was probably true. "Fine," Sam sighed. "Then you and Cas can start searching for a way to save Julie and stop Beelzebub, and we'll do the same."

"And what will you do about Dean?" Cas asked, concerned.

Sam turned to Julie. "She was the one who sold her soul. I'll let her decide."

There was nothing hard or angry in Sam's voice, but she still flinched. She didn't want to be the one to have to tell Dean what she had done.

"Well, if my services are no longer needed…" Crowley said, clearly about to leave.

"No, wait!" Julie cried as something occurred to her.

"What is it?" the demon sighed dramatically.

"What if…what if I'm pregnant?" she got out after a moment. "I only sold _my_ soul, right? So he shouldn't be able to take me to hell if I've got another soul living inside me."

"Nice try," Crowley sighed. "But people have tried that before. There's no way out of a deal, Juliet. I'm sorry. Maybe you can find one, but I really doubt it. People have been trying to find a way out as long as there have been demons, and no one has."

"Are…are you really pregnant?" Castiel asked Julie in a shocked voice.

She looked down. "I don't know. It's possible."

"May I…?" he started to ask. Julie nodded, and the angel carefully approached her and laid a hand on her stomach. He closed his eyes and for a long moment the entire room was silent as they all held their breath, waiting for an answer.

Then Cas opened his eyes and shook his head. "No. You're not pregnant."

"Really?" Julie cried. The angel nodded, and she laughed in relief. "Oh, god, thank you, Cas!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

Cas frowned, confused. "But…wouldn't you want to be pregnant? Over the centuries, I've observed many women who are happy to be mothers. And…you love Dean. Wouldn't having his child make you happy?"

"Yes, it would. If I wasn't going to die before I could ever give birth, and he would have to lose both me and his child," Julie said coldly, releasing him.

Castiel nodded, studying Julie sadly. "Well, if that's all…" Crowley said. When no one moved to stop him, he disappeared.

"Do you think he will really help?" Castiel asked Sam uncertainly.

"Yes," Julie answered for him. "Because he needs our help still. And I think there's a part of him, deep down, that doesn't really want to see me dead and Dean heartbroken."

"He's a demon, Julie," Sam pointed out. "He probably doesn't care whether we live or die."

"But we're also the only people he has left," she countered, and neither Sam nor Cas could come up with a response to that.

"I should go wake Dean," Castiel said after a pause.

"Wait," Julie said. "Could you just…let him sleep for a while? You said you would give him a good dream, right?"

Castiel nodded.

"Then…let him sleep. Let him be happy." She hated herself for the lump that was swelling in her throat.

The angel studied her sadly, and then said, "Then I shall return to heaven and begin my search for a way to save you, Julie."

"Thank you, Cas," Julie whispered, pulling the angel into a hug. He hugged her briefly back, and then disappeared, off to heaven.

Sam and Julie were left standing alone. "Sam, I…" Julie started. "I'm sorry-"

Before she could finish, Sam suddenly hugged her tightly. "We're going to find a way to fix this," he said in a barely-steady voice. "We're going to find a way to save you, Julie."

She nodded and then buried her face in his shirt, trying not to cry. Because, although none of them wanted to admit it, there was almost no chance of them finding a way to save Julie. She had help, now, but it was still almost certain that in a little over five months, she would be dead.

* * *

_Dean woke up on the couch of the bunker. There was a line on his cheek where it had been pressed against a crease in the couch, and his left arm was asleep from him lying on it. He rubbed at his eyes and looked around blearily, trying to figure out what time it was. He didn't remember falling asleep._

_A small stack of ancient books of lore and Sam's laptop lay on the floor next to the couch, along with an empty bottle of some pretty strong liquor and an empty glass. Those were the telltale signs of a night spent researching for a case—books and the computer to do the research, and booze to keep him going late into the night. There was a quilt thrown over him, though, so Julie must have found him passed out on the couch and taken care of him. Dean smiled at the thought._

_Finally, he spotted a clock. It read a little after eight, and Dean frowned. Sam and Julie should both be up by this time, and he wondered where they were as he sat up and swung his legs off the side of the couch._

_Before he could get to his feet and go in search of them, though, Julie walked into the room. Her hair wasn't down, like usual, but twisted into a loose bun. She was wearing a comfortable brown sweater and jeans, and she looked a little tired. Still, she was the most beautiful thing in the world to him._

_Dean smiled at her when he saw her, and even though she looked exhausted, she smiled back. She walked over to him, and he made room for on the couch. She settled into his side, their legs and sides pressing together. Dean brushed his lips across her forehead and muttered, "Hey."_

_"Hey," she smiled back, running a hand through his bedhead. Then she rested her head on his chest. Her hand moved to his back and she began to rub soothing circles on his back. Dean sighed happily._

_They didn't speak after that. They didn't need to. Julie nuzzled a little closer to Dean, and he pulled her into him, wrapping her in his arms and breathing in the sweet, coconut smell of her hair. "I love you," he murmured into her hair, but if she heard it, she didn't reply. She just kissed the hollow at the base of his throat and sighed._

_Suddenly, a door banged open and Sam walked into the room. "God, Dean, your kid's a piece of work," Dean's little brother sighed, running a hand through his shaggy hair. Sam looked a little different, too. Good, though. He was his same six-four, buff, gigantic, goofy Sammy with that ridiculous, floppy, long hair, but he looked happier somehow. Healthier. Dean had no idea what Sam was talking about, or why he looked so good, and then she walked into the room, and it all made sense._

_Jessica Moore. The girl who had died over ten years ago while Sam and Dean were off searching for Dad. Sam's lost love. But she wasn't lost now. The same beautiful, sweet girl Dean had met for a brief time followed Sam into the room. She looked much older now, but she was still beautiful, and her blond hair was clipped back, out of her face. She smiled sweetly down at the small bundle in her arms. "Oh, be nice, Sam," she scolded him. "Not everyone can be as perfect as Marie."_

_"Ouch!" Julie laughed. "I would just like to say that BJ is one-hundred percent Dean's kid. I'm sure if we had a daughter, she would be as sweet and perfect as Marie."_

_"Wait," Dean said, head spinning like it had been even since Jessica entered the room. "You two…you have a kid?"_

_"Wow," Sam said. "Rough night last night, Dean? You'd have to be pretty hungover to forget you were an uncle."_

_As his little brother spoke, Dean noticed the silver ring on his left hand. And sure enough, when he looked at Jess, there was a silver ring on her hand as well. They were married, and they had a kid._

_By now, Dean had realized he was dreaming. Jessica Moore was dead. He knew that. But this was one of his dearest fantasies, getting to see Sam and the girl he loved living out their happy ending together. So he couldn't help but go along._

_"Can I see her?" Dean whispered reverently._

_Jess smiled that angelic smile and then lowered the little girl into Dean's arms. Sam put an arm around his wife's waist and the two of them stepped back to give Dean some space with their little daughter._

_"How old is she?" Dean asked softly, staring in wonder at the perfect little baby in his arms._

_Julie reached down and brushed a wispy blond curl out of the babe's big, puppy dog eyes. Sammy's eyes through and though. "Four months," Julie told him quietly._

_Dean was captivated by the perfect little child he was holding. She was the cutest baby he had ever seen. She had big eyes that could melt the heart of the most hardened criminal, and she had Sam's little nose and Jessica's blond curls. When little baby Marie locked her eyes on Dean, she opened her mouth wide in a huge grin, gurgling happily in recognition. Dean's eyes stung._

_"She…she's perfect," he whispered, his throat tight with emotion._

_Julie brushed a kiss on Dean's cheek. "Isn't she? And she loves her Uncle Dean."_

_His little niece stretched out her chubby hand, reaching for Dean. He held out a finger and her tiny fingers wrapped around it. She gurgled again, and his heart melted. If he never did anything but stare at this baby, his brother's child with the love of Sam's life, he would be content._

_He noticed then that he too had a silver ring on his left hand. And a moment later, when Julie reached out her hand to tickle the baby and make her shriek with laughter, he saw a ring on her hand as well. So they were married. That thought made his heart practically burst with happiness._

_Julie put an arm around Dean's waist and leaned her face next to Dean's to make faces at the baby. Marie giggled, and then shrieked with laughter. Dean was dazed with happiness. This couldn't be real, but he didn't care. He never wanted it to end. Julie's hand slipped under the hem of his shirt and rubbed circles on his hip, spreading warmth through him. Please, let this moment never end._

_After a while, Marie seemed to get confused. Her cute little face scrunched up, and she made a dissatisfied noise. "Here we go," Julie sighed. Before Dean could ask what was going on, Marie opened her mouth wide and began to wail._

_Dean stared in shock. It had been years since he had taken care of a baby, over thirty since he'd had to raise Sammy, and he couldn't figure out why the baby was crying._

_"That's my cue," Jess sighed, reaching out and taking Marie from Dean. "Sweetie's hungry."_

_Dean watched her take Marie into another room to feed her, half-wishing she would bring the baby back. His perfect little niece._

_"Uh-oh," Sam smirked from where he stood next to the couch. "Here comes trouble."_

_Suddenly, a little guy of two or three came toddling into the room, grinning wickedly. Julie's eyes lit up at the sight of the child. "Mawie was crying," the kid announced proudly._

_"We heard," Sam said drily._

_"I know, sweetie," Julie said in a kinder voice. "Thanks for letting us know, though."_

_The kid reached the couch and pulled himself up. It took quite a bit of effort, but Julie let him do it himself, knowing he'd want to be independent. Dean watched the little guy clamber up onto the couch and settle into Julie's lap, wide-eyed._

_That kid…now that he was closer, Dean could see it. The kid was absolutely adorable, with Julie's nose and soft, floppy hair just a couple shades lighter than Dean's. He had Julie's pale skin and the same freckles Dean had at that age, and a carbon copy of Dean's green eyes._

_He knew. He wasn't quite sure how, but he knew. That was his son._

_"Daddy, I found one of your magazines," his son announced proudly. "It was almost all pictures, so I could read it."_

_"Bobby-John Winchester!" Julie scolded him. "How many times do I have to tell you—do not touch your father's stuff!" It didn't take a genius to guess what magazine their kid had unearthed, probably an old copy of Busty Asian Beauties Dean had been unable to part with just yet. Dean couldn't resist a smile at the kid's name. What else would he name his son but after the two fathers he had lost?_

_"Sorry, Mommy," Dean's son said sweetly, giving his mother an angelic smile. But Dean caught that devilish spark in his eyes and knew his son wasn't the tiniest bit sorry._

_Oh, god. What kind of monster had he brought into the world when he decided to go and have a son?_

_"Dean's kid through and through," Sam laughed, tousling the kid's hair._

_"Uncle Sam's going to teach me how to shoot today," the youngest Winchester announced proudly, grabbing onto his uncle's large hand and gripping one of his fingers tightly, laughing._

_"He's going to what?!" Julie snapped, shooting Sam a look._

_Sam shrugged helplessly. "That's what he keeps telling me I'm going to do. I never agreed to anything."_

_"BJ, you're still a little young to be shooting things," Julie said carefully. "In fact, I'm not sure you're ever going to be shooting things."_

_"But you and Daddy and Uncle Sam shoot things all the time!" BJ whined. Suddenly, his mood changed, and he grinned. "Someday, I'm going to be a hunter, just like you guys!"_

_"No," Dean said suddenly, surprising himself. BJ turned and gave him a pitiful look. And all of the sudden, he felt himself slipping into the role of protective father all too easily. "Look, BJ…your mother and I love you a lot. Which is why we don't ever want you to end up doing this for a living. We want you to have a life, son."_

_"But I want to be a hunter," BJ pouted, crossing his arms._

_"Well, that's an argument for the future," Julie said quickly. "For now, why don't I make us some breakfast?"_

_BJ forgot all about his dreams of hunting and nodded eagerly. Julie went off into the kitchen to make some food, and Sam settled down on the couch. BJ crawled into Dean's lap and began to babble about what he and Marie had been up to before "Uncle Sam" and "Auntie Jess" found them._

_"…And after I got her out of the crib-"_

_"Still not sure how he managed that," Sam interjected._

_"I carried Mawie into the library," BJ explained. "I found that book about vampires, and I showed her all the pictures and I told her about dead man's blood, just like you taught me, but then she started crying and Uncle Sam and Auntie Jess made me quit teaching Mawie."_

_"Well, to be fair, BJ, I'm not sure how much she was really learning," Dean pointed out, smirking at his kid._

_"She fell asleep," BJ admitted. Then he added in a loud whisper, "I don't think she's going to be a very good hunter."_

_Dean laughed and tousled his kid's hair. "But I'm going to be just like you and Uncle Sam!" his son announced proudly. "I'm going to be an awesome hunter! Uncle Cas even said I would."_

_"He did?" Sam frowned._

_Dean shot a look towards the ceiling and muttered, "Traitor," hoping his best friend was listening in._

_"BJ, honey, breakfast is ready!" Julie called from the kitchen, and Dean's son scrambled up, all thoughts of hunting forgotten at the prospect of food. Damn, if that kid wasn't a three-year-old version of him._

_Halfway to the kitchen, BJ stumbled and fell. Dean panicked and started to get up to rush to his son's aid, but the kid was up in the next second and running again, not even fazed. Dean shook his head in awe as BJ disappeared._

_Sam shook his head and laughed. "Your kid is something else," he sighed._

_"No kidding," Dean muttered._

_"Did you ever think it would be like this?" Sam asked his older brother honestly. "Us, settled down with wives and kids?"_

_"No," Dean admitted. "But we're not really settled down. We still hunt."_

_"Well, I don't think we could ever give that up," Sam admitted. Then he smiled at Dean. "But it's nice, though. I like it."_

_"Yeah," Dean admitted after a moment. "Me too."_

And then all of the sudden he was waking up on the couch again. But this time, the room was dark, and there was no booze or books by the couch, just an X-box controller. He didn't remember falling asleep, but there was a quilt thrown over him, and the TV had been switched off.

As Dean sat up and rubbed his eyes blearily, he noticed her. She had fallen asleep curled up in the chair next to him, and from her position, it looked like Julie had been watching Dean sleep.

Dean studied her. Her hair was down instead of in that loose bun, and she was wearing a black t-shirt instead of a brown sweater. Still, she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

He had tried not to think about it. All his life, he had tried not to think about falling in love or having a family, because that option had never been available to him. But now, he was in love. He had been for a long time, and he knew she was the one. Even if he hadn't known that, his dream had shown him that much.

That had been one of the greatest dreams he'd ever had. And many parts of it could never happen. Jess and Sam would never get to be happy together, and they would never get to have that beautiful little daughter. But that didn't mean that he and Julie couldn't have a family…

Of course, they would have to take care of the Knights. But once that threat was gone, nothing would be in the way of them finally getting to be happy. And Dean knew he wanted that. Ever since he had become human again, he had realized how much he cared about Sam and Julie. He had realized how much he loved being human, even with all the pain and guilt and crap that went with it. He had realized how much he wanted a normal, human life.

So as he sat there, watching Julie sleep, he began to wonder…

* * *

The next day, Julie sat in the library, hunched over a book of lore. Last night, after Dean had woken her up and the two of them had gone to sleep in their actual bed, Sam had gotten to work. He had found a monster-sized stack of ancient books of lore that may have some helpful hint on how to save Julie, and whenever Dean was around, Julie and Sam would pore over them.

She had been reading for over an hour, and her brain was hurting. This was all in middle English and near impossible to understand at times, but she was trying her best. But she desperately needed a break, so when Dean came into the room, he provided a much-needed distraction.

Dean knocked on the doorway and asked carefully, "Are you super busy?"

Julie closed the book and shook her head. "No. What's up?"

"Uh…there's, um…there's something I want to talk to you about," Dean said carefully.

Julie shrugged. "Okay. Shoot."

"Well, um…would you mind doing it in the garage?"

Julie frowned, confused, but ended up following him into the bunker's garage, anyway. She had no idea where this was going, and was a little concerned by Dean's odd behavior.

Dean walked over to the Impala and settled down on the hood. Julie cautiously walked over to his beloved car and sat down next to him, still confused and a little wary. Dean took a deep breath, and then began to speak.

"Okay, so I've got a lot of stuff I want to say to you, and I just want to say it all in one go, so if you could hold all comments and questions until the end." Julie raised her eyebrows and smirked, but nodded. Dean took another deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Right. Okay. Here goes.

"Julie. I love you," he started, looking her straight in the eyes.

She smiled a little. "I love you-" she started to say, but he cut her off.

"What did I say about questions and comments?"

She sighed and fell silent again. "Okay. So, yeah. I love you. A lot." Julie smiled at Dean, but she was still uncertain where this was going. He looked down and cleared his throat nervously. "I just want to let you know…you mean a lot to me, and I…well, I love you. And I know I keep saying that but…that's a big deal. I don't really _love _women, at least not besides you."

Julie studied Dean, confused. She had absolutely no idea where this was going, and that was making her nervous.

"I guess I just…" Dean sighed and shifted nervously on the hood of the Impala. "You mean a lot to me. You're the only woman I've ever cared about this much, and the only woman I could see myself spending the rest of my life with."

Julie wanted to smile, because that, coming from _Dean Winchester_, was a huge statement. But the rest of her life was a little more than five months, and he was envisioning growing old together.

"And speaking of the rest of my life…" Dean laughed nervously, fingers twisting and pulling at the charmed bracelets and amulets he wore on his wrist. Suddenly he laughed even harder and said, "_Damn_, am I bad at expressing my feelings!"

Julie wasn't allowed to speak, so she reached out and touched the side of his face, giving him a look that said she didn't care. He closed his eyes and caught her hand, holding it to his cheek like he never wanted it to leave the side of his face. Julie suddenly felt so damn emotional. He loved her so much, and she was going to have to leave him so soon…

"Okay," Dean finally got out, opening his eyes and releasing her hand. "Okay, I'm just going to get this out. Okay." He stood up and began to pace nervously in front of her. Julie stood up as well and watched as he finally got his thoughts in order and took a deep breath. "Okay.

"So, my whole life, I've always kind of known that someday I would want to find a beautiful girl and fall in love and have a family," Dean admitted. "But I've always known that was never possible. Except now…now I've got the beautiful girl I love, and I know there's still the Knights out there to beat, but after that…well, being a demon taught me something. It taught me what really matters to me, and it's you and Sam and Cas. I already knew that, but…you guys are _all _that matters. I want to spend the rest of my life with you guys. With you."

Julie's heart was sinking, and the lump in her throat was swelling. Because she thought she finally had figured out where he was going with this, and he couldn't. Not now. Please, god, not now!

Dean took one last deep breath and then looked Julie in the eye. "I want to have a family, Jules. With you. I want to have a normal, happy life with you. I don't exactly have a ring, but I guess what I'm trying to say is…is that I want to marry you. And I know it'll be hard, and there's a lot that we still have to do, but…when all that crap is over…I want to marry you, and have kids with you and…and…what's wrong? Jules, honey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

_Honey_. It was that word that finally broke the dam. During that whole speech, tears had been welling up in her eyes, but when Dean called her honey with such concern in his voice, she finally lost it, and tears began to pour down her cheeks. She tried to hide her face from him, but he turned her to look at him. "Jules…" Dean asked, eyes wide and concerned. "What's wrong?" he repeated gently.

"No," she choked out.

He frowned. "What?"

"No, I can't…I can't marry you. I can't marry you and have kids with you and have a life with you." Dean stared at her, shocked, and then hurt. His hands left her and he stepped back, stunned and hurt. "I want to!" Julie cried, and she was half-sobbing now. "I want to more than anything, but…I can't."

Dean frowned. "Why not? Julie, why can't we just be happy when all this is over? We deserve that much!"

"Because it's never going to _be _over, Dean!" she cried suddenly, her voice breaking. "Because I'm never going to get to that 'after all the crap is over' part."

"What?" Dean said, and his voice was surprisingly hard and cold. "What are you talking about?"

"I…I can't marry you and have a family and a life with you," she got out through her tears. "Because…because…in a little more than five months, I'm going to die and go to hell."

There was a long silence. "No," Dean said suddenly in a cold, flat voice. "You didn't."

"It…it was to make you human again…I'm so sorry…"

Julie could barely see through her tears, but she saw him turn away. She saw Dean start to storm off, and she called after him, "Wait! Dean, wait! Please, I…Dean…"

But he was already gone. Julie began to sob, gross sobs that shook her whole body, and she collapsed to her knees, full-out sobbing like she hadn't since that awful time when Dean was dead.

Oh, god, what had she _done_ to him?! He had just practically proposed, asking her to marry him and have a family and a life with him. And in five months, she was going to _hell_.

Dean stormed out of the room, trying to leave his emotions behind. Maybe if he just stayed angry, maybe if he just didn't think about it, maybe if he could just outrun them…

He stormed past the room where Sam sat, immersed in a book of lore. He stormed past the room that he had gone into just a few minutes ago, hoping to basically propose to the woman he loved and end up marrying her and having a family with her someday. He stormed into the bedroom that he shared with her and locked and slammed the door.

And then finally, with the door closed and locked behind him, he finally broke down and began to cry.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Alright, please don't kill me for what I've done to Dean/Julie/Sam/well, everyone. There was a lot of drama and sadness in this chapter, but I promise it won't be ALL downers from here. However, I am not promising all happiness and sunshine, either. This IS Supernatural, after all. Anyway, please leave a review to let me know what you thought and please keep reading and reviewing! Thanks for all of your support in helping me make it to CHAPTER FIFTY!


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter Fifty-One**

There had definitely been times when living with a couple had not been fun for Sam. Especially when one half of the couple was his beloved older brother, who he wasn't exactly used to sharing, and the other half was his best friend and a woman he was once in love with. That, for example, had been one of the times it sucked most. Being in love with his brother's girlfriend, spending all day staring longingly after her and trying and failing not to think of what she would look like naked in his bed instead of Dean's…yeah, he didn't think living with the two of them could get any worse than then.

But the universe had decided to play one more cruel joke on Sam Winchester (actually, there were probably a lot more cruel jokes coming). The universe had decided it would be funny to put him in the middle of the biggest fight any couple had probably ever had. Ever.

It couldn't even really be called a fight. Because they never fought. That was the thing. Maybe if they could actually be alone in a room together and just hash it out, yelling and screaming and throwing things and whatever it was normal fighting couples did, then things might get better. But then again, normal couples fought about whose turn it was to do the dishes or pick up the kids, or who cheated on who. They didn't fight (or rather, _not _fight) about one half of the couple selling their soul to save the other half.

For three days, Dean and Julie had _not _fought. For three days, the two of them hadn't spoken a word to each other, other than the lame attempts at a conversation Julie occasionally tried. But every time she would start to speak to Dean, if she even could get him in the same room as her, he would walk out. He wouldn't look at her, or speak to her, or acknowledge her presence at all, really.

Sam understood it a bit. He had been so damn furious with Julie when he first found out what she had done. But as he watched Castiel pin her up against the wall and yell at her, he had realized that he couldn't be so angry with a woman who had only done what he had already been planning to do if they could find no other way to save Dean. Besides, it was clear Julie felt terribly guilty and even scared about what she had done, and she needed help, not to be shamed and shunned. So Sam had decided to just be there for her and focus on saving her, like he had for Dean all those years ago, when he only had one year to live. Of course, he knew how well _that _had worked out…

But Dean refused to relent or even acknowledge that she had done the same thing he once had, for almost the same reasons. He refused to acknowledge her at all, since that horrible night three days ago, when Sam had come into the garage, looking for Dean and Julie, and found Julie a sobbing mess.

She had been so distraught that it took her a while to explain what had happened. And when Sam heard the story, he wanted to cry as well. His poor brother…Dean had _proposed_, or at least as close as that awkward, unable-to-express-his-feelings dork was ever going to get to proposing. And the response he had gotten? _Sorry, I love you and I want to marry you, but I can't because in five months I'm going to die and I won't leave you a widow._

Dean wasn't speaking much to Sam, either. He'd had one real conversation with his brother, besides only the most necessary of conversations while searching for a way to save Julie. Dean had stumbled into Sam's room the night after his disastrous proposal, a bottle in his hand, stinking of booze and as drunk as Sam had ever seen him.

"You…knew?" he had gotten out, plopping down at the foot of Sam's bed and squinting at him.

"Knew what?" Sam had frowned, concerned for his brother.

"You knew…about her. Going to…" Dean couldn't finish that sentence, so he took another swig of beer.

"She told me," Sam admitted. "And I told Cas and Crowley, too. To get their help on saving her." No more secrets, no more lies. It only ended in more pain.

"Crowley?" Dean snorted. "Crowley. Crowley knew my girlfriend was going to hell before me." His words were slurred, but there was still pain under ever word.

"She's not going to hell, Dean," Sam insisted. "We won't let her. You and me, we'll find a way to save her."

"How…how long did you know?" Dean asked thickly.

"I found out a day before you," Sam admitted.

"Why did she tell you…but not me?" Dean sounded confused and hurt.

"She…she thought she might be pregnant, and she was scared and confused and overwhelmed-"

"She's _pregnant_?!" Dean cried, standing up so suddenly that he just fell back down onto the bed.

"No! No, Cas checked and she's not," Sam assured his brother soothingly.

"God. Pregnant." Dean said, dazed.

"She's not," Sam repeated.

"But still…she told _you _and not _me_?!" And now he was pissed _and_ hurt. "It _was_ my kid, right? If there was a kid."

"Yeah. She…she didn't tell you any of this because…she was trying to protect you." It sounded lame, even to Sam.

Dean snorted bitterly, standing up. "Yep. She did a real good job of that."

And with that, he had staggered out of the room, and Sam hadn't had a real conversation with his brother since then.

Julie wasn't doing much better. She spent all of her time in the library of the bunker, poring over books and searching endlessly for a cure. She rarely spoke to anyone, even Sam, and she almost always looked near tears. Sam kept putting off confronting her on what was going on because she always looked to fragile, as if one harsh word would shatter her.

Dean had also buried himself in work. Every day, he would come into the library, take a massive stack of books of lore, grab some food, and then hole up in his room or sometimes the garage for basically the entire day. He didn't talk much at all, just focused on finding a way to save Julie. Sam spent all of his time (when he wasn't worrying over the two of them) searching for a way to save Julie, but he still worried about the amount of time Dean spent looking for a way to save her. It was beyond unhealthy. If he kept this up for the next five months, he was going to kill himself trying to save her.

* * *

Julie dragged her feet into one of the guest room of the bunker. When Dean had been dead and she had refused to sleep in their room, this had become her room. And ever since that horrible night when Dean proposed and the truth came out, she had been sleeping in here. He wouldn't speak to her or even look at her. There was no way in hell that Dean would sleep in the same bed as Julie, so she had made it easier for him.

This had been the third whole day since that awful night. Julie had spent all day researching in the massive library with Sam, not speaking much, just like the past two days. She didn't have the heart to speak. It was bad enough that she was going to hell in five months and she would have to lose Sam and Dean; now she had lost Dean five months early, and she couldn't bear it. She didn't have the strength to try to pretend that things were okay with Sam, so she just tried to give him space and not push him to talk.

But even that was getting impossible. She needed to be able to talk to someone about all of this, but as much as she loved Sam, he wasn't the answer. He had enough problems already, and he was in the middle of this fight. She knew that Dean had confided in his brother at least once, and she didn't want to put her crap on him, too. And besides, he seemed incapable of having a conversation of any length with her. She knew it was hard for him, and she didn't want to push him. But she needed to talk to _someone_.

Julie was refusing to tell anyone else about her deal, at least not yet. Her family didn't know, and she wanted to put off telling them…well, forever. They would demand she come home and they would kill themselves trying to save her, and she couldn't have that. There was Jody Mills, but she had enough problems of her own.

Well, that was almost all of her living friends. She laughed bitterly, wondering how it had ever gotten like this. Her with a death sentence, her parents dead, lying to all of her friends and family, the two people she needed most angry and distant towards her. Well, Sam wasn't angry, but he was distant. But the one she needed most…he was gone. And she wondered if she would ever get him back.

Suddenly, another thought occurred to her. She did had one other living friend. He was probably still furious with her, and he probably wouldn't even come if she called. But still, it was worth a shot. She needed someone. She needed to not be alone tonight, and Sam and Dean were not options right now.

Julie sat on the edge of her bed and folded her hands, feeling pretty foolish. She cleared her throat and began to pray.

"Castiel…um…this is Julie. Carters. But you probably knew that. Anyway, uh…I know you're probably still mad at me for what I did. Me too. But I…I really need someone to talk to, and Sam and Dean aren't really options at the moment. I just…I could use a friend."

She stopped. She sounded so damn pathetic. Why on earth would an important angel like Cas come just because she needed a friend? She wanted to laugh at herself, but she seemed to have forgotten how to laugh.

And then there was the sound of fluttering wings.

Julie looked up, surprised, to see Castiel standing calmly a couple feet in front of her, his hands in the pockets of his trench coat. "Hello, Julie," he said carefully.

"Hey, Cas," she said softly. "Um, I…thanks. I…I didn't think you'd come."

"Then why would you pray for me?" he asked, cocking his head in confusion. Julie smiled slightly, suddenly remembering something. Back when Dean had been staying with her family for a couple of weeks when they first met and fell in love, Dean had described his best friend for her, and he had done an impression of Cas with big, innocent eyes and his head cocked to the side. That was the face she was getting right now, and it was actually making her smile a little.

"Because I need help," Julie got out after a moment. "I just…lately, Dean and Sam have had a hard time talking much with me. And I understand why, I just…I guess I didn't really expect you to actually come."

Castiel sighed. "Julie...they're only like this because they love you. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I do," she admitted. "And I can't blame them. I hate myself for what I did, too."

The angel shook his head. "They don't hate you. Far from it. They're avoiding you because every time they look at you, they're reminded, and the thought of losing you is so painful they can't bear it. Losing you would destroy the both of them."

"That's exactly what I needed to hear," Julie muttered sarcastically, focusing on the ground and not how the two men she loved must be suffering.

Cas looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, I was just stating-"

"Facts, yeah, I know." Julie laughed a little, but there was no humor in it. "Don't worry about it, Cas. You're right."

The angel softened as he studied her. "Do you…do you need a hug?" he got out awkwardly.

Julie laughed a little again, and stood up. "Yeah, I really do," she admitted, wrapping her arms around the awkward angel. Slowly, he hugged her back, and after a moment, his stiff arms relaxed. Once he wasn't as stiff, Cas was actually a pleasant person to hug, and his touch was soothing. Julie sighed and pressed her face into his chest for a long moment before she pulled away.

"Thanks," she got out in an oddly-choked voice.

"I'm sorry, Julie," Cas said quietly, watching her sadly.

She frowned. "For what?"

"For letting all of this happen."

"You couldn't have stopped it."

"I should have been able to," he muttered angrily. "What is the point of being an angel when you can't even help save the people who deserve it?"

Julie was silent, because she had no answer to that. "You…you probably haven't had any luck on a way to save me, then?"

The angel shook his head.

"Neither have we," she admitted. Julie sank back onto the bed, and Cas surprised her by sitting down next to her and turning on the television with a wave of his hand.

"I remember when I first met you," Cas said suddenly, and she realized he was trying to distract her. "We went on that hunt together, and you and Sam were kidnapped, and we barely managed to save you. One of my sisters had to die, and you were hurt."

"Yeah, that's hard to forget," Julie muttered, remembering that hunt. It felt like so long ago, but it hadn't been all that long, really.

"Then afterwards, we came back here, and you came and talked to me," Cas continued. "And you thought I didn't like you."

"Well, I still think you didn't like me back then," Julie said with the slightest of smirks.

"As I said, I was a little jealous, but I did like you, if for no other reason than the fact that Dean did," the angel explained.

"Good to know," Julie smirked.

"And now I like you because of you," Cas finished. "Because you are my friend."

Julie stared at the angel for a long moment. As she studied him, she thought back over long poker nights and movie nights together, of the time that he pulled Asmodeus off of her all those months ago and saved her. She thought of the wonderful feeling of his light and warmth washing over her after ten years of hell, of him pulling her to safety. She thought of finding him tortured by demons a little over a month ago, of defending him from that demonic Dean. She thought of him slamming her up against the wall and the anger in his eyes when he heard what she had done. But he had only been angry because he cared. About Dean, but also about her.

She smiled at the angel next to her. "Yeah. You're my friend, too," she said, because she knew it was true.

There was a long moment, and then Cas changed the subject to lighter, happier things. "I remember when we first met, you told me all of the best shows to watch. I seem to have forgotten, though…"

Julie smiled and picked up the remote. "Let's see if we can find one, then."

For a while, the two of them flipped through sitcoms, eventually finding a good one and laughing at it for a while. Julie was so grateful to finally have someone to talk to and hang out with after three days of isolation that everything was twice as funny. But eventually, Cas noticed that she quit smiling and laughing at the better jokes. Something was bothering her, and eventually he switched TV off and turned to face her.

"Something's wrong," he said.

"Tell me about it," Julie muttered.

Cas frowned. "What's bothering you? Can I help?"

"Not really," Julie sighed. "It's just...I mean, I understand why the guys are kind of shutting me out, and I totally agree that they should be angry with me, but…man, sometimes it sucks being alone, you know?"

Too many times in his life, Castiel had felt alone. "Yes, I do," he nodded. "So, Sam and Dean are causing you trouble then? Should I talk to them?"

"No!" Julie said quickly. "No, don't do that. And Sam…he's not really causing me trouble. He'll be in the same room with me, at least, and he'll at least talk to me when it's necessary. I know he's…he's not trying to hurt me. But he's still in shock a bit, I think, and he's so focused on finding a way to save me, that sometimes I think he forgets I'm still alive." Julie suddenly looked angry with herself. "I'm sorry. I'm being stupid. I'm complaining about how hard my friend is trying to save my soul."

The angel shook his head. "No. You're not being stupid. And I'm sure that this is hard for Sam, but if you just let him know that you need him, he'll be there for you."

"You're right," she said softly, picking at the sheets on the bed.

Cas hesitated, unsure if he wanted the answer to his next question. But it came out anyway. "And…and Dean? How is he handling all of this?"

"Like you'd expect," Julie muttered. "He's drunk. He's always drunk, or trying to get drunk again. If he's sober, it's just so that he has a clear mind to look for a way to save me. That's all he does, drink and look for a way to save me. And I'm grateful that he still wants to save me, but, Cas…he won't talk to me or be in the same room as me or even look at me. And I understand why, but…I'm going to have to lose him in five months anyway! I can't lose him _now_!"

She was tearing up, and Castiel felt horrible for the poor, damned woman. This time when he moved to hug her, it wasn't anywhere near as awkward. She stayed in his arms for a long time, and he found that he didn't mind. He cared deeply about this woman, and he could not bear the thought of her returning to hell. But she shouldn't be this miserable and lonely while she was still on earth! She had five months left, unless they could find a way to save her, and those brothers were going to get over their issues and be there for her or else.

"You should get some rest," Cas told Julie gently when she finally pulled away from him.

She looked down and shook her head. "Why not?" he frowned.

"I…I can't," she muttered. "Whenever I try to sleep…I remember."

"You remember...?" he started to ask, but then he understood. "Oh." Hell. Of course. A side effect of selling your soul was nightmares about hellhounds and hell, and they would only be worse for someone who had already been to hell and knew what was coming. And the nightmares would only get worse as she ran out of time.

"I can give you rest," the angel said gently after a moment. "And I can make sure that you don't dream."

"You…you can?" Julie asked, hating herself for hoping.

"Yes. But as you get closer to your time, the nightmares will get worse, and stronger, and eventually I'm afraid I won't be able to hold them back," Cas informed her gravely.

"I don't care, I need sleep," Julie said desperately.

Cas slipped out into the hallway to let Julie get ready for bed in privacy. The rest of the bunker was dark and silent, but he doubted Sam and Dean would be getting much sleep tonight. When Julie was ready for bed, Cas returned to the room. She was lying under the covers, staring at him in an odd way. The angel frowned. "What?"

"Why did you come?" Julie asked him softly.

"I…I told you," he said, confused. "You're my friend, and you needed help."

"And I'm Sam's best friend and Dean's…" She stopped for a moment to compose herself. "Anyway, if they can't bear to talk to me and be there for me, how can you? How are you not angry with me?"

Cas sighed. "I…I've been around a long time, Julie. I've seen a lot of good, and a lot more evil, it seems like. I've observed a lot of people sell their souls, for all manner of reasons, almost always evil or selfish. But good people rarely sell their souls, and if they do, it's only to save people, out of love. Like you, and like Dean, years ago."

"Okay," Julie said, still confused. "But that doesn't explain why you don't hate me."

"I guess what I'm saying is…you did a bad thing, for a good reason," the angel tried to explain. "And…Sam was right. If I had a soul, I would have sold it to save him. So I can't be angry with you for something I would have done if I could."

The woman his best friend loved shook her head and sighed. "If only they understood that. Then maybe we could figure this out together." She took a deep breath, and then smiled at her friend. "Thank you for being here for me, Cas. I…I needed this."

"Sleep well," the angel replied, and he gently touched her forehead.

Julie's eyes closed, and she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Sam went through his usual morning routine. Wake up with an open book in his lap and an awful crick in his neck from falling asleep searching for a way to save Julie. Get up, change into a fresh set of clothes, brush his teeth, try to ignore how miserable and unhealthy he looked in the mirror. Stagger into the kitchen to make some coffee, grab some food, and then keep searching.

Except today, the routine he had kept up the past three days was interrupted. Dean was already in the kitchen when he entered it. His brother was grabbing a beer from the fridge with one hand, while leafing through a dusty old volume with the other. Sam winced at the sight of that beer. It wasn't yet eight o'clock in the morning, and his brother was already drinking? He still looked a bit hangover, but he had been living in a constant state somewhere between hammered and hungover for the past three days.

Sam steeled himself for a tense conversation and then said carefully, "Hey, Dean."

His older brother glanced up for a second, met Sam's eyes, and then looked back at the book. He grunted in response and worked the cap off of his beer.

"Dean, um…" Sam took a deep breath. "How are you doing?"

Dean laughed bitterly. "Just peachy. Never been better, Sammy."

Sam breathed deeply through his nose, trying to keep calm. They were both jumpy and moody and miserable, and he didn't want to start something. "Dean, I just meant…I want to make sure you're okay. You're my brother, and I care about you, and you don't seem to be doing so well. So, if there's anything I can do to help…"

"Do you have a way out of Julie's deal?" Dean snapped.

Sam looked down and said nothing.

"Then there's nothing you can do, Sam," Dean said coldly, and he tossed the cap to his beer behind him into the trash can.

Or rather, he tried. But there was no sound of the bottle cap ever hitting the trash can. Dean frowned and turned around, and found himself face-to-face with an angel who was studying the bottle cap he had just caught.

"What the hell, Cas?!" Dean snapped, backing away from the angel who was standing way too close to him in an almost threatening way. "Personal space, man!"

Castiel just studied him coldly. Sam and Dean both frowned. "Cas…what's wrong?" Sam asked after a moment. "Why are you here?"

"I am here because last night Julie prayed to me," he said coldly.

"Why?" Sam asked concerned. "Is she okay?"

Cas gave him a cold look. "Right. Stupid question," Sam muttered. "But why did she pray to you?"

"Because she needed someone to talk to about everything that's going on. She needed to not be alone, and she needed someone to help her with the nightmares of hell she'd been having every night. And she had no one else."

The angel gave both brothers accusing glares, and they looked down at the ground. "I…I didn't realize…" Sam got out, looking like he felt terribly guilty.

"You know her better than just about anyone, Sam," Cas said flatly. "If you paid her any attention, you would have realized."

Sam stared at the floor, ashamed. Cas turned to Dean, expecting him to look guilty. But Dean's face was carefully controlled and blank, as if he didn't care, and as the angel watched, he took a long swig of his beer, not looking the least bit sorry.

Dean almost choked on the beer in his mouth when the bottle in his hand suddenly vanished. "What the hell-?!" he spluttered.

"You look half-drunk, and it's seven forty-two in the morning," his best friend said coldly. "You do not need that beer."

Dean glared at Cas, and then opened the fridge to grab another beer. But when he opened the door, every beer in the fridge was suddenly gone.

"What the hell, Cas?!" Dean shouted for the third time in two minutes. "Where's my beer?"

"All of the alcohol in this bunker is gone," Castiel said flatly, crossing him arms.

"You had better be joking," Dean snarled.

"I am not. It is gone, and I will continue to make sure you do not consume any alcohol until you quit acting like a stubborn, pouting child."

Sam was nervous. Dean's jaw was clenched in a dangerous way, as were his fists. Dean had a lot of negative emotions in him, and he had been looking for an outlet. Now Cas was pissing him off, and it may be enough to set his brother off…

"Watch yourself, Cas," Dean growled in a dangerous voice. "In case you can't tell, I haven't been having a very easy go of it these past few days. I'd hate for you to be the thing that finally sets me off, because that's not going to end well."

"No, it's not, because I'm not afraid to knock some sense into you, Dean," Castiel said coldly, and Sam was surprised to see that the angel wasn't backing down. "Dean, you are my closest friend in the world, and a very good man, but sometimes, when things are going badly, you become a very stubborn, very drunk ass."

Dean moved like he was going to hit Cas, but the angel grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back, not hard enough to hurt him, but enough to prove who was stronger. "Also, you don't have the Mark of Cain anymore, Dean," Castiel said calmly. "If you fight me, you will lose."

Dean pulled away from his friend and glared at him. "Why are you here, Cas? Besides to cut off my booze and make us feel guilty?"

"Julie is hurting," the angel said coldly. "And don't you pretend that doesn't matter to you, Dean. Don't pretend that it doesn't kill you, because I know it does. Both of you care about her so much, and yet she is still going through the hardest thing anyone could go through _alone_."

"She's not alone," Dean said icily. "She's got you now. Why does she need us?"

Castiel rolled his eyes. "Stop acting like you don't care, Dean. You care too much, and that's why you're shutting her out. The both of you. Well, stop. This problem has to be solved, and Julie saved, but she should not have to spend the next five months alone. And the two of you shouldn't either. So it's time to get over yourselves and be there for each other. Because that's the only way that we're getting through this. Together."

Dean opened his mouth to snap at him, but there was the sound of fluttering wings, and the angel was gone.

"Self-righteous son of a bitch," Dean muttered. "He's got no idea what we're going through."

"Well, Dean…he cares about her, too," Sam said carefully. "Enough to call us on our crap."

"Oh, not you too, Sam!" Dean snapped. "Dammit, I cannot have this conversation sober!"

He stormed out of the kitchen, probably to search the rest of the bunker for any booze Cas might have overlooked. Sam watched him go sadly. Cas had gotten through to Sam, and the first thing he was going to do now was go and find and Julie and spend all day being there for her. But it seemed that Dean was still to hurting and angry to fix things with Julie. And if Dean's best friend couldn't get through to him, who could?

* * *

Julie woke up a little after eight in the morning, feeling better-rested than she had in…well, as long as she could remember. She wanted to thank Cas, but when she sat up and looked around the room, he was nowhere to be seen.

Julie slipped out of bed and pulled on a pair of old, ripped jeans and a dark t-shirt. She brushed her hair and teeth, but didn't bother to make herself look very nice. These guys had seen her at her worst, and anyway, they probably wouldn't even look over at her all day.

She walked out of her room and headed to the library. Yesterday, she had found a thick, leather-bound book that looked ancient. The "ink" looked horribly like dried blood, and she wouldn't be surprised if the paper was made of some equally horrific material. But inside the book, written in old English in a near-impossible to decipher scrawl, was a treasure trove about the history of demons. There was page after page of the activity of demons centuries ago, including what souls had been taken and what deals made, and she wouldn't be surprised if it was actually records written _by _demons. Anyway, she desperately hoped that it might have a clue on how to escape a deal.

But before she even got to the library, she heard someone calling her name. She turned around, confused, and saw Sam hurrying towards her.

"Julie!" he cried one last time before tackling her in a bear hug. Julie almost fell over from the force of his hug, and she was so surprised that she didn't hug him back.

"What…?" Julie asked, overwhelmed, as Sam pulled away and looked at her.

"Cas talked to Dean and I," Sam admitted, shifting awkwardly and looking at the floor, ashamed.

"No," she breathed. "I told him not to!"

"No, it's a good thing he did," Sam assured her. "Julie…I had no idea how you were feeling…"

"And I didn't want to worry you with it," she muttered.

"No, you can't do that," her best friend said firmly. "No more lying to each other or hiding things from each other. We have to be open with each other and work together or there's no way we can get through this. And, Julie, you've got to let us know how you're feeling! How else can we help you?"

"Sam, come on," Julie sighed. "How was I supposed to tell you guys? You seemed worried enough, and you were pretty distant from me, and then there's Dean…"

"Yeah, Dean…" Sam sighed. "I'll have to work on that. But anyway…I'm sorry. About shutting you out and not being there for you, and…well, everything that happened to you. I should have been able to stop it."

Julie shook her head. "Cas said the same thing. You guys do realize you can't save everyone, right?"

"Well, we should have been able to save you. And about Cas…I'm very grateful for him being there for you and for calling us on our crap, but…he shouldn't have had to step in. The next time we're doing that to you, you've got to call us on it."

Julie smiled very slightly. "Oh, believe me, I will."

Then she leaned in and hugged Sam back. "And thank you. For being here for me now. I don't deserve it, after what I did."

"Don't start that," Sam muttered. "And don't worry. Dean and Cas and I are going to be here for you whenever you need us, and we're going to take care of you. We're going to save you."

Julie nodded, but in her heart, she didn't really believe her friend. If Sam hadn't been able to save his brother in a year, what could they do in five months?

But she had another problem besides that. One that was in some ways even more important to her than her damned soul.

"What are you thinking?" Sam asked nervously, watching Julie's expression. That was her clever, determined face right before she did something very strong-willed and possibly dangerous.

"I'm thinking that you and Cas and I are on the same side, but we've _all _got to beat this together," she said slowly. "And there's someone who really needs to work with us. Someone I need to go have a very serious chat with."

"Julie…he's not doing so well right now," Sam said carefully. "Cas confronted him and he took a swing at him. And then Cas took away all the booze. He won't be happy."

"Perfect," she smiled, and Sam stared at her in confusion. "This way he won't be drunk. And I'm not exactly happy either."

Julie left Sam behind and searched the bunker for a few minutes before she found Dean in the garage, digging through now-empty coolers in search of just one forgotten beer. He stiffened when he heard her open and then close the door, but he didn't look up.

Julie crossed her arms as she approached him. "Hey, Dean," she said calmly.

She didn't miss the way his muscles tensed even more at the sound of her voice. He straightened up and turned away from her, probably to try to leave the garage, to run from her and this confrontation.

"Dean Winchester, I swear to god, if you even _try _to leave right now…" she said warningly, and he stopped. He stood still and unmoving, his back to her.

"Dean, come on. Would you quit acting like a child and have an actual conversation with me?" Julie snapped, more than done with this. With Sam and Cas in her corner and a good night's sleep, she felt ready to finally confront Dean. No matter what happened, this would be better than continuing to pretend the other didn't exist.

"You know, I really wish people would quit telling me how I'm acting like a child," Dean said coldly, slowly turning to face her. He crossed his arms as well, and Julie hated how intimidating he looked when he did so. Damn, if he wasn't scary when he wanted to be. But underneath all that anger and surliness, she saw a glimmer of pain in his eyes.

He was hurting. Her Dean was hurting. And that made all the anger and hurt she had been feeling from three days of being ignored vanish in an instant.

Dean had a hard time keeping his face blank and stony as Julie suddenly changed. She had been standing there defiantly, arms crossed, looking for a fight. But for some reason, as she studied him, something in Julie's face softened, and she relaxed suddenly.

"Dean…" she said gently. No. Nope. He couldn't handle the gentleness in her tone and the soft, compassionate look in her eyes. Give him screaming and hitting and throwing things, and he could go all day. But he could not handle this kind, gentle, wonderful woman in front of him right now. Or ever again.

He turned around and began to walk away, praying to God that she wouldn't follow.

"Dean Winchester, do not walk away while I am talking to you!" Julie snapped, appearing in front of him. He shot a dirty look at the ceiling and thought, _screw you too, God._

"Fine!" Dean snapped. "Dammit! Just say you want to say so I can go."

Julie blinked, hurt for a moment. He had been surly and rough on purpose to get rid of her so he wouldn't have to think or feel, but now, seeing the hurt in her eyes… he wanted so badly to take it back. To tell her he loved her and hold her and apologize for the complete and utter ass he had been for the past three days.

And then Julie was hard and tough again. "Fine. You want to know what I have to say? Well, here it is. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I really am, for the fact that I'm going to have to leave you in five months and go to hell. But that's _five months_, Dean! Five months that we don't have to be fighting. Five months that we could be together-"

"Five months isn't very long, Julie," Dean snapped. "We're going to have a hard enough time finding a way to save you in that time."

"You're right," she said coldly. "And maybe there isn't a way to save me. But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the next five months."

Dean laughed scornfully. "You want me to _enjoy _watching you slowly going crazy as you run out of time? You want me to _enjoy _watching hellhounds ripping you apart when these five months are out?!"

"Okay, so enjoy wasn't the right word!" Julie snapped. "But we don't have to be separate and miserable these next five months, Dean. We've got a lot of work to get done in that time: two Knights of Hell to stop, one damn near impossible to beat, and we'll have to try to find a way out of my deal. And it'll be a lot easier together."

"You and Sam and Cas have fun with that," Dean muttered.

"Why, Dean? Why do you refuse to work with me?"

"Why?!" he cried, suddenly losing it. "Because I _can't_, Julie! If I let myself enjoy the next five months with you, it'll just hurt that much more when I lose you. And I can't just pretend everything is okay. I know exactly what it feels like to be damned, and I can't relax and be happy with you and Sammy while I could be searching for a way to save you."

Julie studied him sadly. "There's only so much you can do, Dean. You and I both know there's probably no way out of this. If there was, don't you think someone would have found it over the centuries?"

Dean looked away from her. "Dammit," he muttered. "You shouldn't have done this."

"You do realize if I hadn't, you'd still be a demon?!" Julie snapped. "And Sam and Cas and I would probably all be dead, and others as well. The Knights had made you full evil, and you had to be stopped. And besides, I couldn't bear seeing you like that anymore. I was willing to do anything to save you, and I'd do it again. I don't regret it one bit."

"How can you say that?" Dean cried. "You're going back to hell in five months, and you _don't _regret it?!"

"Do you regret selling your soul for Sam?" Julie countered.

"That's different," he muttered sullenly.

"How? You sold your soul to bring your brother back to life. I sold my soul to get rid of a dangerous demon and get back the man I loved. How is that so different?"

"Sam was worth it," Dean said under his breath.

Julie shook her head at him, stunned. "How?" she asked quietly. "How can you really think that you weren't worth saving? How can you be angry with me for doing something that you did yourself?!"

"Because you're _everything _to me, Jules!" Dean cried suddenly, and she noticed that his eyes were a bit shiny. "You and Sammy and Cas…you guys are all I have. I can't do it without you."

Julie softened again. "So work with us," she said gently. "We can work together to stop the Knights and try to find a way out of my deal and to save people and hunt, too. We don't have to do this alone, Dean. We're stronger together."

Dean shook his head. "Maybe…maybe I can reason with Beelzebub. Maybe I can take your place…" he murmured to himself.

"Dean, are you even listening to me?!" Julie cried. "_I_ did this! I chose this, to save you, and that's not going to change. So you're just going to have to learn to deal with it, and we'll get through this together."

"I can't 'get through this', Julie!" Dean snapped, stepping closer to her. They were almost dangerously close now. "I can't lose you!"

"And I can't lose you, Dean!" she retorted. She was practically shouting at him, but as she said those words, something in Dean's expression changed to something gentler. But she was too busy snapping at him to really notice. "That's why I did this. So you can't be angry with me for doing exactly what you would have done if you were in my shoes. I don't regret it, because nothing is worth losing you, and-"

And suddenly, Dean closed the couple inches between them and grabbed her face. Before Julie quite understood what was happening, Dean was kissing her. After a moment, her arms went around him and she kissed him back, so long and hard that she felt dizzy. But even when they pulled apart to catch their breath their arms stayed around each other, fingers tangling in each other's hair, clinging to each other, afraid to let the other go.

Dean rested his forehead against Julie's. "I can't lose you," he whispered brokenly, and she thought she heard her heart snap.

Julie tilted her face to press her lips to Dean's for a long, sweet moment. "So you won't," she whispered back when they pulled apart again. "We'll find some way out of this." At first, she didn't really believe herself, but then passion overtook her. She could not bear to be separated from this man, and she could not do that to him. They _would _find a way to save her, and she would never leave his side.

"How?" Dean asked uncertainly, still clinging tightly to her.

"I don't know," she admitted. "But we will. I promise you, Dean, I am not going to leave you, okay? We'll get through this together. Okay?"

"Okay," he whispered. "Together."

And they kissed again, Dean clinging tightly to Julie as he kissed her hungrily, afraid to let her go and lose the woman he loved. Because he knew that if he lost her, there would be no recovery for him. If she died, he would too.


	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter Fifty-Two**

Dean had a problem.

For three days he had managed to stay strong in his anger, telling himself that it wasn't worth it. Letting his guard down, letting himself be happy again with Julie would only distract him and make it that much harder if he had to lose her. But then she had come into the garage with that fiery look in her eyes, and he had remembered what Cas had said and how guilty he had felt for hurting her. So when her words became less harsh and more loving he couldn't bear it anymore, and he just kissed her, and the moment his lips touched hers, he knew.

Whether or not being with Julie was the wise move, he was going to do it. Because he desperately needed her. He had no other choice.

And so, for the past four days, things had been much better. He and Julie weren't fighting anymore. In fact, there were rarely ever apart. Dean knew how little time he had left with the woman he loved, and he wasn't going to waste any of it. So they would sit in the library for hours with Sam, always near each other, discussing theories or just holding each other's hand with their free one. It was much better than being miserable and alone all the time, but they still weren't making any progress. The more they read and learned, the more hopeless everything seemed.

Each night, Julie and Dean would say goodnight to Sam and return to their bedroom. If they were too exhausted, they would just fall into each other's arms and sleep, but most nights they would be up for a while still, kissing or having sex or just lying in each other's arms and talking for a long time. They both knew that they now had a time limit, and they were afraid to waste even a second of it.

Dean couldn't fall asleep until Julie did. He just couldn't get his brain to stop worrying until that beautiful woman was asleep in his arms. He would watch her sleep until he too drifted off. Some nights, he slept somewhat peacefully, besides occasionally being woken up as Julie twitched and sometimes screamed, trapped in a nightmare of hell. Then he would hold her and whisper soothing words until she was asleep again. But more often than not, he slept fitfully, his dreams dark and bloody, almost always ending in Julie being pulled away from him and ripped apart by hellhounds. When he woke from these nightmares, he was careful not to wake Julie, and he couldn't recover from them until he was absolutely certain that she was with him, asleep in his arms, safe.

It was a problem. He couldn't sleep without her next to him, and he couldn't recover from his nightmares unless she was there to reassure him with her presence.

What was he going to do in five months, when she was gone?

On the fifth morning after he and Julie made up, Dean woke up from another nightmare. This time, Beelzebub had been there instead of hellhounds, and he had Julie strapped down to a table much like the one that Dean had spent years strapped to down in hell. As Dean watched and screamed and begged, Beelzebub cut up the woman he loved, and Dean couldn't stop him or pull himself out of the nightmare until-

"Dean, honey," Julie's soothing voice called, and Dean felt someone stroking his hair with one hand, cradling the side of his face with the other. He opened his eyes and saw that he wasn't really in that dark, hell-like room, but his familiar bedroom. And Julie was lying next to him, not bloody and ruined like he had feared, but healthy and whole. Well, that wasn't entirely true. But Beelzebub didn't have her, at least.

As Dean stared at her, slowly catching his breath and recovering from the nightmare, he saw a sad sort of resignation in her blue eyes. He thought back to a time back before he had been killed and become a demon, when he had been trapped in a nightmare of hell, and how shaken and concerned Julie had been when she finally woke him up. Now she was almost used to having to wake Dean up from horrible nightmares, and that fact was saddening and a little frightening.

Julie stroked Dean's slightly sweaty cheek, watching as the fear slowly faded from his eyes. He just stared at her, and she couldn't read his expression. She was sure hers was one of sadness and resignation. She knew that she couldn't stop the nightmares, and was probably the reason for most of them right now, but that didn't mean that waking up to find Dean twitching and moaning, soaked in sweat and calling out her name didn't break her heart. It didn't make having to wrench him out of whatever nightmare he was trapped in any easier.

Julie didn't know how long she and Dean lay staring at each other, her soothingly stroking his hair and face until his breathing became regular again. Eventually, he put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, and she pressed herself tightly against his chest, tucking her head into the dip between his shoulder and his neck.

She heard Dean's breath catch like he was about to speak, but he decided against it. His hand slipped up under the hem of her tank top and his thumb brushed back and forth across the bare skin of her hip, while she kissed his neck softly.

They probably would have lain like that for several more minutes at least, but Julie's phone began to buzz on the nightstand. She rolled over and glanced at the screen, and then sighed.

"It's Jasper," she told Dean, and he nodded in understanding. Julie slipped out of bed and answered the phone.

"Hey, Uncle Jasper."

The person on the other end of the call replied, and she smiled slightly. "You got it right this time!" she smirked, and Dean could guess that Jasper must actually have called her Julie.

Jasper said something, and Julie replied, "We're…we're doing okay, Uncle J. We've got a lot of work to do…super busy…yeah, Dean's good." Julie glanced down at the man she was talking about and made a gesture to show that she was going to leave the room to keep talking to her uncle without disturbing Dean. He nodded, and she reached out and brushed her fingertips across his cheek lovingly before leaving the room, saying, "He's working way too hard, as usual. But no signs of anything demonic…Sam? He's good, too…"

She shut the door behind her as she left and Dean stayed where he was, lying tangled in the sheets, wishing that she wasn't gone. Every second she wasn't by his side, a part of him felt like it was missing. It was terribly unhealthy, but he couldn't help how badly he needed her.

After a couple minutes of lying there, Dean sighed and hauled himself into a sitting position, running a hand through his bedhead. He really didn't feel like ever getting out of bed, but he had things to do. Boring old books to read, websites to search, a loved one's soul to save…

Somehow, he managed to haul himself out of bed and shower, washing away the sweat and dark thoughts left by that nightmare. Then he pulled on a dark t-shirt, blue jeans, and a dark green button-down shirt. He brushed his teeth and went back into the bedroom, feeling a lot more ready to face the day now that he was clean and dressed. Julie still wasn't back, but she could easily talk for an hour with her beloved uncle. Dean did feel a little guilty for having taken her away from her family, so he never complained when she wanted to talk to them on the phone for a few hours or drop by for a friendly visit or a quick, collaborative hunt.

Dean was about to walk out of the bedroom and go see if his little brother was up when his cellphone rang. Dean frowned and approached the nightstand. The number was unknown, and he was wondering whether or not he should pick it up when he remembered that it may be a newer hunter who needed help on a case and was coming to the best. With Julie's deal, he sometimes forgot that other monsters and problems were out there.

Dean picked up his phone and answered. "Hello?" he asked, a little more gruffly than he had meant to.

"Someone doesn't sound very cheerful," a woman's attractive voice replied teasingly. Dean felt his stomach drop out of him as he recognized the voice.

"This had better not be who I think it is," Dean growled into his phone.

"Depends on who you're thinking," she answered. "If you're thinking of the sexiest individual you've ever had the luck to encounter, then you would be correct."

"How did you get this number, Apollyon?" he sighed, not wanting to keep up the playful banter this demon was starting.

"So he's not as dumb as he looks!" she chuckled. "Although I did give you a lot of clues."

"Just answer the question, bitch."

"Sounds like somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Apollyon smirked. "I don't suppose this bad mood has anything to do with the damned soul of your girlfriend, right? You _do _know you've only got five months left with your Juliet before we get her back, I assume?"

Dean's fists were clenched so tightly that his nails were cutting into his skin. "For your own sake, you definitely want to shut the hell up," he growled at that demonic bitch, wishing she was in front of him right now so he could rip her apart.

"But if I shut the hell up, I can't tell you how I got this number!" the Knight pointed out. "And I think you'll want to hear the answer."

Dean was silent, waiting for her to continue. "I don't suppose you recall giving your phone number to a young officer Jim Morgan in case he ever needed some help with the world of the supernatural that you exposed him to?"

Dean swallowed, trying to suppress the wave of concern and guilt he felt. Oh, no. "What did you do, bitch?"

"Language, Dean," she chided him.

"What did you do, you horrible, sadistic monster who deserves to spend the rest of eternity rotting in the deepest, darkest pit of hell?"

"Don't you know how to sweet talk a girl?" Apollyon chuckled, unfazed. "And to answer your question, I haven't done anything. I just did a little research, found out that a pretty new hunter by the name of Jim Morgan had gotten into hunting because of you and your buddies, and then I hunted down the guy and kidnapped him. So unless you consider that doing something…"

Dean suppressed his worry and panic and guilt. He couldn't help the poor guy if he was flipping out. "Alright, Apollyon," he said almost calmly. "What did you do to him? Where is he?"

"Oh, he's right here with me. Aren't you, Jimmy? Say hi to good old Dean for me," Apollyon said into the phone.

There was a moment of silence, and then Dean heard a sickening thud, followed by a man's groan of pain. It had been months since Dean had seen the officer who had helped save and then imprison him and his brother, but he had no doubt in his mind who that man in pain was.

"I said say hi to Dean," Apollyon repeated in a sickly sweet voice. There was another silence. "I'm sorry, Dean," she sighed. "He's a real nice-looking guy, Jim, but he's really got that strong and silent thing down. It's a real turn-on, but not much fun right now. But maybe my other little friend here will have something to say. Although I recall her actually having more to do with your brother than you…"

Dean's blood ran cold. Apollyon had _another _victim? And who else had he and Sam and Julie saved? Well, a lot of people. But who was important enough that she would target them? A girl who had more to do with Sam, someone they saved, someone important to Sam…

Oh, no. Come on. Not now. Not her. It couldn't be…

"Please state your name into the phone so Dean here knows exactly who I have and will kill if he doesn't do what I want," Apollyon's smooth voice said. There was a long pause, and then the demon sighed, "Sweetie, I _will _put this bullet through your brain if you don't cooperate. I only need one hostage to get pretty boy to come running."

"No! Whoever it is, don't hurt them!" Dean snapped into his phone, even though he already knew who it was.

A woman's trembling, terrified voice spoke into the phone. "Le…Leah Jamison," she got out. "I'm Leah Jamison, that girl that Sam saved from a ghost."

"No," Dean breathed, grabbing his hair and pulling at it with his free hand. This couldn't be happening!

"As I recall, while you and your little girlfriend were getting kidnapped and tortured by me and my idiot brother, your own idiot brother was banging this little sweetheart I've got here," Apollyon smirked. "And after her near-death experience, Leah here became a hunter. Her and Jim both. Look at you, Dean. Getting new kids into the business. You should be proud. Of course, they'll both be dead if you don't do what I want…"

"Cut the crap, bitch," Dean snarled. "We both know I'll do what you want. Just give me your demands and let the two of them go."

"Oh, Dean, sweetie, we're not going to do this over the phone!" the Knight laughed. "You'll be meeting me here, and then we can talk 'demands'."

Dean snorted. "Not a chance. I'm not that stupid. You'll just kill me and then them."

"Now why would I do that?" she asked sweetly. "Dean, these little maggots are literally nothing to me. I'd happily kill them, but I also have no reason to want them dead. If you meet me by noon today, along with that sexy brother of yours and your little girlfriend too, I promise these two will walk free."

"No," Dean growled. "I'll come, fine, and you can do whatever the hell you want to me, you sick bitch. But you're not getting either of them."

"But I bet when Sammy boy hears that I've got his little girlfriend, he'll come running, and _your_ girlfriend is certainly not letting you go without her," Apollyon said smugly, knowing she had won. "So…here we are. I did a tracking spell on you, and I have to admit, you're well-hidden. But I know you're only about four hours from the motel where I'm keeping these two. I'll be nice and give you a little time to explain to Sammy and Julie, and even add some extra time in for bathroom breaks, but I expect you in here in a little over five hours, at noon, or I start killing people."

"No," Dean snarled. "Apollyon, find some other way to settle this. I'm not dragging them into this. This is about you and me, not Sam and Julie."

"Wrong again, Dean," the Knight smirked. "It's actually not about you anymore. And it's not really about girlfriend, either, I'll admit. Ever since you lost the Mark of Cain and she sold her soul, well, you two went on the back burner. I'll be happy to take care of you two, but this is actually more about dear old Sam."

"What?" Dean frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"You'll get details when you do what you're told. Now, I'll see you soon, and baby brother and girlfriend, too. Sound good to you, gorgeous?"

He opened his mouth to snarl out a "no" but she had already hung up. A few seconds later, he received a text message with information on where that demonic bitch was holding Jim Morgan and that Leah girl.

"Son of a bitch," Dean breathed, dropping his phone on the bed and sinking down next to it, slightly shocked. He put his head in his hands and tried to think. Apollyon had two innocent people that he knew, people who didn't deserve to die. He had to save them, but he wasn't letting Sam and Julie come. No way in hell were the two of them walking into this trap to die. But they would insist on going if he told them.

Well, there was the answer. Don't tell them.

This was going to be hard. Finding an excuse to get out of the bunker alone, that would be hard enough. But leaving Sam and Julie, knowing there was a pretty good chance that he wasn't coming back…he couldn't. He thought he had at least five months left with Julie, and who knew how long with Sammy! And Cas, too…he couldn't do this to them.

But there were two innocent people out there who were going to die if he didn't go there. And he wouldn't be going to surrender. No, he was going to fight that bitch to the death. And he could set up some clues for Sam and Julie that they hopefully wouldn't discover until he was far enough ahead that they couldn't stop him. He wasn't stupid enough to think that he could take out a Knight of Hell, Mark-less and alone. However, he wanted to make sure his backup didn't also get trapped and killed. This was going to take some time, and he didn't have much…

He managed to gather the supplies he would need for the confrontation in a little less than ten minutes. And then it was time for what he had been dreading the most: saying goodbye to the two people he loved most, possibly forever.

Dean found Julie sitting at the dining table, still in her pajamas and still chatting with Jasper. Sam sat next to her, reading something on his laptop and sipping coffee. As she listened to Jasper talk, Julie reached over and took Sam's coffee, taking a sip. He shot her a half-annoyed glance, but it was clear he was very used to this routine.

Dean swallowed the lump in his throat. The two of them would be okay. They had lived for five months without him, and learned to depend on each other to the point where sometimes they acted like the same person. Sam would take care of her if Dean didn't make it out of this. But then in five months, his little brother could very well be left alone…

Julie looked up and noticed Dean standing in the doorway. She smiled at him and said to Jasper, "Hey, Uncle J, I should probably go. Dean just came in and-"

From his seat next to Julie, Sam could just make out Jasper's reply through the phone. "Please don't tell me Dean is trying to get you to take off your clothes. I really, really do not want to know that."

Sam snorted with laughter, and Julie shot him a look. "No! No, we're all fully clothed over here. But I should probably get back to work."

"I'll talk to you later, Juliet," Jasper replied. She decided to let that one go. "I love you."

"Love you too," she replied before hanging up. Then she looked up at Dean and smiled. "Hey. How are you doing?" she asked gently, because he looked like something was bothering him.

Dean swallowed and forced a smile. "I'm…fine," he got out unconvincingly.

Sam frowned. "Come on, Dean. You're a better liar than that."

His brother sighed. "Yeah. Sorry, guys, I just…I don't know. We've been doing a lot of research lately, and I'm not going to stop until we find a way to save you, Jules, but…I could use a break."

"We all could," Julie admitted. "Do you want to try to find a case or something to get our minds off of this?"

"No!" Dean said quickly. "No, nothing like that. Look, I could use some air. I'll go get us some lunch from somewhere, maybe drive a little bit, just unwind a bit."

Sam and Julie exchanged looks. "Do you want someone to come with you?" Sam asked gently.

"I'll be fine," Dean said. Sam studied his brother suspiciously. Something big was clearly bothering Dean, but he couldn't force him to talk about it. Best just to let Dean get some space and unwind a bit. Hopefully that would be enough to solve whatever problems he was dealing with…

"You sure?" Julie asked, still frowning.

"Yeah," Dean said quietly. "I'll be fine." She still didn't look convinced, so he forced a smile and added, "I promise."

Julie sighed, "Okay," and stood up. She moved to hug Dean tightly and he buried his face in her curls for a long moment, hugging her back. When they pulled apart, she smiled gently at him and said, "Call if you need anything."

Dean nodded, his throat tight, and then turned to smile at his brother. "I'll…I'll see you later, Sammy," he said with a short nod towards his beloved little brother.

"Don't be too long, Dean," Sam said, still a bit concerned about his brother. Dean didn't look so stable right now, but they couldn't force themselves on him.

Sam and Julie watched Dean leave, and then Julie went to get dressed. When she got back, now dressed and ready to face the day, she and Sam sat down to yet another dusty set of volumes they had dug up last night. For two or three hours, they read through the dull, unhelpful books until Sam couldn't take it anymore. He got up to walk around and stretch his legs. He went into the kitchen where he had left his phone, planning on calling Dean. His brother had been out over three hours now, and he was starting to get a little bit worried. But to his surprise, he found that Dean had left him a voicemail not even ten minutes ago.

Sam picked up his phone and listened to the voicemail, his blood slowly running cold as he heard Dean's message:

"Hey, Sammy. It's Dean, which you already knew. Well, um…look, I don't know how to tell you this. There's no good way. So I guess I'll just start talking. Not like you can interrupt me or anything right?

"So this morning I got a call from Apollyon. You know, one of the two living Knights of Hell. She's got that guy, Jim Morgan, who helped Julie save us a while back from those vamps, and Leah Jamison. You know her, too, a lot better than me. Anyway, we got them started on hunting, and she found out and kidnapped them and she's holding them as bait to get me to surrender. Which I won't, but I am going to go in there and, if worst comes to worst, go down swinging.

"I'm sure you're pissed at me for lying and facing her alone, but, Sammy…she wants you. I'm not sure why, but I'm not going to let you or Jules get hurt if I can stop it. I'm supposed to meet her at noon, and my phone's set up so that at twelve thirty, if I haven't stopped it, you guys will get a text that says the address. Get Cas and get over here as soon as possible if that happens, because that means that I'm either captured or…

"Anyway, I hate to tell you like this, but I can't let you and Julie get hurt if there's any other way. So I'm going to take on this bitch and hopefully save the two of them, and I'm going to do everything I can to make it back to you two, okay?

"And Sam, uh…I'm sorry. For lying and for leaving you guys. Things were already bad enough with Julie's deal, and if I die…it'll just get worse. So I'm sorry. And if I do die, I just want you to know…just…thanks, Sammy. For sticking by your asshole of a brother through all of my crap, and for taking care of Julie. And if I don't make it out of this, tell her…tell Jules that I love her and I'm sorry. That I'm so, so sorry for leaving you guys and for not having time to save her and…I'm sorry."

And the voicemail ended.

Sam stood there in shocked silence for a long moment. And then slowly his shock turned to anger…

No. Dean wasn't doing this to him. Not again. He was _not _losing his brother again.

* * *

Dean was early. It wasn't even eleven-thirty when he parked the Impala in the parking lot of the motel where Apollyon was holding those poor people. But he wasn't going to sit around for thirty minutes when that demon could be hurting two innocent people. So he got out of the car, and, after making sure that no one was around, got several knives, guns, and even a machete out of his trunk. Then, before he could doubt himself, he walked up to the motel room Apollyon had told him to enter.

The door was unlocked. Never a good sign. Dean nervously fingered the demon-killing knife tucked into his jacket. He knew if he went in there, he probably was never coming out, at least not by his own free will, on his own two feet. But he had to. There were innocent people in there who were going to die if he didn't.

Dean opened the door and stepped confidently into the motel room, his doubts forgotten at the thought of innocent people in danger. He looked around the room. It was a one-bed room, and pretty big for a motel room. Plenty of room to fight should he need to. And in the back of the room, tied to chairs up against the back wall were two familiar people…

Dean shut the door behind him carefully, looking over the man and woman tied to chairs in front of him. They looked surprisingly unharmed, besides a bruise on the right side of Jim Morgan's face and a bit of blood from a nasty head wound clotting his hair. "Is she here?" he mouthed to them, pulling out his knife.

Leah Jamison, who was staring up at him with wide, scared eyes, shook her head. "She left a few minutes ago," she said softly. "But you shouldn't be here! She'll kill you!"

"Wouldn't be the first time somebody did," Dean muttered, setting down his machete on the bed and crossing the room to reach the demon's victims. "You two alright?" he asked.

Leah nodded again. Dean was struck by how pretty the dark-haired girl was, even tied-up and terrified like she was right now. Sam did pretty well with her.

"I've been better," Jim Morgan muttered. "But she's right, you've got to get out of here! That monster will kill you if she catches you!"

"Aw, Morgan, it's nice to see you care," Dean smirked as he began to saw at the ropes binding the former cop's wrists behind his back to the chair. "But I'm not leaving without you two."

"Dean!" Leah Jamison suddenly shrieked, and Dean whirled around to see a familiar woman standing inside the room now. She was wearing a black leather jacket, tight, dark, leather pants, and a very low-cut, tight-fitting, hot pink tank top, and her blond curls fell down to her large chest, framing her sexy face. She was just the type of woman that would have Dean drooling. You know, if he wasn't already in love with a beautiful girl and she wasn't a freaking _demon._

"Dean," Apollyon purred as she took in the man before her. "You're early."

Dean moved protectively in-between the Knight of Hell and the two trapped people behind him, gripping his knife tightly. "Surprise," he smirked. "And since I'm early, I think you should let these two go as a reward."

"Gladly," the demon smirked, crossing her arms. "Just have your brother and girlfriend come out of hiding and surrender, and these two are welcome to leave."

Dean just glared at her. Apollyon cocked her head. "What's wrong, Dean? Is there something you're not telling me?" It was clear from her sickly sweet voice and innocent expression that she knew.

"They're not here," he said coldly. "Just me. They don't know that I came here, or what's going on."

"Now, Dean, that wasn't the deal we agreed on," the Knight of Hell sighed, shaking her head in disappointment. She began to stalk slowly towards him in dark combat boots that came up to her knees.

"I didn't agree to anything," Dean said coldly. "Neither of them are going to die today, or anytime soon if I've got anything to say about it."

"Well, Julie's going in a little less than five months, isn't it?" Apollyon smirked, now dangerously close.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Dean repeated through gritted teeth. "But that's not the point. I'm here, and I'd say getting a Winchester is worth two new hunters, don't you think?"

"Oh, trust me, you're worth a couple of baby hunters, easy," Apollyon purred, her eyes roaming over Dean in a way that he really despised. Every time he'd encountered this Knight, she'd been in a woman that he found very attractive, but there were few creatures in existence more repelling to him than her.

"However, as I told you, it's your little brother that I really want," Apollyon continued.

"Why?" Dean growled. "What's Sam got to do with you and Beelzebub's plans?"

"Well, you see, Beelzebub and I are no longer working together," Apollyon sighed. Dean blinked, surprised. "His plans differed a little from my own. You see, he wants your brother to be Lucifer's vessel."

Dean's blood ran cold. "What?" he snarled. "You can't be serious!"

"That's what I said!" Apollyon sighed. "But he's decided, since his plans for you failed so spectacularly—and I have to say, I am impressed with how majorly you managed to ruin everything—but because of that, my brother has decided it's time to use Plan B and raise the devil from the pit."

"You can't," Dean said coldly. "Sam made sure of that."

"Oh, come on, Dean," she smirked, shifting a little closer to him. He could now smell the sweet perfume coming off of her, a smell that was somehow both pleasing and unsettling to Dean's senses. "You can't really believe that Lucifer would really let some human kid ruin his apocalypse? He always had a backup plan, and another one, and another one…"

"What's she talking about?" Leah asked nervously. "Lucifer?"

"Look, sweetheart, I think it would be best for everyone if you and Jimmy only spoke when spoken to," Apollyon told Leah coldly, turning away from Dean slightly to address the girl.

Dean saw his advantage and he took it. He suddenly lunged forward and drove the demon-killing blade up into Apollyon's stomach. She wailed in pain and he slammed her hard into the wall. He pulled the knife out of her and turned back to the victims, hoping she would be out long enough for him to get the two of them out of here safely.

But he had overestimated how wounded Apollyon was. He hadn't even gotten back to Jim to cut him free when an invisible force threw him backwards into the wall and pinned him there.

Leah screamed in fear as Dean slammed into the wall. He forced himself not to cry out in pain, and then he met the demon's eyes as Apollyon approached him slowly, breathing heavily. He struggled against the invisible force pinning him to the wall, but she was far too strong for him.

Apollyon reached Dean and brushed her hair out of her face, taking him in. He glared at her, waiting for her to attack him or, even worse, start to monologue. It had been worth a shot.

Apollyon looked down at the bloody hole in her stomach and then back at Dean. "That was rude, Dean," she told him calmly. "I'm starting to get the feeling that you don't like me much."

"That may the first time in your pathetic existence that you were ever right about something," Dean smirked cockily, and then instantly regretted it as her expression darkened and then suddenly his insides were on fire.

Leah shrieked again as the poor man pinned to the wall began to groan in pain and that horrible woman just smirked. He twitched and moaned until blood began to leak from the corner of his mouth, and Leah realized that tears were welling up in her eyes. She was going to have to watch him die, all because he came to try to save them.

And then all of the sudden, the pain stopped. Dean opened his eyes and coughed, the blood in his throat coming out. Apollyon reached out and wiped the blood from his chin almost gently, smirking. "You look surprised, Dean," she said. "You didn't really think I'd let you go that easy, did you?"

And then he was released from whatever force was holding him to the wall. Before Dean could attack the Knight in front of him, though, she had grabbed him and thrown him across the room where he slammed his head on one of the bedposts and collapsed to the ground. He was vaguely aware of both Leah and Jim Morgan crying out as he tried to haul himself up into an upright position.

And then Apollyon was there, guiding him into a sitting position. He was confused on why she was helping him, and then he found her straddling him, his own demon-killing knife in her hand and an evil glint in her eyes. Man, was he screwed…

Dean gritted his teeth as she grabbed a fistful of his hair and forced his head back so she could run the knife teasingly along his jaw. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to have you like this, Dean Winchester," Apollyon said seductively, in a voice that probably would have had most men tearing their clothes off, but had him feeling sick to his stomach. "The tall, dark hero completely at my mercy…" she added teasingly.

"If you're going to rape me, could you at least do it where there's not an audience?" Dean muttered.

"I could kill the two of them, if that made you feel better," the Knight of Hell said brightly.

"No!" Dean cried, starting to surge forward and almost cutting himself on the knife held to his throat.

"You're right, I'll need at least one of the three of you alive if I want to get Sam and Julie to come," Apollyon sighed in an almost bored voice. "Probably the girl, since Sam will come running for her. Too bad. You won't live to see me kill your precious girlfriend and brother."

"Wait," Dean frowned. "You're going to kill him? But I thought you said he was the vessel…"

"He is," she said coldly. "Which is why I need him dead. Do you think I want Lucifer back, and at full power no less? He'll kill every demon, even me. And I, for one, enjoy being alive."

"Well, you're not killing my brother, or Julie either," Dean said coldly. "Even if you kill me now, I'll make sure I come back and haunt your ass long enough to see you dead."

Apollyon studied Dean and sighed. "You know what?" she said suddenly. "I liked you better as a demon. You were a lot more fun."

"I tried to kill you," he pointed out.

"True, but you at least flirted back. And then later, I got you to drink my blood, and you got even more fun. Remember that, gorgeous? You liked that. A lot. What do you say we try that again?"

"You have fun with that," Dean muttered. "Here's a thought! Why don't you slit your throat and bleed yourself out and I'll get these two out of here and we'll all go on with our lives. Except for you. You can rot in hell."

"See? No fun at all," Apollyon murmured seductively, shifting forward so she was practically on top of Dean. She dropped the demon-killing knife so she had both hands free to grab Dean's face and force his mouth open. Then she practically forced her tongue into his mouth as she began to kiss him, her hands sliding down to his chest to begin unbuttoning his shirt.

Jim Morgan was forced to look away from that poor guy as that hot demon chick forced her tongue down his throat and started taking his shirt off of him. And to think that the guy was getting treated like this just for trying to save them…

And then suddenly that demon chick was screaming in pain and Dean Winchester was throwing her off of him. There was another bloody hole in her shirt, and he was gripping the knife that she had dropped in one hand. He rolled away from her and quickly got to his feet, ready to fight, his shirt partially un-buttoned and hair mussed from Apollyon running her hands through it.

But Dean didn't even get a chance to fight. Because suddenly Apollyon was back on her feet, eyes pure black and pretty face twisted in hatred. "You're an idiot, Dean Winchester," she growled in a voice so different from the seductive, smooth one she had been using on him so far. "And you're going to die the slowest, most painful death you can imagine."

She lunged towards him, and Dean took a swipe at her with the knife. He managed to cut her left forearm, but the next second she was on top of him, slamming him into the wall and prying the knife out of his hand. Then she grabbed his arm and twisted it painfully far, too far. Leah bit back a scream at the sharp pop his shoulder made as it dislocated and the scream he made through gritted teeth.

The demon threw Dean to the ground, intentionally making him fall on his dislocated shoulder. And then she began to kick him in the side over and over until he managed to turn onto his side in an attempt to protect himself. That just gave her a better shot at his stomach though, and she kicked at him savagely, only grinning wider as he groaned in pain and Leah shrieked and begged for her to stop.

Finally, the Knight of Hell stopped. Jim Morgan remembered how to breathe as he hoped that she might finally be done hurting Dean Winchester, or at the very least, he had fallen unconscious. But then he moaned again, and she grabbed the collar of his shirt and hauled him to his feet.

"Do you regret doing that yet?" she snarled.

Dean peeled his eyes open and forced a grin. "Not even a little."

She turned and slammed his face into the nightstand next to the motel bed once, twice, three times. "Stop it!" Leah cried, half-sobbing. "You already hurt him enough, _stop_!"

"I'm going to hurt him a lot more than this, girl," Apollyon snarled, throwing Dean to the ground. He lay on his back, struggling to breathe with his bruised ribs and the blood flowing from his broken nose and split lip. There was another cut above his right eye that was bleeding heavily, and his face was mottled with bruises and blood. Already, his right eye was swelling up, and he was having a hard time staying conscious. But he had a job to do. He had to protect these people, even if it cost him his life…

Apollyon caught her breath as she glowered at the two trapped humans. God, they were annoying. She would kill them after she finished with Dean Winchester. No, she would tie him up and make him watch as she cut them up, and then she would call his brother and then Sam Winchester and Julie Carters would come, and she would kill them nice and slow and painful, and she would make Dean Winchester watch every second of it. And only _then _would she let him die.

She turned back to the badly beaten man on the ground, ready to go back to beating him within an inch of his life, and found herself staring down the barrel of a gun.

And then a devil's trap bullet went straight into her brain.

Jim stared in shock as the horrible demon shrieked in agony as the bullet went right into her head. Damn, that Dean Winchester was _insane_! He had been beaten so badly that most people would be unconscious, and yet he had just shot her right in the head from his position lying on the ground. But it wouldn't do anything. He'd already stabbed her twice, and that had just pissed her off.

But for some reason, her legs seemed to be glued in place as she swung and screamed and swore at him. Dean slowly, painstakingly pulled himself into a sitting position and waved his gun cockily at her. "Devil's trap bullet," he grinned, his teeth stained red with his own blood. "You're not going anywhere, bitch."

"I'll murder you, you pathetic little maggot," Apollyon swore. "I'll have you screaming for mercy, Dean Winchester, and I won't give it to you, you arrogant bastard-"

Dean fired his gun again, shooting her in the chest this time. "Shut up," he told her coldly, and to their surprise, she did.

Leah and Jim watched in shock as Dean grabbed onto the bed with his good arm and slowly, painstakingly hauled himself to his feet. He was terribly beaten, covered in blood and cradling his stomach, and he looked like he could pass out at any moment, but he still managed to stagger over to the two of them and pull a knife out of his jacket.

"Are you okay?" Leah asked, still a little in shock, as he went to work cutting Jim Morgan free. Dean Winchester stopped to spare her a look of _Really? Do you not _see _me right now?_

"I've been worse," he sighed. The two new hunters stared at him in disbelief. "I'll live," he added hoarsely, finally getting Jim free. The ex-officer stood up, stretched his now-freed limbs, and then took the knife from Dean.

"You should sit down," he told the badly beaten man. "You look like you're about to pass out. Or maybe die. I can't quite tell."

"Yeah, me neither," Dean muttered, but he staggered over to the bed, where he had set down his machete upon entering while Jim went to work cutting Leah free. He picked up his machete and dragged himself over to face Apollyon. They glared at each other, and Dean managed to smirk.

"Any last words, Apollyon?" he asked cockily.

"Yeah," she said coldly. "Enjoy hell."

And before Leah or Jim could so much as cry out, she pulled a gun out of the inside of her jacket and shot Dean point-blank in the stomach.


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter Fifty-Three**

Julie watched Castiel pace back and forth in front of her. She had rarely him look so angry and worried at the same time. For the past hour he had been here, pacing and waiting anxiously for a call from Dean saying that everything was okay. But as it got closer and closer to noon and there was still no call…well, that couldn't mean anything good.

Cas had been absolutely furious when Sam called and explained what Dean had done. But Dean had sigils on his ribs that prevented him from being tracked by angels, so he was lost even to Cas. The angel had been forced to wait anxiously in the bunker, along with a pissed Sam and Julie.

At least, Cas assumed Julie was pissed. She hadn't said a word since he arrived here, just sat in that chair, staring straight ahead. She seemed to be in some state of shock, trapped in her own mind, and he was concerned about her. The poor woman had enough to deal with, considering she had a little less than five months now before she went to hell. And then the man she loved left her, probably to go die…

If Dean survived, Cas was totally going to kill him!

Sam walked back into the room, glaring at the phone in his hand. "I tried to call him again, but he's not answering," Sam sighed. "Probably left in the car when he went in to fight her."

"Will he have reached her yet?" Cas frowned.

"Well, it's just now twelve, so I would think so," Sam muttered. "Guy drives like a maniac, and he would never risk her hurting the two of them, even if it meant he sped the whole way there."

Castiel shook his head. "I can't believe he did this."

"I can't believe we let him," Sam shot back. "He was acting so weird, and he wanted to go off on his own…how could I let him do that? I should have gone with him."

"Then he would have knocked you out, left you some place safe, and gone anyway," Julie said flatly, and they both turned to stare at her. That was the first time she had spoken since Sam told her what Dean had done. She stood up, expression oddly blank. "He would have found some way to go and save them without putting us in danger, because that's who he is. There was nothing we could do to stop him."

Sam had no idea how she could be so calm right now. That was the man she had sold her to save who had just probably gone to his death. And then she said, "Of course, when he dies, there will have been no point in him trying to protect us, because we might as well be dead. I, at least, can't go through that again."

And then he understood. She was so calm because she'd already accepted the fact in her heart that Dean was dead, even though he probably wasn't quite yet. And Sam could tell from one look at Julie that if Dean died today, she would quit searching for a way to save her soul. She would die in five months, and probably not even care. It was a little scary how heavily she and Dean depended on each other, how if one died, the other saw no point in living. It was a lot like him and his brother…except he hadn't given up yet.

Suddenly, Cas flinched and grabbed his head like he was being hit by a terrible headache. Sam frowned and he and Julie rushed to the angel's side, grabbing his arms to hold him up. "What's wrong, Cas?" Sam asked, concerned.

"Dean…" Cas got out through clenched teeth. "I…I can feel him. He's…he's trying to pray to me. He's letting me know where he is."

"Where?" Sam cried desperately.

At the same time, Julie cried, "He's okay?" in disbelief, hope starting to creep into her expression.

The angel lifted his head and stared at Julie, sorrow and fear and pain in his blue eyes. "No," he said hoarsely. "He's as far from okay as he could be. He's…he's dying."

* * *

Leah screamed in horror and fear as the gun went off. Jim stared at the two of them, paralyzed, until Dean Winchester crumpled to the ground. Then he roared, "_No_!" and leapt forward.

He wasn't quite sure what came over him then. That evil woman, Apollyon, was laughing manically, smiling down at the dying man at her feet proudly. She was proud of what she'd done, the monster. The cruel, smug look in her eyes made something take over him, and before he quite knew what he was doing, Jim was grabbing the fallen man's machete and swinging it.

He heard Leah gasp behind him, and he himself stared in shock as Apollyon fell to the ground, her head rolling clean off of her shoulders. He…he had done that. He'd just cut a demon's head clean off. Oh, god. What even was his life?!

But then he pushed all thoughts of that horrible demon out of his mind and turned to the man lying at his feet. Leah ran forward and knelt next to Dean Winchester. She was scared and fighting off going into shock, but she had to help him. He had come here, risked his life, taken a horrible beating, and was now dying all to save her and Jim, and she owed him this.

Dean's face was bloody and bruised, but that wasn't the most serious issue right now. That would be the bloody hole in his stomach that blood was seeping out of, soaking his shirt with red.

"Oh, god," Leah gasped, trying to think. What was she supposed to do? She had taken CPR and first aid classes a few times in school, but she couldn't remember anything now, except that she wasn't supposed to let him go into shock. Right? Oh, god, she was useless, and he was going to die because of her!

"We've got to pressure on that wound, stop the bleeding," Jim snapped at her, barking orders like a true cop. "Here!" He thrust his jacket at her, and she wadded it up into a ball and pressed it down hard on Dean's stomach.

He had been struggling to get even one good breath in, and he hissed in pain when she did so. "I'm sorry…" Leah whispered uselessly, wishing she could ease the pain. But the jacket wasn't doing much of anything, and it was just getting soaked in his blood.

"More pressure!" Jim snapped at Leah, and she pressed down harder on the bullet wound, trying to stop the bleeding. The dying man moaned in pain, and tears welled up in her eyes. He was _dying_…oh, god…

"I'm going to call nine-one-one," Jim told Leah, rushing to the motel phone. "We're not that far from a hospital, and hopefully they can get an ambulance here."

"How are we going to explain her if they come?" Leah pointed out, nodding towards the beheaded demon a few feet away. "And anyway, he's…he's not going to make it long enough for an ambulance to get here."

Jim looked as panicked and helpless as she felt. The two of them turned to look at the dying man. His breaths were shorter and more labored every second, and he was so pale, and there was so much blood…

Leah felt absolutely terrible. For one thing, he seemed like a good guy. He had come to save them and taken that beating and even a bullet in the gut to save them, even though he barely knew them. He had fought off a demon and saved their lives, and now he was going to die for it! All Leah could think of was that day she had spent with Sam Winchester, his younger brother, and the way Sam's face lit up when he talked about his brother. It had been clear to her how much Sam loved his big brother, and she couldn't imagine what it would do to him if he died now…

Dean seemed to be trying to say something, and Leah blinked back tears and leaned closer to hear what were surely his last words. But then she frowned, because what he was saying made no sense.

"Cas…" Dean Winchester choked out between short, dying breaths. "Castiel… please…help…"

Then he couldn't speak any longer. Dean's eyes fell shut, and for a horrible second, Leah thought he was dead. But no, he was still struggling for one last breath, one more breath before he was gone…

And then something strange happened. She heard what sounded oddly like fluttering wings, and then three pairs of shoes appeared in front of her.

Leah looked up, shocked, just as a woman screamed, "Dean!" and a dark-haired man in a trench coat lunged forward and practically shoved her and Jim Morgan aside, snarling, "Move!"

They scrambled out of the way and watched in shock as the dark-haired man put his hand on Dean's bloody chest. And then his hand began to glow with light. Leah watched, awed, as some strange, white light filled the air around Dean. When the light faded, Dean's shirt was still torn and bloody and there was a hole in it the size of a bullet. But the blood and bruises on his face were gone, and then all of the sudden his eyes flew open and he sucked in a huge breath.

The strange man in the trench coat who apparently could heal the dying collapsed into a sitting position by Dean, looking taxed. Dean slowly sat up and ran a hand over his now-smooth stomach. He rolled his shoulder, which was no longer dislocated, and then nodded at the man next to him.

"Thanks, Cas," Dean got out, still trying to catch his breath.

In answer, the angel slugged him across the face and sent him sprawling again.

"What the hell, man?" Dean cried as he started to pick himself up. Sam appeared at his side and hauled him to his feet. "What was that for?" Dean snapped at Castiel.

"You know damn well what that was for!" his best friend snapped, getting to his feet. "Do you even realize what you did?"

"I saved the lives of two people and took out a Knight of Hell," Dean pointed out, nodding first at Leah and Jim and then at the beheaded body of Apollyon.

"You almost died on us, Dean!" Sam snapped angrily. "Would have died, if it weren't for, Cas."

"So I thanked him," Dean replied. "What's the problem, guys? Yes, I _almost_ died, but then I _didn't_, so things worked out fine in the end!"

"Oh, you don't have to convince us," Sam smirked. "You have to convince her."

He stepped aside so Dean could see Julie, who was glaring at him, arms crossed. Dean hated himself for flinching under her stare. "Look, Jules, honey-" he started weakly.

"Oh, you don't _get _to 'honey' me," she said coldly.

"I'm sorry," Dean said weakly. "I had to at least try to save these two, and I couldn't risk you and Sam getting hurt."

Julie just shook her head. "Look, we'll talk about this later," she snapped. "Right now, we've got a Knight of Hell to dispose of before the cops show, and we should make sure Leah and Jim over there are okay."

Dean nodded, grateful that the focus was off of him. But a few minutes later, he was almost wishing that they were back to arguing. Because, as punishment for running off, while the others got to return to the bunker and relax and rest up, he and Cas got to cut up Apollyon's body and bury it all over the country. Real fun work.

But he couldn't really complain. Thanks to his friend, he got to live another day and spend at least five more months with the people he loved before everything went to hell. And there was one less Knight of Hell to contend with now.

* * *

Jim Morgan stepped out of one of the guest showers back at this gigantic bunker that Sam, Dean, and Julie lived in, feeling much better now that he was clean. He had spent the past day or so tied to a chair, being tormented by that demon, Apollyon, and then later having to watch her nearly kill Dean Winchester. Most people would have gone into shock ages ago, but Jim was once a cop and used to intense situations. And ever since he had helped Julie Carters kill those vampires, he had become what these people called a hunter, so he wasn't having to deal with the shock of learning that demons and monsters really did exist. Really, he had just needed to get clean and try to forget about what all had happened.

Jim saw a fresh black t-shirt and jeans laid out for him, along with a clean white towel and smiled slightly. That had probably been Julie Carters' doing. Jim was no longer into her, because it was very clear that she was in love with Dean Winchester. In fact, if it weren't for the lack of a ring, he would assume that they were married, or at the very least engaged. Still, she had been very sweet and thoughtful, making sure he and Leah were alright and comfortable after what they had just gone through.

Jim dried himself off and got dressed, surprised at how well the clothes fit, feeling about a thousand times better. He had spent hours tied to a chair, wondering every second if it was going to be his last and the demon holding him and that poor Leah girl captive was just going to get bored and kill him for fun. He didn't really have much to complain about, though, compared to Dean, who had been practically beaten to death just a couple hours ago, but was now out there, disposing of the demon.

He left the guest bathroom and walked into the main hall of this strange, fascinating bunker and found Leah, Sam, and Julie all already there, chatting. Leah's hair was wet, so she must have showered, too. She was wearing a grey t-shirt and blue jeans that probably belonged to Julie. Jim eyed how tall Sam was and decided that he was definitely wearing Dean's clothes.

"Hey, Jim!" Julie said, seeing him. "Are you hungry? I've got some frozen pizzas in the oven, because I know _I _at least am starving."

"Yeah, I haven't eaten in a couple days," he shrugged nonchalantly, as if he wasn't starving to death, and got a smirk out of her.

Sam Winchester nodded at Jim. "You okay, man?" he asked kindly. "That can't have been pleasant, what you two went through."

"I'm okay, mostly just embarrassed I got kidnapped and tied up and used as bait by a girl," he muttered.

Julie rolled her eyes, but Sam smirked. "Well, Apollyon's not a normal 'girl'. She's a Knight of Hell, one of the only two living ones. Basically, they're near-invincible demons, but they're even stronger and more evil than a normal demon, which is saying something."

"Yeah, I got that," the ex-cop said. "Your brother stabbed the chick twice and shot her in the head and she still managed to shoot him before I decapitated her. And then you guys say she's still not even dead?"

"Yeah, well, I hate to tell you guys this, but she's never going to be officially dead," Sam sighed. "Our only way of actually killing a Knight of Hell is…no longer an option. So Dean and Cas are chopping her up and burying her all over the country, and hopefully no one ever finds all the pieces and puts her back together again."

"Yeah. Hopefully." Jim shook his head, overwhelmed. These two hunters were far too calm when they talked about horrible demons who couldn't die.

A timer began to go off in the kitchen, and Julie sighed. "That's my cue," she muttered, heading into the kitchen to get the pizzas ready. Jim glanced over at Leah and Sam, but one look at how close they were standing and the intimate way Leah was staring at Sam without him realizing told Jim that he did not want to stay in here and third wheel it.

"I'll just, uh…I'll follow her, I guess," he got out awkwardly, and then quickly followed Julie into the kitchen.

"Great, you can help with toppings," Julie said when she spotted Jim. "What do you think? Cheese, pepperoni, bacon, or sausage?"

"All of it," he replied instantly, and she smirked.

"That's exactly what Dean's response would have been," she said, turning and beginning to load the two large pizzas with all the toppings she could fit.

Jim walked over next to her and leaned against the counter, trying to think how to phrase his next question. "So, uh…things going well with you two, then?"

"Yeah, I…yeah," she said carefully, keeping her eyes on the pizzas and not Jim.

"You've been together for a while now," he commented. "Back when I met you, you said you'd been together almost a year, and that was a long time ago."

"Yeah." She was acting odd, and he knew he shouldn't push it, but he wanted to make sure she was okay. She had been nothing but nice to him, and Dean had almost died to save him and Leah, so he felt like he owed it to them to try to help things if he could.

"I guess I'm just asking because…I don't want you to be pissed at him for coming to save us," Jim finally said. "You didn't seem real happy with him earlier, and I can understand that, but…I mean, he saved our lives. Leah and I…Apollyon would have slaughtered us if he hadn't come and stopped her. He was willing to die for us—hell, he practically did die for us—and I guess I just…if you two are fighting, I don't want it to be over us."

"It's not over you," Julie assured him. "The fact that he was willing to risk his life to save you two…well, that's part of why I love him," she admitted. "But the thing is…" She stopped, as if she had changed her mind, and went back to the pizza.

"What?" Jim frowned. She didn't answer, and he asked, "Julie…is everything okay?"

Suddenly, she was setting down the toppings and turning to look at him. "No," Julie admitted, her expression unreadable. "I…I was…I _am _so upset with him because he went behind our backs to do this when we could've gone together."

"He _did _do it to protect you," Jim pointed out. "Seems to be the guy's M. O., protecting other people, sometimes at the expense of himself."

"For not knowing Dean that well, that was a pretty spot-on description," Julie sighed. "The thing is…I've only got so much time left with him. I, uh…a few months ago something really bad happened to Dean and to save him, I…I sold my soul."

Jim blinked, shocked, but didn't interrupt. She clearly needed to tell someone this, and he was willing to listen. "I got six months before I go to hell, and that was a month ago. So we've only got five months to find a way to save me. But anyway, it's just…I did that for Dean, you know? I sold my soul for him, and then he was going to go and get himself killed and I just…I can't lose him again. I've already got enough problems, and if I lost him again, well…I don't have another soul to sell."

Jim really didn't know what to say to that, but he nodded in understanding. "I…wow. That's, um…"

"Crazy," she supplied.

"Well, that, and really…really selfless of you. Wow. I don't think I'd ever be brave enough to do that."

"I wasn't brave, I was selfish," Julie muttered darkly. "I only bought six more months before I die and make him go through what I almost went through today."

Now Jim really had no response. Finally, he just said, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Julie sighed. "Me too."

"Don't…don't be too angry with him, though," he said eventually. "He made it out in one piece, kind of, and he saved us, so…he did a good thing. And, about your deal thing…well, I'm not going to be much help, but I'll look for a way to save you, too."

Julie smiled at the ex-officer next to her. What a nice guy. Way too nice to be a hunter. It was too bad that she had to go and drag him into this life. But at least now they had another ally in the search for a way to save her soul.

* * *

Dean and Cas suddenly appeared just inside the bunker, and Cas removed his hand from his friend's shoulder. Dean started to fall forward a little and caught himself on the metal railing of the steps in front of him. Castiel started to move forward, concerned, but Dean waved him off.

"I'm fine, Cas," he got out. "Just, uh…angel transport's a little disorienting, you know? And I'm still pretty wiped out from that fight earlier."

"Yes, when your heart stops beating, it can be pretty exhausting," Cas said drily as Dean recovered and straightened up.

Dean stared at him, wide-eyed. "My heart stopped?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes," his best friend said gravely, studying him sadly. "If I had been there ten seconds later, you would've been too far gone for me to save," he admitted.

Dean whistled. "Wow. Yikes. Good thing you got there when you did, then."

"Yes." Castiel opened his mouth to start yet another argument with Dean about why he shouldn't have done that, but the dangerous look in his best friend's green eyes shut him up. They had spent the past few hours either cutting up and burying Apollyon's body or arguing the same argument.

"Dean, you shouldn't have done that."

"I saved two innocent people."

"But you almost died!"

"Yeah, but I _didn't_!"

"But you would have if I hadn't gotten there in time."

"But you did, so it doesn't matter!"

Back and forth they would go, until Cas finally pulled his trump card. "Think of what it would have done to them," he had said coldly. "Sam would have been destroyed. And Julie? She's barely okay now! If you died, she would give up, and then she would go to hell and Sam would be alone. It would just be the two of us. Did you even think about that when you went to die?"

But as soon as he had said that, he had regretted it. Few things in the world had shattered his heart so completely as the expression on Dean's face when he thought of the effect his death would have on those he loved. And then he had gotten angry and stormed off for a few minutes to compose himself, and Cas had left it alone since then.

"Come on," Dean sighed, starting down the stairs to the room where he could hear faint voices coming from. Castiel followed his friend into the main hall of the bunker, where four people sat eating pizza.

The four of them looked up as Cas and Dean entered. Dean swallowed when he saw the carefully guarded expressions on Julie and Sam's faces. There was a long, awkward moment of uncertainty, and then Jim Morgan of all people stood up and said, "Hey, guys! There's plenty of pizza to go around."

Dean smirked and nodded gratefully at the guy as the tension in the room relaxed some. He walked over to grab some pizza and noticed that Leah Jamison, who was sitting next to his brother, was wearing that one pair of Julie's jeans that hugged her ass perfectly when she wore them. And Jim was wearing a very familiar-looking black tee and jeans…

"Nice clothes," Dean commented drily, picking up two or three slices of pizza and then realizing he should have gotten a place first. "I like your style."

"Oh, yeah, right," Jim said, laughing nervously. "Sorry about this…"

"Nah, don't worry about it," Dean assured him. "Trust me, I've got about a hundred more black t-shirts and ratty pairs of jeans." He _did _hope that Julie got back those jeans though…he was going to miss them…

"Did you guys take care of Apollyon?" Sam asked Castiel as the angel approached the table. He nodded in response.

"Wish I could've helped," Julie muttered darkly, stabbing her pizza with a fork. "I wanted to help tear that bitch apart for what she did…"

Dean wasn't sure if that meant that she wasn't mad at him anymore, if she wanted to tear apart the demon that hurt him. He decided to risk it, and smirked, "Are you eating your pizza with a fork?"

She shot him an icy look, and for a moment he thought she was still pissed, but as she looked away, he noticed how she was trying very hard not to smile and relaxed quite a bit.

A couple minutes of conversation showed that he was no longer furious with his brother either. They both were a little more distant than usual, but clearly grateful that they hadn't lost him. And the two new hunters that he had saved thanked him about a dozen times each before the night was out. All in all, it wasn't a bad evening.

Dean got to know Jim Morgan better. The guy was actually pretty nice, and funny too. He was a decent hunter by the sounds of it, sharp and clever and good in a crisis, and he'd already saved many lives. As Dean got to know the guy more and more, he was glad to know that there were more people like him becoming hunters. Of course, he never wanted anyone to have this life, but at least there were still good hunters out there. Sometimes it felt like they were all dead but him and his brother and girlfriend.

Dean also enjoyed watching Leah and Sam. They didn't talk much with the others, but sat on their side of the table, catching up on the past few months of each other's lives. Dean didn't mean to eavesdrop, but he did hear Sam mention the rough patch when his brother had died and was surprised. Sam wouldn't tell just anyone about what had happened. Of course, he skipped over the demon bit, but they didn't want these people to be completely terrified of him.

It was cute though, watching Sammy with a girl he really liked. Dean hadn't witnessed this in…well, far too long. And Leah seemed great. Smart and sweet and a good hunter, too, and very pretty, of course. For a moment, Dean imagined these two starting to date seriously, maybe even someday having Leah move into the bunker. Julie and Leah seemed to quickly be bonding, but that was just Julie for you. She didn't seem to meet a person she couldn't instantly befriend (besides monsters, of course). The more he thought about Sam and Leah becoming a permanent thing, the happier it made him.

But then Dean remembered. They were Sam and Dean Winchester. They didn't have normal relationships, and everybody they loved ended up dead. Besides, they had Julie's deal to worry about, and Beelzebub's plans to raise Lucifer. Speaking of which…he really ought to warn Sam about that. But there really wasn't room in their lives right now for a girlfriend for Sam, as much as Dean wanted his little brother to be happy.

Eventually, it got late enough that it would be socially acceptable for Dean to go to bed. Leah and Jim both looked tired as well, but Dean had been having a hard time pretending that he was alright. Even though Cas had healed him, it had still taken a toll on his body, and he was exhausted. He wanted nothing more than to just sleep for a week. So at a little after ten o'clock, Dean excused himself from the group to go to bed. Cas took that as his cue to return to heaven, and it looked like the others would soon be going to sleep as well.

Dean was surprised to hear footsteps following him as he reached his bedroom. He turned around and saw Julie behind him, her face unreadable. He blink, shocked. Sure, she hadn't seem extremely angry with him anymore, but she had still been distant enough that he hadn't really been expecting her to follow him to bed.

"Uh, hey, Jules," Dean said carefully, stopping just outside their bedroom. She stopped and just stared at him. All he could think of was what Cas had said, about how if Dean had died today, Julie would have just given up. And all at once, Dean felt so guilty and terrible for what he had put her through today.

"Listen, Julie, I am so, so sorry for what I must have put you through," he said, his guard coming down. "I didn't want to leave you—that's the last thing I want—but I couldn't just let them die, and I couldn't risk you or Sam getting hurt, and I-"

He had been prepared to go on apologizing for another hour at least, but all of the sudden, Julie grabbed the collar of his jacket and dragged him closer. The next thing he knew, they were kissing, and his arms automatically went around her. Now this was nothing like that nauseating kiss with Apollyon earlier. For one thing, he didn't want to murder the person he was kissing, but Julie wasn't nearly as rough or forceful as Apollyon. Kissing Julie was one of his favorite things in the world, even if she was just kissing him to get him to shut up.

When they pulled apart, Julie smiled a little at him. "I know," she sighed. "I know you were just trying to protect us, and I'm so glad that you were able to save Jim and Leah. And I talked with Jim earlier about it, and he told me not to be mad at you."

"Well then, I guess I have a lot to thank Jim for," Dean smirked. Julie was still holding onto his jacket, and she pulled him in again for another, shorter kiss.

"You can get to that tomorrow," she murmured when they pulled apart again. "Right now, I'm just grateful that I've got you back all in one piece. And as long as that's the case, I think we should celebrate it," she added suggestively.

All of Dean's exhaustion was forgotten. "I'm in!" he smirked, leaning in to kiss her. As they kissed, Julie pulled his jacket off of him and dropped it on the floor. Dean dragged her into their bedroom and pressed her up against the wall, hooking his thumbs through the belt loops on her jeans. Which reminded him…

Suddenly, Dean was pulling away from Julie. "Hey, do you think you'll be able to get those jeans back from Leah? You know, the sexy ones?" he asked casually, as if they had just been having a casual conversation and not making out.

Julie shot him a dangerous look. "Never mind," he said quickly. "We can talk about that later."

"Just shut up and take your clothes off," Julie sighed, pretending to be irritated with him. The truth was though, that no matter what he did, whether it be making jokes at the worst possible times or almost getting himself killed, she was always going to love him. And that probably wasn't healthy—no, actually, it was extremely unhealthy. But it wasn't ever going to change.

* * *

Cas had left shortly after Dean went to bed, and Julie had followed her boyfriend. Judging by the way she had been staring at Dean's ass whenever he was turned away, they wouldn't be doing much sleeping tonight. Jim had left soon afterwards to get some much-needed rest in one of the guest rooms. But that left Sam now alone with Leah, bringing him to the question that had been hovering in the back of his mind for several hours.

_Remember the last time we were together? How we kind of totally hooked up? And it was pretty freaking great? You maybe want to try that again?_

Sam knew he was being stupid and selfish. This girl had just gone through the horrors of being kidnapped by a Knight of Hell, used as bait, and then had to watch Sam's brother brutally beaten and nearly killed. And normally, Sam wouldn't expect anything of Leah. But she was so freaking tough, and she had seemed to recover almost impossibly fast from the horrors of the past day or so. By the end of the night, they had been chatting happily, laughing and joking around like close friends. Sam had always found Leah incredibly likable and easy to get along with. He had really enjoyed getting to talk to her some more about the hunts she'd been on the past few months and how she was liking the life.

Oh, yeah, and she was really hot. That was a nice added bonus.

Now he and Leah sat alone at the table. Sam was leaning back against the table, sitting on it without really putting his full weight on the oak table as he talked to Leah about her latest hunt before getting kidnapped.

"Yeah, so it was another ghost case," she explained. "They kept killing people in the same dark alley, first a couple drunk guys who had been fighting there, so it went kind of unnoticed, but then some drunk teenagers. The guy who was doing the killing had actually been killed in that same alley by a gang, so he was attacking people who reminded him of them, I guess. Never actually met him, just did that whole dig up the corpse and salt and burn it thing. Which is quite disgusting by the way."

Sam smirked, and Leah smiled a little, proud that she could amuse him. Sam thought to himself how pretty her smile was.

"Anyway, I was waiting around for a couple days after I burnt his bones to make sure nobody else got hurt and I got the right ghost," Leah continued. But then she suddenly frowned. "And that's when this pretty blond girl suddenly bursts into my motel room, asks what my name is, and then knocks me out."

"Apollyon?" Sam asked darkly.

"No, the other demon that kidnapped me in the past week," she said, rolling her eyes.

Sam smirked. "I know you meant that as a joke, but this kind of stuff does tend to happen on a pretty often basis in our lives. I've been kidnapped by my fair share of monsters. If you stay in this life, I can't guarantee that it won't happen."

"People keep telling me stuff like that," Leah sighed, studying Sam with an odd expression. "Like these two newer hunters I was hunting some Wendigo monster with a couple weeks ago, Ellie and Mitch Nelson. Real nice people—well, Ellie at least, since Mitch is kind of grumpy—but we didn't manage to find the thing anyway. But they said they've seen a lot of dangerous stuff and that I should get out while I can."

"Can't say they're wrong," Sam sighed. "This life isn't for most people. And it's definitely not the safest career path."

"Yeah, I got that by how scarily calm your brother was facing off against a demon," Leah muttered.

"Well, Dean's always been especially good at that kind of stuff," Sam admitted, scratching at the back of his neck. "He's been dealing with this stuff since…well, since he was four. But that doesn't account for how tough he is, or how he never does seem to be able to tell when he should shut up."

Leah laughed. "Yeah. He knew just what buttons to push to piss off Apollyon." Sam wanted to laugh, but the laughter caught in his throat as he remembered what his brother had looked like, a broken, bloody mess on the floor, all because he was far too good at pissing Apollyon off.

Leah softened when she saw the pained look in Sam's eyes. "You…you really care about him, don't you?" she asked softly, but it wasn't really a question.

Sam laughed bitterly. "Yeah. You have no idea."

"He seems like a really great guy," she said, smiling at Sam encouragingly. "From getting to talk to him tonight, he seems pretty funny and nice. And…I mean, he almost died to save us. I don't know anyone else who would do that for someone he barely knew. Except you, I guess…"

"Trust me, I'm not a hero," Sam muttered. "I'm nothing compared to Dean."

Leah half-smiled at the hero worship in Sam's eyes when he talked about his brother. But there was a thought nagging in the back of her head, one that had been bothering her since Apollyon had called Dean Winchester in the first place.

"Dean seems like a really great guy," she started carefully. "But…when I was with Ellie and Mitch, hunting with them…they said something kind of weird. About Dean."

Sam frowned. "Oh?"

"Yeah. They…they said they had already met him in some bar a few weeks before." Leah swallowed nervously, unsure how to phrase this. "And they said that… well…they had said that he was a demon."

Sam blinked, stunned. And then there was a spark of realization in his eyes. "Oh. Wow. I forgot about that. They must have been those other hunters with Matthew Bones when they found him."

"Yeah, they mentioned him, too," Leah said as calmly as she could, trying to hide her concern at how Sam had said nothing about Dean not being a demon. "But, uh, Sam…well…is he? _Is _Dean a demon?"

"What? No!" Sam said quickly. Then he hesitated. "Well…"

"Oh, god," Leah gasped, putting her head in her hands. "My life just got saved by a demon. I just spent all night talking with a _demon_."

"No!" Sam cried. "No, I'm sorry, I should have been clearer. Dean's not a demon. Well, not anymore."

Leah stared at him. "What?!"

"He…he died about six months ago," he said carefully, looking at the ground. "And when he died…well, he had this curse on him that brought him back as a demon against his will. And at first, he was actually kind of okay, and he helped us sometimes. Saved Julie's life, and her family, too, and helped us save Cas. But then the other Knights of Hell got ahold of him and they…they did things to him. Made him into a monster, and he tried to kill us, and…" Sam swallowed, and Leah was horrified to see the pain and sorrow in his eyes as he recounted this. "Anyway, there wasn't anything we could do to save him."

"But…how is he human, then?" she pointed out.

"Julie," Sam admitted. "She…she made a deal with the only remaining Knight of Hell besides Apollyon, and we got Dean back to normal."

"Wow. Okay." She took a deep breath, pushing her long, dark hair out of her face. "That's…wow."

Sam sighed, knowing he had lost her. "Is it too much yet? Are you officially freaked out?"

"No," she said after a moment, looking up at him. "That's…it's a lot to take in, that's for sure. But it's clear he's a hero now, and everyone's okay now, so…everything's good."

Well, not everyone was okay, but he saw no reason to tell this girl about Julie's deal. Besides, it was Julie's decision who she would tell, not his.

"How have you not run screaming yet?" Sam asked after a moment, studying Leah. "Really, I don't get you. You should be super freaked out right now. I mean, I just told you that my brother used to be a demon!"

"Well, like I said, he seems like a really nice guy now," she shrugged. "Him, and Julie, and you…you guys are heroes. Sure, you deal with some crazy shit, but you're the good guys."

"What makes you so sure?" Sam sighed.

To his surprise, she moved a lot closer to him, starting to smile at him in a way that he remembered very well. "Well, for one thing, I distinctly remember you saving my life. And Dean did the same thing today. So it only makes sense that people willing to risk their lives to save mine have to be the good guys."

She was so close that he could smell the shampoo she had used wafting off of her. It was the same coconut stuff that Julie used. But Julie was about the last thing in his mind right now…

"You don't know everything I've done," Sam said softly, for some reason wanting her to realize that he wasn't the hero she believed he was. "I'm not perfect, not even close."

"I never said you were perfect," Leah whispered. "Just good."

And she stretched up on her tiptoes to kiss him. Sam bent a little to kiss her back, putting his hands on her waist and kissing her for a long, wonderful moment. When Leah pulled away, she laughed a little, and her laugh was so freaking sexy that Sam couldn't take it anymore.

Leah laughed in surprise as Sam suddenly swept her off of her feet and carried her to his bedroom. But one thing was for sure—she sure as hell wasn't going to complain. She hadn't slept with anyone since Sam, although she had been given ample opportunity. Truth be told, she really, really liked him, even after only knowing him one day. She had meant every word she had said—she truly believed that Sam Winchester was a hero. And a pretty freaking sexy one at that.


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter Fifty-Four**

Leah woke up under warm, thick sheets, her head resting on Sam Winchester's bare chest. She decided right then and there that this was by far the best way to wake up.

She sat up carefully, trying not to wake him. Sam was a pretty light sleeper, though, and his eyes opened as she sat up and pulled a sheet up to cover herself. Leah met his eyes, and he smiled at her. She grinned back and leaned him to kiss him for a moment.

Just as Sam was getting into the kiss, though, Leah suddenly pulled away and was getting out of bed. Sam fell back against his pillow and groaned. "Not fair," he muttered. "You can't tease me like that and then just leave!"

Leah laughed lightly, but she continued to get dressed. Sam sighed and dragged himself out of bed and found some pants, at least. It was a little after eight-thirty, much later than he usually slept in, but he hadn't gotten much sleep last night anyway.

Leah ended up having to pull on the same pair of Julie's clothes. "I really should get my own clothes one of these days," she muttered as she zipped up Julie's jeans.

"I'm sure you've got clothes somewhere," Sam pointed out. "Where were you staying before Apollyon grabbed you? We can drop you back off there and hopefully they'll have your stuff."

"Just some crap motel," she said. "And anyway, there wasn't anything of importance to me back there. Don't really have anything of importance to me."

Sam frowned. She had been happy and smiling up until he had mentioned dropping her off at the motel. "Leah…is something wrong?" he asked carefully.

"I don't know, Sam," she sighed. "I just…I know it sounds stupid, but I guess I kind of thought…"

"Maybe you could stay here?" he guessed. Her big, dark eyes met his, and she nodded slightly.

Sam sighed and sat down on his bed, running a hand through his hair. "Leah…" he started, not sure how to finish.

"You don't want me to stay," she said flatly. "Fine. No, really, that's fine. I shouldn't expect anything else."

"That's not it!" Sam snapped. "Believe me, that's about as far from the truth as you can get." He took a deep breath. "Look, Leah…I would love for you to stay. I, uh…I like you. More than I've liked anyone in a while. And I'd like to kind of see where this can go, but…you saw what happened yesterday. You and Jim nearly died just for having met us one time. And that's not going to quit happening. No one's safe when they're around us."

"So? I wasn't safe before!" Leah pointed out. "Before you even came into my life, I apparently had a ghost trying to kill me. And if you hadn't been there, I would have died. And I would have died yesterday if your brother hadn't saved me, too."

"But I can't guarantee that we'll always be able to do that!" Sam cried, anguished. "I…told you about my girlfriend, Jess, didn't I? How she was the most wonderful, kind, beautiful girl, and I loved her so much. I would have done anything to protect her, but in the end, she died because of me, anyway. She died because I cared about her, and so did my parents, and so many of our friends, and I won't…I _can't_ watch another person I care about die because they got too close to me."

Leah shook her head. "Sam, I'm already a part of this!" she snapped. "That demon found out that you met me _one time_, and then kidnapped me. Now that I've been associated with you twice, do you really think things are going to get any better?"

Sam hesitated, because he knew she had a point. "I'm a part of this whether I want to be or not," she continued firmly. "And I want to be here with you, no matter how dangerous it is. I want to see where this can go, too. So I say screw it. Let's forget about all of the monsters and crap and just see how this goes."

Sam studied her for a long moment. Leah began to worry he would turn her away, but in truth, Sam was too weak. He wanted so badly for her to stay that he wasn't going to turn her away without a better reason than the possibility of her getting hurt. So he sighed and smiled slightly.

"Guess we'd better tell Dean and Julie they've got a new roommate, then."

* * *

Julie had not slept well that night.

The night had started out great, forgetting about all of the fear and pain of the day, when she had thought that she had lost Dean, by going at it with the very-much-alive man she loved. But eventually, when they had drifted off to sleep in each other's arms, Julie had a rough, fitful night of sleep.

At first, her brain had conjured up all of the different ways that Apollyon could have tortured and beaten Dean to get him to the beaten, bloody, dying man that she had seen when they finally arrived at the scene. Finally, imagining Apollyon hitting and cutting and eventually shooting her Dean became too much, though, and her brain sent her into a different dream. An even worse one.

She and Sam and Cas had arrived ten seconds later, ten seconds too late. Dean's body was…just that. A body. Cas tried to save him, but Dean's soul was already gone, to heaven or hell, but gone either way. And Julie had to feel the gaping hole in her chest, the overwhelming pain, the sense of hopelessness, as if nothing mattered anymore, that she had hoped she would never feel again. She sank to her knees next to him and touched his bloody face, gently closed his eyes, took his cold hand in hers. Sam knelt next to her, and the two of them leaned into each other as the tears began to fall.

When Julie woke up from her short, fitful rest, she found her pillow wet with her own tears. Worse than that, though, was Dean. He was lying on his side, green eyes open and watching her sadly. She wondered how long he had been lying there, watching her cry because of her awful dream where she really had lost him.

There was a whole lot that needed to be said right now, but Julie couldn't speak around the lump in her throat, and Dean didn't seem to be able to speak either. After a long, loaded silence where they just stared at each other, Dean finally muttered, "C'mere, honey," and dragged Julie closer to him, wrapping his arms around her slender body, refusing to ever let go.

God, she was so damaged. And when Dean had met Julie, she was a tough, brave, smart, witty, kind young woman who had already lost so much, but was still remarkable whole. Happy. She had been happy and full of life and love. He had been the damaged one. But she would sit and talk with him for hours, let him pour out his soul and then say something both honest and encouraging, and he would actually hate himself a tiny bit less. She would get him to laugh like he hadn't in months, maybe even years. And when they woke up together in the morning, she would grin at him and he would grin back, and they would kiss for a few wonderful moments before getting up to face the day together.

He had loved that woman so goddamn much. And there were parts of that woman in the damaged girl in his arms right now. But so much had happened, so much had gone wrong…she had lost both of her parents, but she had still been relatively happy and whole. But then she had died for him and been tortured in hell for ten years. No one could be okay after that. But the thing that had honestly destroyed her and made the girl he had fallen in love with a thing of the past was losing him. Those five months without Dean, having to face the demonic version of him…that was what had truly destroyed Julie Carters. It had driven her to sell her soul and be willing to return to hell, one thing she had known all of her life she would always refuse to do.

And to think Dean had almost abandoned her again yesterday and destroyed her even more…

There were few moments in his life that Dean had hated himself more than he did now. When Dad died to save him, or when Ellen and Jo died to help them defeat Lucifer, which he couldn't even do, or when Ben and Lisa got kidnapped by demons just for having once been involved with him…he had hated himself then. A lot. When Alastair had told him that when he broke in hell, he started the whole friggin' apocalypse, or when he hurt Julie because he couldn't control the Mark or himself, or when Sammy died before Dean could run over and stop that asshole Jake from killing him...he had wanted to kill himself then, he hated himself so much.

But seeing how completely becoming a part of his life had destroyed this wonderful girl…it made him hate himself so goddamn much. He was a monster as much as the things he hunted. Everything he touched was destroyed, and everywhere he went, good people got hurt. Good people died.

Julie had buried her face in his shoulder, but she eventually composed herself enough to look Dean in the eyes. There was a whole lot of guilt and self-hatred in his eyes right now, and she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"I'm sorry," Dean choked out in a whisper as he stared at her. _I'm sorry I came into your life. I'm sorry I ruined everything for you. I'm sorry I made you a broken girl who can't even sleep anymore because of nightmares that were all brought on by me._

Julie touched his cheek and looked Dean in the eyes. And then she took a deep breath and said firmly and honestly, "I'm not."

* * *

Leah rubbed at her tired eyes. This was boring, horrible work, going through one thick, dusty, unhelpful volume after the other. This was how she had spent the past two days, sitting in the bunkers library next to Sam reading through dull books that held no answers. They only took short breaks to get up, walk around, tour the place, talk, and make out in various parts of the bunker. Those times were nice, but most of their time was spent here in this library reading books about demons and monsters that held no real answers.

Leah would probably have given up hours ago if she didn't know exactly why they were doing this.

When Jim Morgan had left the next morning after being saved, she had overheard him and Julie talking about a deal and the search for a way out of it. When she asked Sam for more clarification, he explained that Julie had sold her soul to make Dean human again and would go to hell in five months if they couldn't find a way to save her. There were a lot of things she had found out over the past two days that she had been living in the bunker with Sam, Dean, and Julie. Like the fact that Dean had died multiple times and gone to heaven, hell, and purgatory, and liked to make jokes about it. Or that Sam had also died repeatedly, and even Julie had died and gone to hell for a period of time. She also found out that the two brothers had literally saved the world on more than one occasion. She officially had no idea what she was getting into when she agreed to move in with Sam Winchester, the literal savior of the world.

Somehow, the three of them seemed remarkably normal. Well, Sam and Julie at least. Sam was a nice, funny, sweet, smart guy who was always very considerate of her, making sure she was comfortable as she adjusted to this new lifestyle. And Julie went out of her way constantly to make Leah feel welcome, sitting and talking with her and Sam, asking Leah to help her with make lunch or translate this book so she felt included. Julie was a very sweet, funny, brave, intelligent woman, and Leah had a ton of respect for her. The thought of her going to hell was so terrible that it actually got her to spend all day reading these god-awful books.

And then there was Dean Winchester. Damn, was that guy a handful! He was the kind of guy that only a hell of a woman could handle, and he had found that in Julie. But Leah knew she couldn't take care of this guy, even with his impressive good looks. Every time she came across him in the bunker, he either had a bottle or a dull, old book in his hand, or both. Still, he was somehow never drunk. Leah had heard him say maybe two serious things since she officially began "dating" (if you could call it that) Sam. He was always making a joke, some of them so ridiculous that Sam or Julie would give him a look or throw something at him. Sam assured her that this was perfectly normal behavior, and that Dean was actually great. Leah did have to admit, he was growing on her. Sure, he was hard to take seriously, but he was a really nice guy at heart, and laugh-out-loud funny, if a little crazy. But all four of them were a little crazy if they were going to spend their lives hunting monsters.

Leah had actually been enjoying the past two-and-a-half days immensely. Getting to know the three hunters better, spending every night with Sam Winchester… it was a big change from her old life, but a good one.

Leah was snapped out of her thoughts as Dean, who was sitting in a chair a few feet away, reading a thick book, suddenly began to beat his head against the book, moaning.

Sam looked up from his laptop, where he had been doing research, and rolled his eyes. "Something wrong, Dean?" he sighed.

"Can't…read…another…word…" Dean moaned, his voice muffled by the book. "It's just so _boring_, Sammy!"

Leah bit her lip to keep from smiling. This guy was thirty-seven, and whining to his younger brother like a five-year-old.

Dean lifted his head and cried, "I've been reading a book about the various ways to cook and eat a human for the past two hours, Sam! It's a clear sign that there's something wrong with our lives that I even have the opportunity to say that."

"No kidding," Sam muttered. "Why are you even reading a book on cannibalism when we're looking for a way out of a demon deal?"

"Because we've read every other friggin' book in this entire bunker!" Dean cried, frustrated. "We don't have the answer here, and we're not gonna find it by reading the same books over and over."

"Does that mean I can quit reading a list of people who were burned for witchcraft in the Salem witch trials?" Leah asked hopefully. "It wasn't nearly as interesting as I hoped it was going to be."

Sam sighed. "I know we're not finding any answers, guys, but…I don't know what to tell you! I mean, I can't take just sitting around doing nothing."

"That's why I'm here!" Julie said brightly, and the three of them looked up as she entered the room, holding a few sheets of paper.

"Where've you been?" Dean frowned.

"Finding us a case," she grinned in answer, pushing the heavy book out of his lap and replacing it with herself. They probably weighed about the same, judging by the monstrous volume of that book.

"Really?" Leah asked, half-eager, half-terrified. "What?"

"In the past two months, a total of eight good-looking, successful men in a town in North Carolina have been found killed in their homes," Julie recited, reading a piece of paper. "I say good-looking because I've got their pictures here, and…well, damn!"

Sam smirked, and Dean frowned. "Let me see," he muttered, pulling a couple pictures out of her hand. He studied them and shrugged, satisfied. "I'm hotter," he announced.

Julie laughed and pecked him on the cheek. "Whatever you say, Dean."

"Hey!"

Leah couldn't resist a little smile at the two of them. They were like an old married couple…but from what Sam had told her, unless Julie was saved, that could never be true of them.

"_Anyway_…it could just be a serial killer or something, but some of the houses were locked with intense security systems, and no one was detected," Julie continued. "Sounds like our kind of gig, don't you think?"

"Could be," Sam shrugged. "Either way, I vote we take it. I need to get out of this bunker, stretch my legs, get a break from this." Leah nodded eagerly in agreement.

"My thoughts exactly," Julie agreed, but Leah didn't miss the conflicted look on Dean's face.

Julie couldn't see Dean, but she must have sensed his hesitations. She turned on his lap to look at him. "What about you, Dean? You in?"

"Well…what about saving you?" he pointed out. "Isn't that our top priority?"

"Well, we've got almost five months to save me, and who knows when another innocent person is going to die because of whatever's going on here," Julie pointed out. "And besides, we've been researching here for a while. We all know the answers are not in this bunker. So we might as well go out into the outside world and see if we can find some answers there."

"Sounds good to me," Sam said standing up. "You up for it, Leah?" he asked her, and she could tell from the look in his eyes that she could say no and he wouldn't think any less of her for it.

She stood up and grinned at him. "Hell yeah! Let's kill some monsters."

Even Dean had to chuckle at that. "That's the spirit," Julie smirked. "Alright, Dean. It's all on you. You coming or not?"

He sighed. "Why not? It's been too long since I ganked something evil. And if I spend one more second in this damn library reading about cannibalism I will boil and eat myself."

"That would be impressive," Sam smirked. Julie got up and Dean did as well. For a moment, the four hunters just stood staring at each other.

Then Leah began to leave the room. She turned back and called over her shoulder, "Well? Are you wimps coming or not? We've got monsters to kill."

Dean grinned and clapped his brother on the shoulder. "Sammy?" Sam turned to look at his brother, who then said earnestly, "You marry that girl."

* * *

Julie smiled at Leah as she plopped down on the bar stool next to her. The younger girl (although only by about five years) was wearing a tight-fitting, low-cut red sweater and tight dark jeans with knee-high black boots, and her sleek dark hair cascaded down her back. The two of them had recently gone on a shopping spree so that Leah could have her own clothes and Julie could get back Dean's favorite pair of her jeans (boy, had he been a handful that day!) and Julie had to admit, she liked the girl's style. She wished she had the guts to dress that sexy, but she had spent so long trying to _not _attract horny assholes that she had gotten into a certain style of button-down shirts and ripped-up jeans that she just couldn't shake.

Leah smiled back at Julie. "Hey, Julie," she said sweetly. Really, this girl was too sweet to be a hunter, but she did have that spark of fire in her that the best hunters had. "Where are Sam and Dean?"

"Over there playing darts," she said, jerking her head towards a dark corner of the bar, where the two brothers were throwing darts with stunning accuracy and joking around. "It's been too long since they've been able to just hang out at a bar," she explained. "This used to be all they did, so I figured I'd let them get back into their routine, have some space."

Leah nodded in understanding. "So, how did you enjoy your first day on a job with the Winchesters?" her friend smirked, brushing her medium-length blond curls out of her face.

"It was…interesting," she said slowly. "Do you guys normally pretend to be security people? I thought you were always cops or feds."

"We're everything," Julie smirked. "The weirdest thing I've ever been was a cheerleader, but I heard from Sam that once they went undercover at a school, and Dean was the P. E. teacher and he got really into it. Yelling at kids, blowing the whistle, the way-too-short shorts…the whole shebang."

Leah laughed. "I could see that. Dean's…"

"Crazy?"

"I was going to say intense, but yeah, that too."

"He's a goofball," Julie smirked. "But hey, at least he can still laugh. Sometimes. He's had an unbelievably rough life, they both have. It's a miracle they're both still sane."

Leah wasn't sure what all Julie was referring to. But judging by the fact that they had no living family besides each other, and that they had both died repeatedly and even gone to hell…well, she had no trouble believing Julie.

"And on that happy note, why don't I get us some drinks!" Julie said brightly to lighten the suddenly heavy mood. "Excuse me, sir," she called to the bartender, a tall, bald, dark-skinned man. He turned and gave her a winning smile when he saw how pretty she was.

"What can I get you, darling?" he asked in a Southern drawl.

"I'll take a beer and my friend here will have…" She turned to Leah.

"Make it two beers," Leah supplied.

"Coming right up," the bartender said, turning away to get their drinks.

"I'll cover 'em, Dan," Leah heard someone say, and she looked up to see a tall, well-built, sandy-haired man who looked about Sam's age coming over. He was actually pretty cute, but when he got closer, she could smell a thick haze of booze around him. The guy wasn't completely buzzed though, since he looked pretty alert. Not to mention flirty.

"That's alright," Julie said quickly. "We're strong, independent women, and we can pay for our own drinks, thank you."

The new guy raised his eyebrows and smirked. "I don't doubt it," he replied smoothly. "I just wanted to do something nice for you lovely ladies."

"So one of us will sleep with you?" Julie guessed, unimpressed.

"I was thinking so we can chat, but if that's what you want…" He shrugged and shot Julie a cocky smile. She raised one eyebrow, her expression utterly unimpressed.

"You've gotta do better than that, pal," she shot back, and the bartender, who had just returned with their beers, snorted with laughter.

"So who exactly is paying for these?" he asked, smirking.

"Me," both Julie and this new guy said simultaneously.

"Come on, Julie!" Leah said. "Let this nice gentleman pay for our drinks. I think it's a very sweet gesture. And besides," she added in a loud whisper, "he's pretty cute!"

This new guy grinned. "Thanks. My name's Andrew, by the way. But you can call me Drew."

"I'm Leah," she replied, "and this is my friend Julie. And we very much appreciate your gesture."

"Well, at least _you _do," Drew said, shooting Julie a teasing look. She waited until his focus was back on Leah before she rolled her eyes.

"So, now that I've bought you those beers, what do you say we have that chat now?" Drew asked with a wink after he paid the bartender, Dan.

"Sorry, Drew," another voice answered, and suddenly Dean appeared next to Julie. He put his arm around her waist and smirked at the other man. "I'm afraid that tonight won't be going the way you were hoping. Julie here's actually in a pretty serious relationship, as it were."

"Well…I don't know if I would call it serious…" Julie said uncertainly. Dean shot her a look, and she laughed and kissed him briefly to appease him. "No, I'm kidding. It's serious. Sorry 'bout that, Drew."

"No problem," he shrugged, pretending he didn't care. "What about you, Leah? You in a 'serious relationship' too?"

"Let's put it this way: you see that tall, scary guy at the end of the bar buying another round of drinks?" Dean smirked, nodding towards Sam who was indeed buying two more beers for him and his brother. "Let's just say he wouldn't appreciate you messing with Leah here very much."

Drew's eyes flicked back and forth between Dean and Sam. Once he had accepted that he had no chance of beating the two of them he sighed and stomped off. Leah felt a tiny bit bad watching him storm off, since she had led him on to get those free beers. But she didn't feel _that _bad…

Leah was laughing when Sam came over with a couple beers. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"We just had to shoot down some guy who was really hoping to get laid over there," Dean explained, nodding over at the corner where Drew and a couple of his buddies were talking in low voices and shooting them looks.

"Was he an ass?" Sam asked darkly. "Should I go have a chat with him?"

"Don't worry about it," Leah said soothingly, touching his arm. She smiled at him, and relaxed a little. Still, he shot Julie a look to make sure that the guy really hadn't been an issue, and only when she shook her head and rolled her eyes to show he was no big deal did Sam actually relax.

"So," Dean said, swiping one of the beers from Sam. "Thoughts on this case?"

"Well, we've got no real ideas so far," Sam shrugged. "We didn't find anything today that we didn't already know—successful, good-looking guys are getting mysteriously killed and the authorities have got no idea who's doing it."

"We do have one thing," Julie said. "I talked to one of the policemen-"

"Yeah, that's all you were doing, _talking_," Dean muttered.

"Hey, I got us inside information, and the officer's phone number, so I don't want to hear _you_ complaining," Julie snapped, but there was a playful light in both of their eyes, so Leah wasn't too worried. "Anyway, he said that one of the guys who died a couple weeks ago, a Mr. Kyle Greene, was a douche and spent a lot of time drunk at bars."

"Well, I think we've solved the case!" Dean said sarcastically. "He goes to bars and gets drunk. I think we all know what really happened, guys—he's actually me."

Julie rolled her eyes and continued, "From what Sam told me he was able to gather, two of the men who died on the same night a month ago were at a bar together after work a couple days before they died. And another one of them was a frequenter of this bar here."

"Okay…?" Leah asked, still lost. "Why does this matter?"

"Well, it's the reason I suggested we come here," Julie explained. "Four of the eight dead men were all at this bar not too long before they died, and I'm willing to bet money that the other four were too."

"You think it's got something to do with the bar?" Leah frowned.

"Makes sense," Sam and Dean said in unison, but neither acknowledged that they had done so, although Leah smirked.

"So maybe whatever is killing them is connected to this place," Sam said. "Good call, Julie."

"Yeah, good call," Dean repeated with a smirk. "Now we can say we're working a case _and _I can go hustle some pool."

Julie and Sam shook their heads and smirked as Dean started chugging a beer. He purposefully spilled a bit down his chin onto his red, button-down shirt and untucked his black undershirt to look sloppier. "Do I smell drunk?" he asked his brother, stepping close to him.

Sam inhaled and shrugged. "I guess, but you usually do."

Dean shoved his brother's shoulder and then turned to Julie. "Do I _look _drunk?" he asked her.

Julie studied him for a moment, and then messed his hair up a bit. "I would tell you to put a dumb, slack face on, but…" she smirked.

"I hate you both," he told Sam and Julie, and then gave Julie a quick kiss.

"Gross, you _taste _drunk," she muttered, wiping her mouth when he pulled away.

Leah smiled as she watched the three of them interact. They were so comfortable together, although she could barely comprehend what was happening. She wondered if she would ever be that close with any of them…

Dean finished off his beer and called Dan, the bartender, over. He handed him some cash in exchange for another beer and said, "Wish me luck, guys. Jules, if they're real stupid and I decide to go for three rounds, come on over on the second one, okay?"

"The usual?" she asked coolly before taking a swig of her beer.

Dean nodded and then walked off to the pool table in the corner without another word to any of them. Leah watched, impressed, as his gait suddenly changed into that of someone clearly wasted. He must be very experienced with being absolutely hammered to be able to recreate it so perfectly. She watched him stagger over to the four guys in their early thirties playing pool already. Dean said something to them, and one of them laughed and shook their head. Dean took a swig of beer and said something else, and a couple of them snickered. Then Dean pulled out a wad of cash, and suddenly they were all nodding in agreement and setting up for a game.

"What's he doing?" Leah frowned.

"Hustling pool," Sam explained. "There's two ways we hunters make money. Well, three, I guess. Sometimes we steal from rich assholes who don't need or deserve all that money. Usually, we just commit credit card fraud. But sometimes, when we're hanging out on a bar, we'll gamble or hustle pool or something like that to make a few extra hundred bucks."

"You're serious," Leah said flatly. "This is how you guys make money?"

"Hunting may be a full-time job, but it doesn't pay," Julie said flatly. She took another swig of beer, swallowed, and then smirked at Leah. "But trust me, you're going to want to watch this."

The three of them sat down to watch Dean fail miserably at pool. His hands fumbled and he kept hitting the wrong balls, if he hit one at all. He would always laugh it off and insist that he'd make it the next time, while a couple of the guys watching would snicker behind their hands. The guy Dean was playing won handily and got all of the money. But Dean insisted that he was just getting warmed up and wanted a rematch. The guy seemed a little hesitant, but his dumbass friends convinced him to go for another round.

Dean was even worse this time. He had finished off his beer, and seemed to have trouble seeing straight. When it was clear that his opponent was going to win, Julie sighed and stood up. "It's about my time to go up there," she told Leah and Sam before storming over to the pool table.

She stood and watched for a minute or so as Dean struggled to even hit the right ball. The guys watching were all laughing openly, but Dean was too "drunk" to notice. Finally, Julie rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, come on, guys. He's obviously wasted. Why don't you just call a tie and lay off him?"

"Why should I?" the guy playing snapped cockily. "He wanted to play again, and he bet forty bucks. He wanted to play, let's play."

"Why do you care anyway, lady?" one of the guys watching, who actually did seem drunk, snapped.

"Because you're just taking advantage of some poor, drunk guy!" she snapped.

"He chose to get drunk, and he chose to play and bet forty bucks," the player shrugged. "I'm not gonna stop him."

Julie rolled her eyes but didn't say anything else as the guy easily beat Dean. Again. "Alright, you won, good job," she snapped. "Now leave the poor guy alone."

"No, I wanna play again," Dean slurred. "I can do it. And I got…" He dug through his jacket and pulled out a wad of cash. "Seventy…eighty bucks here. C'mon, one more round."

"Is that all you've got?" the guy playing him smirked. "Because, including the cash I just got from you, pal, we've got three hundred bucks between us."

Dean dug through his pockets and came up with three hundred bucks pretty easily. Julie knew he had a little more cash tucked away than that, but he made it seem as if he were scrambling to find cash. "I got it…" he said, fumbling with the money until he finally counted it all out and added it to the pile they had started. "Three hundred."

"Great!" the player said, pooling him and his friends' money together and adding it to the pile.

"Just lay off the poor guy, would you?" Julie snapped. "Do you want him to be broke _and _wasted?"

"You care so much, you take care of him, lady," one of the guys snapped. "After we clean him out."

"Rack 'em," Dean slurred, grinning stupidly. The other player reset for one last game. But as Dean got ready to start the game, the stupid, glazed look suddenly fell off of his face and his hands quit fumbling. He stopped to wink at Julie, who smirked back. The guys looked between them, confused, and then Dean hit the ball and the game began.

Sam and Leah watched from several feet away and laughed at the dumbstruck looks on those idiots faces as Dean sunk ball after ball. Once he got down to only two solids left (and that had all been in one turn), he started to get really cocky. He easily sank the other two balls, called the last shot, and sank the eight ball. All before the other guy playing him even got a chance to go.

"Yahtzee!" Dean crowed as he sank the eight ball. "Jules, did you see that? All in one go and everything!"

"Just goes to show that you had way too much free time to get so good at this game," she said in an exasperated tone, even as she stepped over to Dean and put her arm around his waist. He kissed her for a long moment, and when they pulled apart, all four guys were staring at them in varying levels of shock and anger.

"You _know _him?" one guy asked incredulously.

"You're _not _wasted?" another snapped.

"You _don't _suck at pool?!" the other observer cried.

"We've been dating for about two years if my math is correct, no, unfortunately I am not wasted, and I'm actually kind of great at it," Dean answered cockily.

"You played me," his opponent growled angrily.

"Sounds about right," Dean smirked, picking up the massive stack of winnings he had received.

"You son of a bitch, you robbed us!" he growled angrily, looking ready to punch Dean.

"You were willing to do the same to a drunk, hopeless guy, so don't get too self-righteous," Julie snapped.

"Thanks, fellas," Dean said with a nod to them. "You'll be paying for gas, motel rooms, and booze for a couple days at least, and for that I thank you."

With that, the two of them walked away from the furious, shocked men, arms around each other, laughing.

"So…that's what you guys do?" Leah asked incredulously when they returned.

"Yeah," Dean said, counting his winnings. "Except even _I'm _not usually that good. It was a pretty good night, I'd say."

Sam started to open his mouth to reply, but then stopped as his eyes landed on four young women who had just walked into the bar. They were all tall, thin, pretty young women dressed in very short shorts and low-cut shirts so their cleavage was very apparent. One looked Hispanic, with tan skin, long, dark curls, and a gymnast's body. Two of the others were blond, one with tousled, dark blond curls and a very large chest, and the other with straight, platinum blond hair and big blue eyes. The girl leading the other three was a very sexy brunette with shoulder-length, loose curls and a curvy, toned, tan body. They all looked to be in their mid-twenties, and very beautiful.

Dean followed his brother's line of vision and blinked. "Damn," he muttered as he took the four sexy girls in. Other guys in the bar began to turn and look. Soon all of the males in the bar were elbowing each other and whispering about these sexy new girls, and even a few of the women.

Neither Julie nor Leah looked too happy about the way Sam and Dean couldn't quit staring at these newcomers. Julie stomped on Dean's foot and he winced. "Ow! The hell?" he snapped, turning to look at her.

"Keep it in your pants, Winchester," she said icily.

"What? I wasn't-" he started, but stopped when he knew he wasn't going to be able to fool Julie. "Okay, fine. Those girls are pretty hot. Doesn't mean anything, though."

"Right," Sam said quickly. "That didn't mean anything, Leah, really!" he assured her, because she looked quite jealous, not to mention pissed.

Leah didn't look quite appeased, but Julie was now smirking, having quickly moved on since she knew without a shadow of a doubt who Dean really loved. "This is pathetic," she said as guys began to line up to buy the girls drinks and hit on them. Most of them were quickly shot down, but the four sexy girls allowed a couple more attractive guys to hang around them, including their old friend, Drew.

"Wonder if they've got anything to do with the guys getting killed," Julie said thoughtfully, watching the way they seemed to easily captivate guys.

"What?" Dean frowned. "Oh, come on, Jules. They're just chicks."

"Very pretty 'chicks' who are getting the attention of everybody in the bar," she pointed out. "Maybe they're sirens?"

"Sirens wouldn't hunt together in packs," Sam pointed out. "They're far too self-obsessed for that. And besides, the victims haven't been killing other people or themselves, and that's usually the case with siren victims. Those guys were getting murdered."

"Good point," Julie sighed. "Still, they seem a bit suspicious, don't you think?"

Dean shrugged. "You sure you're not just jealous?"

"You _sure _you don't want to sleep on the floor tonight?" his girlfriend shot back with a dangerous look, and he put his hands up in surrender.

"What's up with that one girl?" Leah asked softly. "The brunette."

Dean and Julie looked up and saw the sexy brunette was staring right at Dean, unashamed. The look in her eyes was one of approval, and of longing and lust. When she met Dean's eyes, she winked at him.

"Oh, hell, no," Julie muttered, and without warning she suddenly grabbed the collar of Dean's shirt, turned him to face her, and kissed him passionately. When she pulled away, he looked overwhelmed but definitely happy. Julie kept ahold of her boyfriend as she turned to look back at the sexy brunette, who now looked irritated. She winked back at the young woman, and then kissed Dean again for good measure.

"Think that scared her off?" Julie smirked when she pulled away a second time.

"Well, it sure worked for me," Dean shrugged, grinning.

"I don't much like the way the shorter blond is looking at you either, Sam," Leah muttered jealously, and Sam noticed the platinum blond eying him almost hungrily.

Sam turned, took Leah's face in his hands, and kissed her. When he pulled away, he smiled and asked, "Better?"

"A little," Leah shrugged indifferently, putting her arm around Sam's waist.

After that, they paid the sexy girls little to no attention and just chatted and drank their beers for another twenty minutes. Eventually, Julie needed a bathroom break. She excused herself and went into the rather gross bathroom to quickly relieve herself.

As she was washing her hands, the bathroom door opened. Julie dried her hands and turned to leave and found her path blocked by the four pretty women from earlier. Great.

"Excuse me," she said politely, trying to step past that brunette that had been eying her boyfriend like he was a piece of meat earlier. But she stepped in front of Julie and crossed her arms, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"You know, I don't think I will," she replied in a high, cold voice.

Julie stepped back and shifted into a defensive position, calculating how long it would take to draw her gun. "Is there a problem here?" she asked calmly.

"Care to tell us why you and your pretty little friend out there are hanging around the Winchesters?" the Hispanic girl asked in the same calm tone.

Julie's heart rate picked up. Shit. Monsters. How else would they know who her boyfriend and best friend really were? "Winchesters?" she frowned innocently. "My boyfriend out there, his last name is Evans."

"Come now," the brunette said sweetly. "We're all intelligent women here. Let's not lie to each other or play dumb. It doesn't suit a woman well to act dumb."

"I've got to agree with you there," Julie said. "But my boyfriend's name _is _John Evans. Now if you care to tell me what this is about…?"

"Your boyfriend's name is Dean Winchester," the taller of the two blonds snapped. "And you want to know how we know? Because our leader knows him quite well, as it were. We've been waiting for him and his brother to show and try to stop us."

Julie dropped the act, knowing there was no point. "Well then, if you know so much about him, you'd know who I am. And you'd know how stupid you are to even think of going up against them. Those guys out there defeated the devil! Who are you to think that you could beat them?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" the brunette smirked. "Well, I suppose there's no harm in telling you, since you're not going to live long enough to leave this bathroom. My name is Hailey, and these are my sisters, Mia, Jenny, and Heather." The shorter blond, then the Hispanic girl, and then the taller blond all smiled when their names were said. Then in unison, they pulled strange blades out of their pockets and their eyes suddenly glowed fiery red.

"We're Amazons," Hailey continued calmly. "And we're going to kill you and those handsome specimens out there before the night is through."

And as one, four powerful, deadly Amazons leapt forward to kill Julie.


	55. Chapter 55

**Chapter Fifty-Five**

"How long does it take girls to pee?" Dean complained to Leah. "I'm ready to ditch this place. And if Julie isn't back in another couple minutes, I'm leaving her here."

"Yeah, right," Sam smirked. "You wouldn't last ten minutes without-"

Suddenly, the sound of a gun being fired came from the women's bathroom, immediately followed by a woman screaming in pain.

Sam and Leah stared at each other, wide-eyed. Dean launched himself out of his seat and sprinted to the bathroom as the ten or so other people still in the bar looked around in confusion. Dean pulled out his gun, heart pounding, knowing the woman he loved was in there where a gun was being fired.

He tried to open the door, but it was locked. Another gunshot went off in the bathroom, and a woman swore angrily in pain. That wasn't Julie, but Dean didn't care. He wasn't going to bother picking the lock to this flimsy door.

Sam reached his brother's side, gun drawn, just as Dean suddenly kicked down the door. A woman screeched in pain and surprise as the door came crashing down. Dean looked into the room just in time to see that sexy brunette from earlier throw Julie into the mirror. Her head collided with the mirror as it shattered, raining glass down on her dazed body.

"Jules!" he roared angrily, firing at the brunette without a second thought. However, she was almost inhumanly fast, and she managed to roll out of the way and suddenly leap towards Dean, brandishing a familiar-looking knife.

Dean shot at her again, ignoring the screams of the others in the bar behind him, and he caught her in the shoulder. That just made her screech in anger, and suddenly he was finding himself thrown through the air.

"Dean!" Sam roared as his brother slammed painfully into the wall and collapsed to the ground, dazed. But he couldn't rush to his brother's aid. That brunette was still on her feet, and armed, and the taller of the two blonds was staggering towards him, bleeding from a bullet hole in her leg but still looking for a fight. The shorter blond lay dead on the ground in the bathroom, a bullet in her brain. But as Sam watched, the fallen door was suddenly thrown to the side, where it shattered against the wall, and the pretty Hispanic girl hauled herself to her feet and advanced on him.

"Get down!" Sam roared at the other people in the bar, his eyes on Leah. She nodded, overwhelmed, and hid behind the bar with the bartender and a couple other sharper people in the bar.

The blond and Hispanic girls approached Sam, holding familiar blades. "You've got to be kidding," Sam muttered as he recognized the signature weapons of monsters that he and his brother had faced several years ago. They had gotten away, though. "Amazons?"

"He's sharp, this one," the Hispanic girl smirked. "And sexy, too."

Sam pointed his gun at her as she advanced on him, but that just gave the blond a chance to circle closer to him. He couldn't fight them both off, and the brunette was still approaching Dean, about to kill him, and he was too dazed to fight.

Suddenly, another gunshot went off, and the brunette staggered away from Dean, clutching her side. Sam looked up to see Julie, bleeding from several cuts on her arm and a head wound, clutching the wall for support, but still holding onto her gun. She must have shot that brunette Amazon, even wounded like that.

Sam wanted to be proud of Julie, but while he was distracted, the blond Amazon lunged towards him and wrestled his gun out of his hands. She was insanely strong, and she managed to get his gun away from him. The Hispanic Amazon lunged towards Sam with her knife, but before she could kill him, a bullet went straight through her heart from behind, and she collapsed, dead.

Sam looked up, stunned, to see Dean lying on his side, his gun pointed at the fallen Amazon. "That'll teach you to try to hurt my brother," Dean growled as he started to haul himself to his feet.

The two remaining Amazons exchanged nervous looks and then suddenly took off sprinting for the door. They were gone before Sam could even move to stop them, even with the brunette's two bullet wounds.

For a moment, the bar was silent. Then Dean groaned as he grabbed onto the wall to haul himself to his feet, hugging his probably bruised ribs with one arm. He had been thrown impossibly hard into the wall by those Amazons.

Julie staggered over to her boyfriend, and Sam rushed forward and caught her right as she started to collapse. She had a pretty nasty head wound from getting thrown into the mirror, and her left side was cut up from the broken glass, but she didn't seem in danger of bleeding out. For the fact that they had just taken on four Amazons when they hadn't been expecting a fight, they had fared pretty well.

And then they heard the sirens.

One police car sped into the parking lot, closely followed by two more. Dean frowned and turned to give Sam a questioning look, and then the door burst open.

"Freeze!" an officer yelled, pointing his gun at Dean. Two more officers rushed in behind him, also pointing their guns at the three hunters.

Only then did they fully process the guns in their hands and the two dead girls on the floor, and what this must look like to the cops.

Leah started to get up to go to Sam, but he shot her a warning look, and she stayed behind the bar, looking torn. Four more officers poured into the bar as the first three approached Sam, Dean, and Julie, guns trained on them.

In the commotion as officers flooded in, Dean suddenly dropped his car keys on the ground and subtly kicked them over to Leah. She frowned, confused, but grabbed them anyway.

"Put the guns down!" a tall, black officer ordered sharply.

"Okay! Look, we're putting them down," Sam said quickly, and they set their weapons on the ground and kicked them over to the officers.

"Great, now that you're here, you can give us a ride to the hospital," Dean said with a bitter smirk.

"Oh, you're not going to the hospital, pal," another officer smirked back. "You three killed these two girls! You're going to jail."

"It was self-defense!" Julie snapped. "They attacked me while I was in the bathroom, and these guys helped save my life."

"Save it," a pretty, dark-haired, female officer snapped at Julie. "You can tell it to the judge."

"I thought cops only said that in movies," Dean muttered.

"Get on the ground and put your hands behind your heads," the first officer snarled at them.

Sam, Dean, and Julie shot each other looks, but they knew they weren't getting out of this. Leah watched in horror as the three of them knelt and held still so the officers could handcuff them and then pat them down. Dean winced with each new weapon they found on him and his fellow hunters.

"If you three weren't expecting a fight, why did you have so many weapons on you?" the female officer smirked in a _checkmate _sort of way.

"It's a crazy world we live in," Dean smirked back. "Never know when a couple crazy chicks are going to try to stab you to death while you're taking a dump."

"Technically, I was peeing," Julie muttered.

"Well, it took you so long, I was beginning to wonder," he shot back.

"Maybe because I was almost getting _killed-_"

"Shut up!" the female officer snapped. "Alright, take them away."

Leah watched helplessly as Sam, Dean, and Julie were dragged to their feet and marched out of the bar. Sam shot her one last look over his shoulder, one of concern. Despite Dean and Julie's joking attitudes, Sam knew they were in a lot of trouble. They were being arrested, and there were Amazons after them.

And it looked like the only person who could help them would be Leah.

They were so screwed.

* * *

"Watch it!" Dean growled at the female officer marching Julie down the hall of the jail. The woman was gripping Julie's forearm tightly, and she had just knocked Julie's left shoulder into the wall, the same shoulder that had been cut up by broken glass when she was thrown into that mirror in the bathroom.

"For your own sake, keep your mouth shut," she snapped back, shooting him a look of contempt.

"Look, we didn't do anything wrong!" Sam tried to tell the officer who was walking him down the hall. "Those crazy girls just attacked our friend, and of course we were going to help!"

"That's not what the young woman who called in said," the officer replied icily. "He said you three brutally killed two young women and wounded a third."

"Well, that's a load of crap," Dean snapped. "And how did she have time to call? The whole fight lasted thirty seconds, and you guys were there only a few seconds after it ended and those crazy bitches got away."

"I don't like that word," the female officer growled at Dean, her eyes dangerous.

"Well, I don't like getting arrested when I did your people's jobs for you and saved a person's life," he shot back, unintimidated. "And you didn't answer my question."

"In case you didn't notice, smartass, the jail is three blocks from that bar," the tall, black officer holding Dean's arm snapped. "And I'd cut the attitude if I were you. You're not acting very innocent."

Dean rolled his eyes, but wisely held his tongue. "In here," the female officer ordered as she dragged Julie into a room. The three hunters were sat down in chairs a few feet apart at different desks and their handcuffs were removed for a brief moment so their wrists could then be chained to the table in front of them.

"This is ridiculous," Dean muttered as an officer pulled on his wrist to make sure the chains were secure. The guy ignored him and began to walk out of the room, the other male officer beside him. "We didn't do anything wrong!" he yelled after them, but they were already gone.

Suddenly, the female officer grabbed his chin and yanked his head up to look at her, her sharp nails digging into his skin. Dean stared, wide-eyed, as her eyes suddenly glowed with red light.

"We'll be the judge of that," she hissed softly. And then, just as suddenly, she released his face and left the room.

Sam and Julie stared at Dean, wide-eyed. "Dammit," Dean growled, pulling with all of his strength, hoping he might be able to pull free of the chain holding his wrist to the table. Of course, he couldn't. He met his brother's worried expression and snarled, "Amazon."

"Great," Sam sighed. "So one of the people holding us prisoner is an Amazon, and there are at least two more hunting us."

"And who knows how many more are working as cops," Dean growled, yanking on his handcuffs again. "Dammit!"

"What even _are _Amazons?" Julie asked, concerned. "I've never hunted one."

"They're basically horny chicks on steroids," Dean snapped. "They're super strong, and you probably noticed, and they want to find good-looking, successful guys, have sex with them and use them to get pregnant."

"What?" Julie frowned. "Why the hell-?"

"They breed like rabbits," he answered darkly. "And then their new babies grow insanely fast. Within a couple days, you've got a teenage girl, who is then sent to off her daddy and become an official Amazon."

"Wow," Julie breathed. "You sure know a lot about them."

Sam shot Dean a look, wondering if he was going to tell Julie about his last run-in with an Amazon. But his brother just shrugged, "Well, when you've been doing this as long as we have, you've run into everything once or twice."

"They said they knew who you guys were," Julie said carefully. "Said their leader knew you, Dean."

Dean frowned. "Well, we've run into them before," Sam admitted. "But they got away. So they probably remember us from then."

"It explains the attractive, successful guys getting offed," Dean pointed out. "But didn't they use to chop off limbs and carve symbols into the dead guys, Sammy?"

"Yeah," his brother frowned. "Huh. Must have decided that was too flashy or something."

"Doesn't really matter," Julie pointed out. "What _does _matter is that we get out and stop them."

The two brothers nodded in agreement and tried to wrestle their way out of their handcuffs. However, after a couple of minutes of trying to escape, it was clear how truly stuck the three hunters were.

"At least Leah is out there," Sam said softly, not sounding very hopeful. "Maybe she'll be able to come save us."

Dean and Julie exchanged nervous looks. Leah was a nice girl, and tough, but she was nowhere near ready to take on Amazons alone or break into a jail and free them without getting arrested herself.

"Let's face it, guys," Dean sighed after a long moment. "We're screwed."

* * *

Leah paced anxiously back and forth in their motel room. What was she supposed to do? What the hell was she supposed to do?!

She could go to the jail and try to appeal to the cops, and end up not helping one bit. She could try to break into the jail and free her friends, and end up arrested herself. She could…she could…

Castiel. The thought popped into her head, and she remembered getting to know the odd angel and hearing Sam talk about him. But Dean, Julie, and Sam had all had their cellphones on them when they were arrested, and Leah didn't know his number. So how was she supposed to reach him?

The memory of Dean Winchester, dying in her arms, praying, popped into her head. Praying. Duh. He was a freaking angel! Of course you would pray.

Okay. Praying. Wow. Leah hadn't done this since…had Leah ever actually seriously prayed? She had never been a very religious person, but neither were the Winchesters or Julie. Praying didn't seem like an act of faith with them, more like a convenient way to call their friend.

_It's just like a phone call, _she told herself. She started to kneel, but then decided that was too cheesy. Instead, she sat down on the bed that she and Sam had been going to share that night and folded her hands. No, that felt tacky, too. She ended up just closing her eyes and taking a deep breath and just going for it.

"Um…Castiel? I mean, dear Castiel. Uh…it's me. Leah Jamison. You know, Sam's…that girl that Dean saved a few days ago? Yeah, uh…I'll admit, I'm not really good at this praying stuff. But, uh, I need your help. I was hunting with Sam and Dean and Julie and we…we got attacked. There were this women, and they were really strong, and the others managed to kill two of them, but two got away. And then, um, the cops showed up, and they arrested Sam and Dean and Julie and I…I just…I don't know what to do. I need help, and I know you're, like, an angel, so…I figured you could help…"

She opened her eyes, but there was no sign of the trench-coated angel. Crap. Maybe she should pray more?

"They're in trouble, Castiel. These…things, they're strong and dangerous. I don't think they'll give up, and Sam and Dean and Julie…they're trapped in jail. I can't break them out, I can't stop these monsters, I can't…I can't do anything." She hated herself for the tears starting to well up in her eyes. God, she was so useless!

"Please, just…help me save them," Leah whispered. "Castiel? Please?"

There was nothing. No thunder, no answer, and definitely no angel. Either he didn't care, which was extremely unlikely…or he couldn't hear.

True, that had been a pretty shitty prayer. But Dean's prayer had consisted of literally "Castiel, help, please," and he had been answered. Of course, he and Castiel were best friends, and she was basically nobody to him. Still, she got the feeling that her praying about how three people he cared about were in danger would get his attention.

He was probably…how did Dean phrase it? "Not tuned in to angel radio." Maybe he was busy, or resting, or just not listening for prayers. He had his own problems: the search for a way to save Julie, as well as heaven to run.

No matter what the reason, he hadn't hear her prayer. Which meant that he wasn't helping, which meant that Leah was Sam, Dean, and Julie's only hope.

What the hell?! She couldn't do this! She was just some kid who had graduated college and decided to become a hunter because she hadn't found a normal job that held any interest for her. She wasn't clever and strong like Sam, or tough and resourceful like Julie, or the badass fighter that Dean Winchester was. She wasn't experience and powerful like them. She was just a twenty-three-year-old, scared kid.

But they needed her. The thought of Sam in danger, as well as Dean and Julie, who had been good friends to her, was horrible. She wasn't as brave or as strong as any of them, but she couldn't just abandon them.

She knew what she had to do. She had the keys to Dean's Impala, and she knew where the jail was. She wasn't skilled (or stupid) enough to break in, but she could at least hang out close to the place and watch and wait for them to be moved to somewhere else. Maybe, just maybe, if she could catch the cops while they were moving her friends, she'd be able to surprise them and provide enough of a distraction for the more experienced hunters to take over and get free.

It wasn't much, but it was a start. And anything was better than waiting around here, feeling useless.

* * *

The muscles in Dean's arm screamed in protest as he stretched as far as he possibly could for the file just out of reach. There was a paperclip just peeking out from the file, and if he could only get ahold of that paperclip…he'd lost track of how many times he'd escaped situations like this with nothing more than a paper clip.

Julie silently watched him, wishing she could help. Sam was keeping an eye on the door, ready to warn his brother if a police officer appeared. They had been left alone for about half an hour, which was odd, considering they were sure the Amazons probably wanted to get ahold of them. But every second, it became more and more likely that an officer was about to appear.

"Son of a bitch," Dean growled as his fingertips brushed the file, but didn't manage to snag it. He grunted with effort as he strained to reach the file again…and then suddenly he managed to trap the edge of it between two of his fingers.

Julie started to grin, hopeful, but then Sam hissed a warning at them. In one quick, deft move, Dean swept the file into his lap, where it was hidden from plain sight. And it wasn't a moment too soon. Within a couple of seconds, three female officers strode into the room, and the last one to enter closed the door behind her.

For a moment, the three hunters glared at what they were certain was three Amazons. One looked to be in her mid-thirties, with dirty blond hair, while another was the same dark-haired, female officer that had revealed herself to be an Amazon earlier. The other one looked very young to be an officer, in her early twenties, with big dark eyes and loose dark curls. She looked very sweet and innocent…until she smirked nastily at them.

"So these are the hunters that thought they could kill my sisters and get away?" she said icily, glaring at them.

"Look, sweetheart-" Dean started coldly.

"My name is Kylie," she snapped. "And if you call me sweetheart again, I will personally skin you while these two watch."

Dean just smirked. "We're not going to stop with your sisters, sweetheart. We're going to kill every single one of you."

Kylie snarled at him and started to lunge forward, but the oldest of the three officers, the blond, put her hand on Kylie's arm. "Peace, Kylie," she said calmly. "These insolent hunters will get the end they deserve soon enough. But we are under strict orders not to kill them yet."

"Why is that?" Sam asked, frowning. "I would think you would want us dead."

"Oh, we do," the oldest woman smirked. "And I assure you, Sam Winchester, you will die. But we have a special death awaiting you and your brother. You should feel honored."

"What about me?" Julie asked. "I don't get a special death? I'm hurt!"

"We did not expect to find a girl with these men," the Amazon admitted. "However, I'm sure we can find a suitable end for you, dear."

"You Amazons have never had very many problems with killing innocent guys before," Sam pointed out. "Why now are you waiting to kill us?"

"Our leader has a grievance with the both of you," the dark-haired Amazon from before snapped. "She has been plotting her revenge on you two for years."

"And would you mind telling us just who has this big grievance against us?" Dean asked drily. Julie noticed that he was subtly moving his hand under the table, and guessed that he was working on freeing himself. They just needed to keep these Amazons distracted for a little bit longer…

"I'm sure she'll be here soon enough," the blond Amazon smirked. "She practically runs the town, so she has a lot to worry about. But eventually, she'll make time for you _men_." She spat the word like it was a horrible insult.

Julie cleared her throat pointedly. "And you, girl," the Amazon added with a sigh.

"And she wants to kill us, is that it?" Dean asked.

"We've already said that, you idiot," Kylie snapped at him.

"Right, right, just wanted to be clear," he muttered. "Too bad, though."

"What?" Kylie frowned.

"She'll never get the chance," Dean replied, and then he lunged forward, freed from his handcuffs.

He had the element of surprise, and he was able to slam into Kylie and crack her head on the wall, stunning her. Then he turned and drove his shoulder into the throat of the dark-haired Amazon lunging towards him, choking her for a moment.

Sam and Julie began to try to get free again, pulling on their handcuffs so hard that they dug into their skin, but they couldn't get free to help Dean. And, while he struggled to fight off the dark-haired Amazon, punching her in the face repeatedly and ducking to avoid her counters, the blond Amazon was coming up behind him…

"Dean!" Julie cried desperately as the Amazon behind him drew her gun and hit him across the back of the head. Dean collapsed, dazed, and the two older Amazons stood over him.

"Not bad, that one," the blond smirked, nudging him with her toe. "Managed to get free without us noticing."

"And he's strong," the dark-haired Amazon muttered sullenly, trying to stop the heavy flow of blood from her nose.

Julie and Sam were in a panic, seeing Dean lying unconscious at the mercy of these two Amazons. But suddenly his eyes flew open and he swept the legs out from under the blond Amazon with one swift kick. Sam couldn't stop the rush of pride he felt as his older brother staggered to his feet, still going even with the head wound he had just suffered.

"Thanks, ladies," Dean smirked, shifting into a defensive position as the three Amazons regrouped around him. "I'm flattered, really."

Kylie was nursing a lump on the back of her head, and the dark-haired Amazon looked quite upset about her broken nose. But the blond got to her feet and studied Dean, a sick kind of fascination and attraction coming into her eyes.

"I can see what our leader saw in you, Dean Winchester," she said. "You are quite impressive."

"Thanks," Dean smirked again, but there was fury in his eyes as he glared at the Amazons.

"But unfortunately, I do not have the patience for this," she continued, and before Dean could stop her, she pulled out her gun and pointed it right at Julie.

"No!" Dean cried, starting to move forward.

"Take one more step and I'll blow her brains out," the Amazon said icily. "That girl means nothing to me, and I will kill her without hesitation."

Julie stared wide-eyed at Dean, half-afraid, and half-wanting him to go ahead and fight the Amazons no matter what happened to her. But he immediately backed down, putting his hands up in surrender.

"Okay," he said quickly. "I won't fight. You can cuff me again and sacrifice me to your leader or whatever the hell it is that you want. Just…don't touch her."

The blond Amazon smiled nastily. "Oh, how sweet…you love her, don't you?"

Dean didn't reply, just glared at her. "Well, you can see how much good love does you," she continued bitterly. "Now you're all going to die, when you may have actually been able to escape."

The dark-haired Amazon stepped forward and roughly pinned Dean's arms behind his back. She handcuffed him, and they all figured she would just cuff him back to the table. But instead she gave the blond Amazon a questioning look, and she nodded.

Suddenly, the Amazon was slamming Dean into the wall and punching him in the face over and over. Julie and Sam both yelled angrily at the Amazon to stop, but she ignored them. She hit Dean in the gut, and he groaned. She hit him again and again until he was doubled over in pain, there was a nasty-looking bruise forming on the side of his face, and blood was leaking out of his mouth.

The blond Amazon walked forward and grabbed Dean's chin. She lifted his head and studied him for a moment. "That's good, for now," she sighed after a moment. "Go ahead and move him into solitary. When our leader gets here, she can decide what to do with him."

The dark-haired Amazon dragged Dean towards the door, taking every opportunity she could to hit him against something. "Get your hands off my brother or I swear, I will kill every last one of you bitches!" Sam yelled angrily.

The blond Amazon suddenly appeared in front of him, her knife pressed to his throat. "We don't like that word," she said in a low, cold, dangerous voice. "We feel it degrades women."

"Normally, I would agree," Julie snapped at her. "But it definitely applies to you monsters."

After that, Dean couldn't hear anything that his brother and girlfriend were saying. The dark-haired Amazon marched him into a different room, an interrogation room, where she slammed him forcefully into a hard, metal chair and chained his wrist to the table.

"Our leader will be here soon," she hissed in his ear. "And I can't _wait _to watch what she does to you."

Dean rolled his eyes at the Amazon as she left. Once she was gone, he just sat in the chair, exhausted and aching. He was getting a bit old for these beatings. He was really beginning to feel them for days after—that was, if he did have days after this. He could very well be about to die.

He muttered a quick prayer of help to Castiel, but the angel never answered or appeared. He must be busy or unable to hear. Dean just hoped his friend wasn't in even worse trouble than him.

Exhaustion overwhelmed Dean, and he closed his eyes and put his head back for a quick nap. But he felt like he had barely closed his eyes before he was awakened by the sound of the door being opened.

The blond Amazon stood in the doorway, smirking at him. "Our leader is here to see you, Dean Winchester."

"Great," he sighed. "Well, tell her I think this room at least needs a TV. Oh, yeah, and I could use some ice."

"Very funny. You're a regular comedian. I don't remember you being quite so annoying the last time we met, though," another woman said, in a voice that was oddly familiar. He couldn't place it though. And then she stepped into the room.

She was wearing a low-cut purple blouse and tight pants, and looked a couple years younger than Dean. She had dark blond hair and a pretty face. She was totally the kind of chick that he would have slept with, before Julie.

And that was the worst part. He recognized this girl. Because, years ago…he _had _slept with her. And gotten her pregnant. And then almost been killed by their child.

"Hello, Dean," the Amazon leader said coolly. "It's good to see you. It has been far too long."


	56. Chapter 56

**Chapter Fifty-Six**

"Lena?" Dean frowned, sitting up straighter as he recognized the Amazon before him.

"You've got to be kidding me," she snapped. "It's Lydia."

"Right, right, sorry. You'll have to excuse me; it's been a few years, and I'm getting older. Don't remember the names of every slut I've ever slept with."

Lydia's eyes flashed dangerously. "I'd be careful if I were you," she said icily. "I could kill you right now."

"You could," he admitted. "Not too worried about it, though. You Amazons haven't killed me so far. I'm beginning to wonder if you're even going to."

"In good time, Dean," Lydia smirked. Then she turned to the blond Amazon standing by the door and shot her a look. "You can go now, Meredith."

Meredith looked like she wanted to stay and watch the show, but she sighed and left, shutting the door behind her. And then it was just Dean and this Amazon left.

Dean remembered the night he had gotten this chick pregnant pretty well. They'd met at a bar (the Cobalt Room, maybe?) and sat and talked for a while. She was hot, and not looking for any kind of commitment, and she had been really into him, especially after he made it seem like he was rich and successful. It had actually been her idea to speed things up, and Dean was never going to complain about that.

That night had been…well, rough. Lydia had apparently enjoyed pretty rough sex, because the next day he was sore and aching. Still, he had to admit, it had been a pretty good night.

And then he found out what she really was. And what he had done by sleeping with her.

For years, he'd never been able to shake the memory of his own daughter standing in a motel room, holding an Amazon knife, saying she had no choice but to kill him, while he pointed a gun at her head. He never could forget the way Sam had charged in, how his daughter's voice had broken when she pleaded for her father not to let her get hurt.

Dean had never quite forgotten how his daughter looked, dead on the floor, blood soaking through her shirt. Blood from a wound that her own uncle had given her.

Needless to say, that had been a pretty traumatic experience. It had turned him off of the idea of kids for…well, until he had gotten serious with Julie. And now the Amazon that had used him to get pregnant, the whole reason he had to go through that…she was standing right in front of him.

Lydia crossed her arms and studied Dean. She smirked a little at the bruises on his face. "What happened to your face?" she asked, amused.

"I guess getting free and attacking your little friends really pissed them off," he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Yes, I do recall you being quite good at pissing people off," she replied coolly.

"It's a blessing and a curse." Dean smirked at Lydia, but his eyes were cold. "But I'm pretty sure you didn't have your Amazons attack and arrest me just so we could reminisce."

"No, I didn't," she admitted.

"Great. So…what the hell does the Amazon leader want with me?"

"Well, for one thing, I want revenge," Lydia answered calmly. Then her expression turned deadly, and she moved around the table in front of Dean to get dangerously close. "See, that girl you killed a few years ago…that was my _daughter_."

"Yeah, I know," Dean said flatly, unafraid. "She was _my _daughter, too."

"She was nothing like you," Lydia said icily. "She was strong and brave and wonderful."

"How would you know?" Dean shot back. "You sent her away after only a few hours of her being alive."

Lydia's eyes narrowed. "How do you know that?" she hissed.

"I may or may not have been keeping an eye on you after I noticed the suspicious talking baby in your house," he shrugged. "Guess you Amazons aren't as sharp as you thought, considering you never even noticed."

"We're smarter now, and stronger," she replied.

"Why? Because _you_'_re _in charge?" Dean smirked.

Lydia's hand shot out so fast he barely saw it, and then the bruised side of face was on fire. "Son of a bitch!" he growled. Once his head quit spinning, he glared up at her. "Well, I don't remember you being _that _strong…" he muttered.

"I've gotten much stronger," she smirked. "Do you want to know why?"

"I get the feeling you're going to tell me no matter what," Dean muttered, rolling his neck because her strike had caused something to pop painfully in his neck.

"We have taken up the ritual of sacrificing to the goddess Harmonia," she explained. "In return, she grants us even more strength. It makes up for us no longer marking the men our daughters prepare their kills for her."

"Yeah, why'd you stop that?" Dean complained sarcastically. "That seemed like so much fun! I had been looking forward to getting all of my limbs chopped off."

"Oh, I'm sure I can have something arranged for you," Lydia smirked. "But it was attracting too much attention. It got you and your brother on our trail, for one."

"Although we caught you again," Dean pointed out.

Lydia looked around and smirked. "Look, Dean…no offense, but I think you might be a little confused. Looks like we're the ones that have you caught."

He just smiled serenely at her. "Wouldn't we want you to think that, though?" he pointed out cockily. "It's a lot easier to kill someone when they underestimate you."

"Believe me, I will not be underestimating you," she replied. "After you killed my daughter and we fled, I did a lot of research on you and your brother. I've been keeping tabs on you two, and I must admit…the list of monsters you've killed is quite impressive. Don't bet on adding us to that list though. We're more than ready for you."

Dean had quit listening to that speech about halfway through, and had subtly been trying to find a weapon or at the very least, some way to get free. But the room was empty, all except for one table, one chair, and the two of them.

Well, the table and chair were nailed to the floor, and he was chained to the table. But there wasn't anything holding him in the chair…

"What makes you so sure?" Dean asked cockily, hoping that made response into whatever self-confident crap the Amazon had been spouting.

"For one thing, we're stronger, and smarter, and you're nothing but a mortal man-" Lydia started smugly. But before she could finish he suddenly shot up and head-butted her as hard as he could. Ignoring the throbbing pain in his head, he slammed the stunned Amazon down onto the table and pulled her knife off of her belt and held it to her neck.

"You were saying?" Dean smirked smugly as Lydia stared up at him, wide-eyed.

"Do it," Lydia said coldly. "We both know if you so much as lay a finger on me, my Amazons will slaughter your brother and that girl in the other room."

Dean glared at Lydia, unmoving, unwilling to admit how right she was.

"Meredith?" Lydia called loudly.

"Don't," Dean growled, digging the blade into her neck.

Lydia's eyes flashed dangerously as the two of them glared at each other. The door opened and that Amazon, Meredith, poked her head in. Dean heard her gasp when she saw what position her leader was in.

"Go ahead and kill the blond girl in there, would you?" Lydia asked calmly.

"No!" Dean cried.

"If Dean here doesn't hand me my knife back and agree to quit fighting in the next ten seconds, you have my permission to kill her nice and slowly," Lydia smirked, her eyes on Dean the whole time. Her expression clearly read, _Your move._

Dean hesitated for a second, and then he threw the blade to the ground and released Lydia. "Fine," he snapped. "Look, I'm giving up. You win. Just…don't hurt her."

Lydia picked up her knife and then studied Dean, smirking slightly. "How cute," she crooned after a moment. "You love this girl, don't you?"

"Is it really that obvious?" Dean grumbled.

"What happened to not wanting to settle down?" Lydia asked. "At least, that's what you told me."

"Pretty much everything I told you was a lie, and you can't complain because you did the same thing," Dean answered icily. "But no, I wasn't planning on settling down. But then I met someone who is actually worth settling down for."

"I would be jealous," she sighed. "That is, if I actually cared about you."

Dean smirked slightly, still glaring at the two Amazons before him. Lydia studied Dean for a moment and then sighed. "Meredith, unchain him," she said after a moment.

"What?" Meredith and Dean both asked, confused.

"Oh, you can cuff him after that," Lydia said quickly. "But we're done here. I'll go ahead and make sure that his brother and the girl are ready to go as well."

"Go where?" Dean snapped as Meredith came over, unchained him, and then cuffed him again all in a few quick seconds.

Lydia turned and smiled angelically at him. "To your death, Dean."

* * *

Leah followed closely behind the two cars that were pulling out of the parking lot of the jail. She had seen a family tall, shaggy-haired figure being forced into one, as well as a petite blond, and at the same time Dean had been marched out of the place and shoved into the back of another car. Leah's stomach had flipped when Dean turned and made some snarky comment to the woman shoving him, and she had suddenly got him in the gut with a Taser. Sam had started yelling angrily and trying to fight as his older brother collapsed, unconscious. But in the end, Sam and Julie had been forced into one cop car, and Dean's unconscious body thrown into the back of another, and then the two cars drove off.

Leah was shaking a little as she followed them. She was driving the Impala, and it wasn't the type of car that blended in. For all she knew, these mysterious women who had her friends knew she was following them, and were leading her into a trap.

That didn't matter, though. She had to follow them and find some way to help the three hunters. They were good people, tough and brave and willing to die to save others, and she had to be willing to risk dying as well to help them.

The problem was, Leah was pretty clueless. She was still a new hunter, and these mysterious, strong women were nothing like anything she had fought before. She knew that getting shot would kill them, because she had seen two of them die from bullets fired by Julie and Dean in that fight. She had a gun with her, but it sure wasn't much. And besides, she wasn't a good enough shot to take out the four women with Sam, Dean, and Julie before one of them took her out.

The two cop cars drove for a while, straight out of town. Leah frowned, but followed them anyway. Suddenly, they jerked off onto a country road. Leah whipped the car around and nearly clipped a sign with the side of the car. She winced. If Dean had seen that, he would have killed her with his bare hands.

The two cop cars bumped down the dusty, country road, and the Impala followed a ways behind them. They drove for several minutes before coming to a small cluster of buildings. There were a few old, worn-down houses that looked as if they had been empty for years, and a large, stone building that looked like it had once been a church. The whole place seemed pretty much deserted, and Leah had no idea what they were doing.

She parked the Impala far away from the cop cars, hidden by one of the old houses. As quietly as she could, Leah slipped out of the car and, gripping her gun tightly, slowly poked her head around the corner.

The four women were getting out of their cars. They were far enough away that Leah was having a hard time making out what they were saying to each other, but a couple of them laughed, and the others sounded smug. Three of the women wore officers' uniforms, but one of them was dressed in a nice, purple blouse and dark pants, and her long, dark blonde hair fell around her face in perfectly straight sheets. They were too far away to make out their faces, but Leah was pretty sure that one woman who wasn't a cop was very pretty.

Leah's breath caught in her throat as two of the cops went around to the back of their car and pulled a struggling Sam out. His hands were cuffed together, and one of them trained a gun on him so he wouldn't fight. Leah wanted more than anything to run to him as one of the woman sneered something at him, and he shot back an angry retort. That man, who had never been anything but good to her, could be about to die, and she was too useless to help him.

The cop who wasn't training a gun on Sam snapped something, and Julie slowly got out of the car, watching Sam steadily. Leah watched the two of them stare at each other, taking comfort in each other's presence, and felt something like jealousy rise up in her. She knew that Julie loved Dean more than anything, and she wasn't worried that Julie would try to take Sam from her. But Sam and Julie were so close…Leah doubted she would ever be as close with him as Julie was.

But they had bigger problems right now. Like these strange, strong women who had guns trained on her friends.

The blond cop and the pretty woman went around to the back of their car, and the blond cop opened the door. She was thrown back as whoever was in the back kicked her in the chest, and then Dean rolled out of the car and staggered to his feet, ready for a fight.

The woman in purple snapped something at him, and Dean replied with what Leah was sure was a snappy comment. But the woman in purple seemed to have no patience for Dean, and suddenly pulled out a gun and pointed it straight at Julie, at the same moment, one of the female cops pressed a gun to Sam's temple.

Immediately, Dean relaxed. He couldn't put his hands up in surrender, since he was trapped in handcuffs. He said something, and there was enough desperation in his voice to match Leah's panic at seeing Sam and Julie so close to death.

The woman in purple and the blond cop both grabbed one of Dean's arms and dragged him into the old, stone church. The other cops kept their guns pointed at Sam and Julie as they marched them inside as well. Leah watched as the last cop turned, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then shut the door to the church.

Leah realized she was shaking a little. What was she supposed to do?! She couldn't fight four women when they could just shoot her friends! And she had seen how strong they were in the bar. She had no hope of defeating them, and no hope of saving her friends…

And then suddenly, a hand clamped down on her shoulder.

Leah whirled around and pointed her gun at the face of her attacker. He blinked, surprised. "Why are you pointing a gun at me?" he asked, cocking his head in a familiar way.

Leah sighed in relief, relaxing as she realized who had appeared behind her. "I thought you were…one of them," she told Castiel, jerking her head back towards the stone church.

"Them?" the angel frowned.

"I don't know what they are," she explained quietly. "But they're strong, and dangerous, and they've got Sam and Dean and Julie inside that church."

He nodded gravely, his eyes filled with concern and anger. "I am sorry I didn't arrive sooner. I was…out." Leah raised her eyebrows, and he continued, "Uh…my lieutenant, Hannah, and I were…searching for a way to save Julie! And when we returned to heaven a few minutes ago, I realized that you and Dean both had been praying for my assistance, and I hadn't even realized…"

For some reason, Leah felt like he wasn't telling the truth, but that didn't matter right now. "It's fine, Castiel," she said quickly. "I'm just glad you're here now. I didn't stand a chance, but with your help…"

The angel nodded, blue eyes stormy. "Well, let's go inside then, and see what monsters dared to lay a hand on them."

* * *

The church looked pretty normal on the outside, but the inside was all wrong. The pews had been cleared out, leaving a huge, empty space in the main room. Strange symbols and words in other languages were spray-painted on the walls, and something about them made Julie feel intimidated, as if some great power was hovering over them.

That wasn't even the worst part, though. The worst part was the huge stone slab in the center of the room. It was a couple feet off the ground, raised so everyone could see it. Strange symbols were carved into the side, and trenches were carved into the stone, leading down to large, empty buckets. The stone was smeared with dried blood, and there were dark stains running down the trenches, which made it clear what the buckets were meant to be filled with.

Blood. That stone was for sacrifices. And Julie had a feeling that she and Sam and Dean were destined to be those sacrifices.

There were a lot more than four Amazons in the church. There were roughly twenty of them, ranging in age from teenage girls to middle-aged women. There were no women older than about forty in the church, and Julie wondered what that meant. Did Amazons die off after that age, or were they deemed not as strong anymore and killed by their own kind? She decided she really didn't want to know.

The women watched the three hunters hungrily as they were forced into the center of the room at gunpoint. Julie recognized a couple of them as the two Amazons who had gotten away from the bar. The brunette had a couple blood-stained bandages from where she had been wounded, and she hissed in anger when she saw Julie.

The brunette Amazons started towards Julie angrily, holding her knife. Sam and Dean saw the incoming threat and struggled against the Amazons holding them, trying to move protectively in front of Julie as the angry Amazon approached her.

"Hey!" Dean barked when the brunette reached her and took a swing at her. Julie barely ducked underneath the strike in time. "Somebody stop her!"

"Hailey!" the Amazon leader snapped, and the brunette stopped trying to attack Julie. "This girl is saved for sacrifice, you know that."

The younger Amazon nodded and ducked her head, ashamed, before backing into the crowd. Somehow, Julie didn't feel any safer…

Sam, Dean, and Julie were pushed towards the stone. "Oh, hell, no!" Dean snapped when he realized they were trying to get him to go on top of it. "I'm not going up there so you can bleed me dry!"

The leader rolled her eyes and then pointed her gun at Sam's head. Dean's little brother swallowed but kept his eyes steadily on Dean's. _Fight them, _Sam's eyes said. _Don't worry about me_.

But Dean couldn't. He couldn't let his little brother die for him. Hell, he couldn't let his little brother _die_!

"Fine," Dean grumbled. "I'm going up there so you can bleed me dry."

The Amazon leader stepped forward and unlocked his handcuffs, but two other Amazons were pointing guns at Sam and Julie, so he couldn't fight. He hauled himself up onto the huge stone slab, while Lydia walked up a set of stairs on the side.

"There were stairs?" Dean moaned. "That would have been nice to know."

"Kneel," was Lydia's snarled response.

More than anything, he wanted to fight her, but there was a gun pressed to his little brother's head, and another pointed at Julie's heart. He would do literally anything to keep those two safe.

Once Dean was kneeling, Lydia pulled out her long knife. Dean swallowed, but kept his eyes steadily on hers, refusing to back down. If he was going to die, it would at least be with some dignity.

"This man, Dean Winchester, has fought against our kind on two occasions!" Lydia called to her devoted followers, who watched eagerly. "He is guilty of killing one of ours, Jenny, fighting against several others, of being a man"—this drew some cruel laughter—"and of killing my daughter, Emma," Lydia added, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"My daughter, too, as you seem to forget," Dean shot back, loud enough for all of the Amazons to hear. There were a few gasps and soft murmurs among the crowd of Amazons.

"Wait, what?!" another voice cried over the others, and Dean winced. Julie.

Lydia looked over at Julie's shocked, hurt expression and smirked. "What's this, Dean? You didn't bother to tell your little girlfriend that you and I had a thing?"

"Hadn't really gotten the chance yet," he muttered, trying to shoot Julie an apologetic glance.

"Well, it's true," Lydia said, addressing Julie now. "Your boyfriend and I hooked up…what, three years ago, Dean? Four? Now that was a fun night, wasn't it, Dean?"

She turned and gave him a flirtatious look, and Dean wanted to stab the bitch for flaunting it in Julie's face like this. "He got me pregnant," Lydia continued almost proudly, her cold, haughty eyes on Julie. "I had his baby. I bet even you can't say that."

Julie glared down at the floor, trying to hide how much this hurt. A lot. She already felt horrible about not being able to give Dean a kid because of her deal, and to have this monster be rubbing that in her face…

"And then, when our daughter came of age, she was sent to kill her father, cutting off his limbs and preparing his body for the goddess Harmonia, the final step of initiation!" Lydia called loudly, back to the Amazons. "And do you know what he did to my promising young daughter? He killed her!"

The Amazons shrieked angrily, roaring for Lydia to kill Dean. She turned back to him, grinning viciously. "And now, I shall have my revenge for my daughter!" she cried.

Dean closed his eyes and waited for the pain. But instead, he heard Sam roar, "Wait!"

The room fell silent as he yelled, "You want revenge on the guy who killed your daughter? Well, you picked the wrong man then."

Dean's eyes flew open. "Sammy, no!" he said quickly.

"I killed her," Sam growled. "I killed your daughter because Dean couldn't do it. He couldn't shoot his own kid, so I did, while she was begging him not to let me hurt her."

The room was completely silent as Lydia slowly turned to face Sam, her eyes dark with rage. "I will kill you slowly," she hissed. "So slowly that you will beg for death, and yet I will not give it to you!"

"No!" Dean yelled angrily, and he lunged forward and tackled Lydia, knocking her to the ground and cracking her head against the stone beneath them.

The room erupted into chaos. Amazons lunged forward to stop Dean and kill Sam and Julie, who began to fight as best they could with handcuffs.

And then Amazons began to scream in pain. One by one, they began to fall, an unknown fighter cutting easily through their ranks, their strength and skill no match for his.

"Cas!" Julie cried as she caught a glimpse of the familiar trench coat, and then another Amazon fell.

Sam shouldered an Amazon in the face and turned to grin at the angel as he stabbed a teenage Amazon through the throat. The angel was trying to cut his way through the crowd of Amazons to reach the stone where Dean and Lydia were wrestling, kicking and hitting at each other, trying to keep the other from reaching her Amazon blade, which she had dropped when he tackled her.

As Sam watched, Lydia managed to knee Dean in the gut and throw him to the side. As Sam's brother groaned and tried to get up, Lydia scrambled over to the blade and grabbed it. She turned to him and prepared to stab him.

"Dean!" Sam cried helplessly, knowing he'd never make it in time. But suddenly there was the sound of fluttering wings, and then Cas was standing protectively in-between Dean and a stunned Lydia.

"What are you?" she gasped, stepping back.

"An angel of the lord," he said flatly, before punching her so hard in the face that she collapsed, unconscious.

Sam started to grin, relieved that his brother was okay, but then he heard someone scream his name.

He turned to see the dark-haired female cop who had arrested them lunging towards him with her knife, looking ready to kill. Julie had shrieked his name, but she was struggling to fight off two teenage Amazons with no weapons herself. She couldn't help, and Cas hadn't even realized what was happening…

This was how he was going to die.

Suddenly, a gun went off, and the Amazon looked down at the bloody hole in her chest. And then she was falling, dead.

Sam looked up, stunned, to see his savior. And there she was, standing there holding a handgun, looking as surprised as him at what she had done. Leah.

"Help them," Sam heard his brother groan, and he looked over to see Dean pushing a concerned Cas away, trying to get the angel to finish off the ten or so Amazons still alive. The angel nodded and leapt into the fray with a new fury. Leah picked off a couple more Amazons with her gun, and Sam and Julie defended themselves long enough for Cas to cut through the remaining Amazons.

And then suddenly it was over. The four hunters and the angel stood there, catching their breath, surrounded by dead Amazons. Then Cas went to work, unlocking Sam and Julie from their handcuffs. Leah rushed over, and Sam wrapped her in a tight hug, grateful to her for saving them…and also really impressed and a little turned on by how much of a badass she had been in shooting those Amazons.

"Oh, no, you don't," Dean snapped suddenly, and Sam and Julie looked up to see that Lydia was still moving, trying to crawl over to her blade. He stepped on her hand, causing her to cry out, and then grabbed the blade and pointed it at her throat.

Julie and Cas climbed up onto the stone along with Dean to glare at the only living Amazon, while Sam and Leah watched from the ground.

"Do you think you've won?" Lydia snarled, breathing heavily. "There are others out there, dozens of groups like us! You'll never stop all of us!"

"I don't know, I'm pretty happy with today's haul," Dean shrugged. "What about you guys?"

Julie shrugged. "Not bad. Twenty dead Amazons, and we're all still fine."

Lydia glared up at them, waiting for one of them to kill her. Dean turned the knife over in his hand, getting ready to stab her. But then Julie touched his arm.

"Dean, honey, would you mind if I did the honor?" Julie asked sweetly, and he shrugged and handed her the knife.

The moment Dean was unarmed, Lydia leapt up at him, desperate for some kind of revenge, even if it was only on him. But before she could lay one perfectly manicured hand on him, Julie drove the Amazon knife up into her heart and the Amazons leader gurgled horribly and then went still.

Julie threw the dead Amazon to the ground, and they were all silent for a long moment. Then Julie turned to the others and forced a smile. "Well, come on, guys! We've got some clean up to do."

* * *

"All I want to do is eat a cheeseburger, drink a lot of beer, and then pass out for three or four days," Dean moaned as he staggered into the kitchen of the bunker in search of food and alcohol.

Castiel sighed as he watched his friend pop open a beer and start chugging. He had healed the worst of Dean's wounds, but he couldn't heal the achiness and exhaustion that his friend was feeling. Only sleep could do that.

The angel looked around at the three other hunters he had just teleported back to the Men of Letters bunker after they had cleaned up that Amazon mess. Julie looked exhausted as she stood there as well, watching Dean alternate between downing more beer and digging around in the fridge for food. Sam and Leah stood nearby, not speaking. Sam looked dead tired, and he had his arm around the young woman for support. Leah was staring up at Sam, unable to look away, clearly just relieved she had him back in one piece.

"Dean, you might want to slow down," Cas warned his friend as he finished off his first beer and started on another.

"What I want is to forget everything that just happened, and these are going to help," his best friend replied, gesturing to the beer bottles in the fridge.

Cas looked to Julie for help, but she was staring blankly ahead, so tired that she probably wasn't even processing what was happening. The angel frowned. "Julie…are you alright?" he asked carefully.

"Tired," she sighed. "Also wishing I hadn't found out my boyfriend got an Amazon pregnant by that Amazon but, you know…"

Dean winced and turned to face them. "Look, Jules…I'm sorry about that. I'm not proud of that, and it's…it's kind of painful to talk about. I guess I just never really wanted to tell you or…well, anyone that."

"Any other things you haven't told me?" Julie sighed, too tired to really be upset. "Maybe you slept with a werewolf or married a vampire or something?"

"Nah, Sammy's the one who banged a werewolf, and a demon too," Dean shrugged. Leah pulled away with Sam to stare at him, wide-eyed. Sam opened his mouth to come up with an excuse, but couldn't. He settled for glaring at his big brother who shrugged and grinned at him, unashamed.

"Dean used to be a vampire!" Sam said accusingly, trying to get the focus off of himself.

"_What?_!" Julie and Leah both cried.

"Low blow, Sammy," Dean muttered. "Considering you were the one who let me get turned."

"Wait, he did _what_?!" Julie cried again.

"That wasn't really me!" Sam protested. "Hell, I didn't even have a _soul_!"

"Oh, god," Leah said in a shocked, overwhelmed voice. Poor girl. She was just getting into the world of the supernatural, and now she was getting these guys' crazy pasts dumped on her.

Julie sat down at the main table in the bunker and put her head in her hands. "I do not have the strength or patience to have this conversation right now," she moaned. "But as soon as I've slept, you two are explaining all of that!"

"Yeah, no kidding!" Leah said. Then she turned to Sam. "You slept with a _demon?_"

"I…" Sam started, but he still couldn't come up with a good excuse.

"For a long time, too," Dean muttered sullenly, irritated with Sam for spilling even more of his secrets. "And he would drink her blood, to boot. Freaking picked the chick over me and then ended up setting Lucifer free because of her…"

"Dean, could you _not_?!" Sam snapped, seeing how pale and scared Leah looked. Dean realized he had gone too far and wisely shut up.

"That's enough," Cas said quickly. "Tomorrow, you can all sit down together and these men can give you an explanation for some of the more…questionable things that have happened in their pasts. But for now, all of you need sleep."

The four hunters sighed and nodded. Sam and Leah started off towards their bedroom. "Look, I'm sorry about that," Sam sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It's true. I've…I've done a lot of bad things in my life. I warned you…I'm not a hero."

"I still don't believe that," Leah sighed. "But…wow. That's a lot. Sleeping with werewolves and demons and freeing Lucifer?"

"Getting possessed by Lucifer, too," Sam continued flatly, tired of hiding things. "And then spending so much time in hell with him that I went insane. And then getting brought back without my soul. Then getting it back, but hallucinating about Lucifer all the time until I was basically dying. And later, I got possessed by an angel for a while, and ended up being forced to kill one of my friends."

He paused for a breath and saw how overwhelmed she was. "Have I scared you off yet?" he asked bitterly.

"No," she said after a long moment. "But I think Cas is right. We really need to have this conversation when we're not both about to pass out from exhaustion."

Sam shook his head. "How are you okay with this? How are you not running screaming?!"

"Well, first of all, I'm not okay with it," she sighed. "You shouldn't have had to go through any of that. But the fact that you did and you're still a good person…well, I'd say that proves you're a hero."

Sam shook his head. "You're right. You are sleep-deprived, and you're not making any sense."

Leah laughed a little and shoved his shoulder. "Shut up."

Sam caught her hand and leaned down to kiss her briefly. "Thanks for getting Cas and saving us," he murmured when they pulled apart.

She smiled at him. "Of course. I couldn't let anything happen to you, or Dean and Julie."

He shook his head again. "I don't deserve you, do I?"

"Probably not," Leah replied with a smirk, even as she grabbed his hand and pulled him into their bedroom after her.

Meanwhile, back in the main hall of the bunker, Dean finished off his beer and food and started off for his and Julie's bedroom, but Cas stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder as he and Julie started to leave. "Dean, wait," the angel said carefully. "Before you go…there's something I need to talk with the two of you about."

"What's up?" Dean asked as the couple turned to face the angel.

Cas sighed. "I know you tried to pray for me, Dean, and Leah as well, but I didn't answer right away."

"Yeah, what was up with that?" the hunter frowned.

"I told Leah that Hannah and I were busy looking for a way to save you, Julie," Cas explained.

Julie frowned. "And you weren't?"

"No," he admitted. "And I wasn't with Hannah, either."

"Why would you lie?" Dean asked suspiciously.

"I didn't want to scare the poor girl further." Dean and Julie exchanged concerned looks.

"Where were you, Cas? Who were you with?" Dean asked darkly.

"I was with Crowley," Castiel confessed, and the two hunters blinked. They had _not _been expecting that.

"By your own free will?" Julie asked. Cas nodded.

"And you didn't kill him?" Dean checked. The angel shook his head. "Then what the hell…?"

"He had a lead on Beelzebub and his plans to raise Lucifer," Cas explained. "He contacted me and we went to try to stop him. Beelzebub is breaking another set of seals that I had no idea existed. Lucifer's backup plan, I suppose. They can only be broken by the bearer of the Mark of Cain and the First Blade…and since that is now him…"

"Oh, god," Julie groaned, sinking into a chair again. Guilt was overwhelming her. "And…did you stop him?"

"We were too late," Castiel sighed. "I have no idea how many seals he's broken, and how many are left, but Crowley thinks it will take him quite a while. He has inside information that makes him believe it will take about five more months to free Lucifer, or so he claims."

"The same time that Jules…?" Dean started, but the stopped himself. Cas nodded gravely.

"So, we don't know what the seals are, or how many are left, or how to stop Beelzebub from breaking them?" Julie asked, and she sounded sick.

"No. But Crowley has some connections with demons who also don't want Lucifer back. He thinks he may be able to find out a couple more seals, hopefully before it's too late to stop Beelzebub."

"Even if we get there in time, what are we going to do?" Dean snapped. "I don't have the Mark anymore, that's him. He's as invincible as I used to be. I would have died fighting Apollyon, and she's nowhere near as strong as him."

"I know," Cas said quietly. "But we have to try. If he manages to raise Lucifer, we will be unable to stop him. Lucifer will not fall for the same trick twice, and his first step upon returning will be to find you and I, Dean, and make our lives worse than hell for revenge."

"Second step," Dean muttered. "His first step is going to be getting his hands on Sammy and trying to get inside him again."

The two of them stared at each other silently, trying to hide the overwhelming panic filling them. "We can't let Lucifer rise," Dean said after a long moment. "If he does, there won't be any stopping him."

"There may be a way…" Cas pointed out darkly.

"What? How?!" Dean cried.

"Beelzebub will be trying to open the cage," he pointed out. "And I doubt you've forgotten who else is in the cage…"

"Oh, god," Dean groaned. "Not this again! You can't seriously think I should _let _Michael possess me?"

"No, I do not think you should," Castiel said gravely. "But if Lucifer rises and manages to get Sam to say yes, probably by torturing or threatening you…you may have to. It could very well be the only way to stop Lucifer from destroying everything."

"No!" Dean growled. "Cas, we've gone through this! Were you not there six years ago, when this was happening? I said no! If I said yes, the fight would kill millions of innocent people at the very least, and even if Michael won and Lucifer was stopped…Sammy would die, too."

"I know," Cas said softly. "That's why we've got to stop Beelzebub before he can raise Lucifer and Michael again."

The two of them were silent, heads spinning. "I will inform Sam tomorrow," Cas said after a while. "I did not think it wise to tell Leah, though. She seemed frightened enough by the thought of Sam sleeping with Ruby. If she knew what all you and Sam have gone through and what is coming…"

"Yeah, I know," Dean sighed. "God, our lives are screwed up."

And once again, Cas and Dean fell silent. Dean frowned when he realized that Julie had been there the whole time, sitting at the table with her head in her hands, not saying a word, even as they talked about Dean getting possessed and the friggin' apocalypse coming about. That was weird…

"Jules…you okay?" he asked uncertainly, moving to touch her arm. But she flinched away, and when she lifted her head, there were tears in her eyes.

"No," she said bitterly. "Are you kidding me? How could I be okay? Beelzebub is raising Lucifer and Michael, and you and Sam are going to be destroyed, along with the rest of the world…and it's my fault!"

"What?" Dean snapped. "Are you serious? How on earth can you blame yourself for this?"

Julie stood up to face him. "A little over a month ago, I met with Beelzebub and made a deal," she said coldly. "I made him promise to make you human again, without the Mark of Cain, and alive, and not to hurt anyone."

"I know," Dean said. "But that doesn't have anything to do with-"

"I never once required that he not take the Mark and the Blade for himself," she snapped. Dean's eyes widened. "And he needs them to free Lucifer, right? So if he manages to open this cage and release Michael and Lucifer and start the whole damn apocalypse again…it'll be my fault!"

Dean looked to Cas for help, but the angel had nothing. The truth was…if Julie hadn't made that deal to save Dean, this wouldn't be an issue.

"If you hadn't made that deal, I'd still be a demon," Dean snapped after a long moment. "And eventually, I would have taken over. Hell first, and then the world. I would have killed _everyone_. So maybe it's not the apocalypse like you're thinking, but the world still would have been destroyed."

Julie just shook her head. "But I started this."

"Maybe," Castiel said. "Or maybe Dean did, when he took up the Mark of Cain. Or maybe Sam did, when he freed Lucifer. Or maybe I did, when I was helping the other angels bring about the first apocalypse. Or maybe Crowley did by failing to stop the Knights from being raised. Or maybe Cain did by refusing to kill them. Or maybe Lucifer did by-"

"Okay, I get it," Julie muttered. "It's everybody's fault."

The three of them were silent. "You two should go to bed," Cas sighed eventually. They both started to protest, but he shot them a dangerous look with those bright blue eyes.

"You're going to need your rest," he warned them. "We've got a lot of work to do."

* * *

**Author's Note: **The Amazons have been defeated, but there are much bigger problems brewing...first off, I just want to say how excited I am to really get into the dramatic climax of the story. There will be a lot of fighting, a lot of drama, a lot of familiar faces, and hopefully some characters I haven't had a chance to bring into the story just yet. There's still a lot to come, and I'd like to thank you all for your support so far and also ask that you stick with me. It should be a lot of fun (or a lot of tears, whatever works for you)!


	57. Chapter 57

**Chapter Fifty-Seven**

"Now, I want her back by eleven, and you keep your hands to yourself, young man!" Dean scolded his younger brother.

Sam rolled his eyes and put his hand on the small of Leah's back, trying to guide her out of the bunker before Dean could go on. "Come on," he muttered, even as she giggled.

"That is inappropriate touching!" Dean barked angrily, starting to pull his gun out of the waistband of his jeans.

"Down, boy," Julie muttered, pulling his gun away from him and setting it on the table. She tried to give him a stern look, but she was biting back a smile. "That's enough, Dean. Just let the two of them have fun."

"At least get me a picture!" Dean protested as Sam tried to escape. "A memory of the happy couple!"

"Leave them alone!" Julie groaned, grabbing his arm and towing him away from Sam and Leah.

"Just a quick picture!" Dean protested, pulling out his cellphone and snapping a rather unflattering photo of his brother as Sam tried to flee.

"Julie!" Sam complained, as Leah tried and failed not to laugh at the three of them.

"Are you five?" Julie snapped at Dean, but it was clear she wasn't really angry with him. Dean chuckled proudly to himself as he examined his photo.

"Not bad, Sammy," he grinned. "Nice hair."

"Screw you, Dean."

"Have fun. But don't stay out too late. I know where you live…"

"Alright, out!" Julie cried before pushing a laughing, protesting Dean out of the room.

"I am so sorry about that," Sam muttered, embarrassed, as he opened the bunker door for Leah and they stepped out.

"No, don't be," she laughed. "Dean was funny."

"Don't let him hear you say that," he warned her. "The guy's enough trouble already."

"No kidding," Leah smirked, brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face. She looked absolutely beautiful. Her dark hair was twisted into an elegant bun with a few loose spirals framing her face, and she was wearing a little more makeup than usual, enough to make her dark eyes pop and her lips seem even fuller. She was wearing a tight-fitting, dark blue dress that showed off her ample curves, and Sam was struck again by how hot she was, and how very lucky he was that this young, bright, tough, beautiful woman had ever shown any interest in him.

Sam smiled at her. "I don't think I ever got a chance to tell you this, with _that _going on, but…you look beautiful."

Leah beamed at him. "You don't look too bad yourself," she replied, reaching up and fixing his dress collar.

Sam bent down to kiss her for a moment, and then opened the car door for her. Dean was letting his little brother take the Impala. The fact that Dean was letting Sam drive this girl around in his Baby, and the fact that Leah had driven the Impala with no one else there while the Amazons had Dean, Sam, and Julie and Dean didn't even care…those were signs of how much Dean liked this girl.

Sam liked her, too. A lot. That was why he and Leah were now going out on their first official "date", two weeks or so since she had moved in with them. Sam had to admit, he was actually looking forward to it a bit, although he had expected to feel stupid. And Leah had suggested the idea and seemed very happy he had agreed. Making her happy was worth it.

Besides, he could use a break. Over the past two weeks since returning from almost being killed by Amazons, life had been…well, shitty. The next day after their return, Dean and Julie had relayed Cas's message, that Beelzebub was working on raising Lucifer and Michael and essentially bringing about a second apocalypse. One that they would stand no chance of stopping.

The idea of Lucifer rising was bad enough. It was literally Sam's biggest fear. But to have Lucifer _and_ an invincible Knight of Hell destroying the earth? To have Michael back and trying to possess his brother, while the devil tried to possess him? To have to fight Dean to the death, effectively destroying the world in the process… he couldn't think of anything worse than that.

It wasn't enough to have Julie's soul a few short months from being dragged to hell. No, the freaking apocalypse had to be about to happen. Again. And his girlfriend didn't even know…

It wasn't that he wanted to lie to Leah. But she already seemed so overwhelmed by looking for a way to save Julie's soul and the new knowledge she had learned over the past couple of weeks about how truly dark and twisted her boyfriend's past was. That hadn't been fun, confessing the many questionable things he'd done and the mistakes he'd made. Worst of all was her face when he talked about Ruby. It was the same expression Dean made when she was mentioned, although he would always insist he hadn't. It was a look of disgust, and not just at the demon. At him, for sleeping with her, for listening to her, for getting fooled, for freaking drinking her blood. Out of all the mistakes he had made in his thirty-three years, he regretted Ruby and what she had gotten him to do, raising Lucifer, the most.

Sam had been afraid he was going to lose Leah after telling her everything he'd done. And she had seemed pretty freaked out, but in the end she had stayed, insisting that Sam was still a good guy who had just messed up. A lot.

He was grateful for that, he really was. And he was grateful that Dean had been able to forgive Sam for everything. Julie hadn't seemed very upset when Dean confessed the little details about what his life had been like that he had glossed over before. He had told her pretty much everything already. It was amazing how tough and loyal these two women were to them. It seemed like he and Dean had found the only two girls in the world probably still capable of loving them.

Of course, Sam and Leah hadn't said they loved each other yet. Sam wasn't entirely certain he loved the girl, at least not yet. But he cared about her a lot, and was extremely grateful to her for everything. But they weren't Dean and Julie, confessing their love after only a few days of knowing each other.

Sam pushed those thoughts away and just focused on having a good night. And he did. The drive to the nice restaurant he had found about half an hour away from the Men of Letters bunker was fun, Leah finding an alternative music station and blasting something besides classic rock through the Impala. They talked about normal people things, TV and music and movies and politics and even the weather. It was fun for Sam to have a night where he could pretend to be normal. Pretend his best friend wasn't damned. Pretend that the devil wasn't going to rise in four-and-a-half-months and try to possess him and make him kill his brother and destroy the world.

The restaurant was nice, and the food was great. Sam ordered wine for the two of them, and they got bread and salads and pasta and made fun of the stuck up waiter they had. They sat and talked and ate for an hour, laughing and having fun. And god, was it nice to sit with a beautiful girl and make jokes and enjoy himself like a regular guy!

Leah was enjoying herself a lot. Sam was being his normal sweet, charming, fun, intelligent, regular self, and he looked pretty amazing in dress pants and a button-down white dress shirt. Leah was enjoying the wine, smiling at him and wondering how this night was going to go, what they would be up to in a few hours, back at the bunker…

And then suddenly Sam was grabbing his head like he was in pain. Leah frowned as he squeezed his eyes shut and then groaned in pain. "Sam?" she asked, concerned.

"No…" he moaned, and then suddenly her boyfriend slipped to the floor, passed out.

"Oh, god," she whispered, and then she was out of her seat and running to his side. "Sam? Sam?! _Sam! _Oh my god…Sam, wake up!" She realized she was practically screaming as she shook his shoulder, and panic was closing up her throat. "Somebody help!" she wailed, and the shocked onlookers began to run around or dial nine-one-one or shout in loud, upset voices.

The snooty waiter rushed over with the restaurant manager. "Does he have diabetes or any serious food allergies?" the manager asked sharply.

"What? No!" Leah said quickly, still clinging tightly to his shoulder. At least she didn't think so…wouldn't that be something, if the thing that finally killed Sam Winchester was food allergies?

Suddenly, Sam moaned and twitched slightly. Leah gripped his arm and cried, "Sam? Sam, what's wrong? Can you hear me?"

There was no reply. Whatever was happening, he was gone, passed out or trapped in some weird nightmare or vision or _something_!

"Is someone calling an ambulance?" their waiter called, and two people called out that they were.

Whatever this was, Leah doubted it was something a normal doctor could help with. But who the hell could help, then?

Immediately, she knew. Or at least, she knew someone who would be a lot more help in taking care of and getting through to Sam than her. She scrambled to dig her phone out of her purse and found his number.

Leah crawled back over to Sam and gripped his hand tightly as the phone rang. One of his fingers twitched, and she gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, hating how useless she was. Like always.

Dean picked up on the third ring. "Hey, Leah," he said, sounding bewildered. "Is something wrong? Please tell me Sammy didn't crash my Baby."

"Something's wrong with Sam," she said, hating how her voice shook.

Leah heard something slam on the other end of the phone. "Where are you guys right now?" Dean's voice came, hard and dangerous and protective. "The restaurant?"

"Yeah," she whispered, staring at the sweat on Sam's forehead and the crease between his eyebrows.

"What's wrong with him?" Dean barked out.

"He's…he just passed out at dinner," she said, a lump swelling up in her throat.

"Does it seem like he's having a…a nightmare or a vision? Or was he poisoned? Is he choking? Leah, _is my brother dying_?!" By the last question, Dean's voice was so angry and dangerous Leah feared if she said yes he would kill _her_.

"No!" she said quickly. "I think it's just a…a nightmare or something."

Sam suddenly flinched, and then his leg twitched, shooting out and kicking the manager who was hovering nearby.

"What the hell?" the manager yelled. "Is this guy having a seizure or something?"

"_What_?" Dean growled.

"He's twitching and moaning and he just passed out and I don't know what to do, Dean," Leah got out, tears beginning to sting her eyes. "I don't know, and I can't help him, and he's not okay and…oh, god…"

"Okay. It's okay, Leah. Deep breaths. No panic attacks. That's not gonna help Sam." Dean's voice was carefully controlled in an attempt to calm her down.

"Listen, Leah. I'm going to be over there in twenty minutes at the latest."

"The place is thirty minutes away," she protested.

"I'm going to be there in twenty minutes or sooner," he said firmly. Then his voice yelled away from the receiver, "Jules! Come on! We're going to that restaurant Sammy and Leah are at."

"What? Why?" Julie called back, her voice quieter through the phone.

"Something's wrong with Sam," Dean said shortly, and immediately Julie's voice was at the phone.

"Okay, Leah, just make sure you stay safe yourself," Julie said in a nurse's voice. "Don't let yourself go into shock. You've got to be there to take care of Sam until we get there, okay?"

"Okay," Leah whispered. All the useless, noisy, panicking people in the restaurant meant nothing. They couldn't help her, or Sam. Only these two could.

"We're on our way there," Dean assured Leah. "You guys are going to be okay. Sammy's going to be okay. Trust me, I'm not letting anything happen to him."

He hung up, and she was sure he was now driving like a maniac to get to his little brother's side and make sure nothing happened to him. And when Dean said he wouldn't let anything happen…Leah believed him.

* * *

_Sam looked around. He was back at the bunker, in the library, but he didn't know how he'd gotten there. He had just been sitting, having dinner with Leah on a nice date, and then suddenly a stabbing pain had shot through his brain and now he was here._

_He was lying on the floor, so Sam stood shakily and inspected the room carefully. He had spent hours in this room, researching, searching for a way to save Dean or Julie or stop the Knights or whatever their current problem was. He knew this room very well, and he would notice if things were out of place. But nothing was. This was the bunker as he knew it._

_"__So this is where you live now," a familiar voice said skeptically, and Sam's eyes widened and his heartrate doubled._

_"__No," he gasped, clenching his fists and staggering away from the familiar figure who was walking into the room. The sandy-haired man stood with his back to Sam, eyes skimming over the spines of books as he spoke._

_"__Sure, it's a step up from the cage, but it still looks pretty dull. I mean, look at all these boring old books, Sam! I don't know how you stand it."_

_Sam didn't say anything. He was frozen in shock and fear as he glared at this evil creature before him. He didn't know how he had gotten here, but he knew what was probably about to happen now that he was._

_"__What's the matter, Sam?" Lucifer asked with a charming smile, turning to face him. "Is something wrong?"_

_"__How…how are you here?" Sam got out, hating himself for the panic clouding his mind and closing up his throat. "You're in the cage."_

_"__Physically, yes," the devil sighed. "But Beelzebub is making good progress. He just broke another seal, and there are cracks starting to form in the cage's defenses. A bit of my all-powerful consciousness was able to slip out, and I thought I'd visit my favorite human…"_

_Sam's head was spinning. This was bad, really bad. If Lucifer was able to enter his mind and give him visions now, four-and-a-half months from being freed, who knew what he could do as more seals were broken?_

_"__Of course, this is taking a lot of strength out of me, so I won't be able to be with you twenty-four-seven like I'd like to," Lucifer continued airily, and Sam felt a bit of relief. But then the devil gave him a vicious smile and said, "So I'll just have to really make this visit count."_

_"__What do you want?" Sam snarled, trying to be brave._

_"__Just to catch up!" Lucifer said innocently, plopping down in the seat Dean usually occupied. "Come on, Sam. There's no need to be nasty. How've you been?"_

_"__Fantastic," Sam snapped. "And I'd like to keep it that way, so I would like it if you would leave."_

_"__Rude, Sam," Lucifer scolded him. "And not only are you being rude to me, you're lying! I know for a fact that only a few months ago, your brother died and became a demon, and your little friend—Juliet Carters, isn't it?—sold her soul for him. Now, that doesn't sound like a 'fantastic' time to me, but…"_

_"__It's Julie," was Sam's reply._

_"__My apologies," Lucifer amended. "Sounds like a real sweet girl. Too bad, isn't it? And you and I both know there's no way to save her soul. Well, that's not entirely true."_

_Sam frowned. He knew the devil was just baiting him, but he had to ask. "What are you talking about?"_

_"__I could save her," his enemy shrugged nonchalantly._

_"__You could-" Sam stopped, shocked. How had he not thought of this?_

_"__Well, duh. I mean, come on, Sam! I invented selling your soul! And I could break her deal by snapping my fingers. In fact, you just say the word, and I'll save your friend, and I'll promise that she stays safe through all of this. I can do the same for your angel buddy, Castiel, even though he did make a Molotov cocktail out of my brother. And any old friends you want brought back, Bobby Singer, Ellen and Jo Harvelle, even dear old Mom and Dad…give me a name, and I'll bring them all back, and set them aside. You can have everyone you love safe and happy. Just say the word."_

_"__And I assume the word is yes to you possessing me?" Sam sighed._

_"__Well, obviously," the devil sighed. "But, think about it, Sam. It's not so bad. You and I can work together, and you'll be treated like royalty, ruling the world along with me. We can make a change for the better, fix the mess this world has become. And you can be back with everyone you've ever loved. It's a better deal than anyone else would give you."_

_"__You're leaving out the part where you destroy the world and don't keep any of those promises because you're Lucifer," Sam spat. "Did you really think I was that stupid? I know you, I know you too well. I know what you'll really do if I let you take over."_

_"__Don't you think you're being a little overdramatic, Sam? Just because I'm the father of lies, that doesn't mean I can't keep a deal. Besides, I reward those who help me, so why would I trick you?" He winked at Sam. "Even if you did throw us both back in the cage…if you would just say yes again, I'd save them, all of them, and give you everything you want."_

_Sam frowned. "You'd spare all of them, everyone I've ever loved?"_

_"__Of course," the most evil creature in all of existence said with a smile._

_"__What about Dean?" he asked. "I noticed you left him off the list."_

_"__Come on, Sam," Lucifer sighed. "You and I both know what Dean's role has to be in all of this. But you get everybody else. Mom, Dad, Jessica, your Julie friend, everyone you've ever loved safe and sound…"_

_"__But not Dean," Sam repeated. Lucifer stared him down, and Sam found he was able to hold his gaze for a long time. Then he snapped, "Come on, Lucifer. You really think I'd make any kind of deal with you if you weren't going to save my brother?"_

_"__You'd blow all that for one guy?" Lucifer snapped back. "Damn, Sammy. Do you even realize how unhealthy and codependent you two are?"_

_"__Yes," the hunter shrugged, uncaring. "But it's not just him that I'm saying no for. It's the billions of people you would slaughter if I said yes to you." Lucifer sighed and rolled his eyes. "Did you really expect that to work?"_

_"__Nope," the devil admitted. "But I was hopeful you'd gotten smarter since we were last together. Clearly, you haven't, so I guess I'll have to try a new tactic then."_

_Sam frowned, uncertain what to expect. And then he heard him._

_"__Sammy? You in here?" his older brother called, and Sam looked up, trying to swallow his horror, as Dean walked into the library. "There you are. Hey, I was wondering-"_

_Dean stopped abruptly, spotting Lucifer. For a second, he was frozen, and then he had his gun out and pointed at the devil. Dean moved quickly in-between Sam and Lucifer, glaring at the monster before him._

_"__Sammy, get out of here," Dean growled protectively, staring Lucifer down and daring him to try and make a move on his little brother._

_"__Why are you doing this?" Sam asked Lucifer coldly._

_"__Doing what?" he asked innocently. "I'm not doing anything. I'm sitting here in fear of big brother and his scary gun!"_

_"__Sammy, move!" Dean snapped. "Go get Jules, get her someplace safe."_

_"__Where are you going to find that's safer than here, Dean Winchester?" Lucifer asked calmly, amused. "Where are you going to be safe from me?"_

_Dean just glared at him. "Sam, come on! Go! Don't worry about me, just make sure you and Jules get out okay." When Sam still didn't move, Dean snapped, "The hell are you waiting for? Get out of here!"_

_"__Sam's just being smart," Lucifer informed Dean. "There's no point in trying to run from me. He knows I'll just stop him."_

_Dean must not have liked that much. Because in answer he shot Lucifer in the forehead and roared, "Sammy, go!"_

_This felt so real that Sam really did turn and take a couple of steps towards the door. But he hadn't gotten more than four or five feet away before he heard Dean cry out in pain, and he whirled around._

_Lucifer had his brother in a headlock, and the bullet hole in his forehead was healing as Sam watched. Sam wanted to attack Lucifer when he saw the jagged blade that had been driven into his brother's shoulder and the blood dripping down his arm as he struggled futilely against the devil._

Not real_, Sam told the rising panic in him. _This isn't real, just a vision. Lucifer doesn't have Dean. Dean is back at the real bunker, safe. It's not real. Not real…

_It sure felt real, though._

_"__Say the magic word and I'll let him go, Sam," Lucifer said brightly._

_"__Sammy, no…" Dean groaned. "Run…"_

_"__This isn't real," Sam said in as stable a voice as he could muster. "You aren't really here, and neither is Dean. Hell, I'm not even here!"_

_"__No? Then I'm sure you won't mind me doing this," Lucifer said calmly, and then he drove his blade into Dean's side, making sure not to pierce any absolutely vital organs. He obviously wasn't going to kill Dean, or this imaginary Dean, quickly._

_Dean screamed through gritted teeth, his eyes squeezed shut. Sam had to bite back a thousand angry, desperate words when he saw the ragged, bloody hole in his brother's side. All he had to do was say yes, and Lucifer would stop hurting Dean…_

_"__Do you want me to stop, Sam? Because I can. Just say-"_

_"__No!"_

_"__Alright then," Lucifer said, seeming frustrated for the first time. Without another word, he suddenly flipped Dean onto a nearby table and slashed his right arm open, a six inch, deep gash running down his arm. Dean cried out again, and Sam finally broke down and yelled his brother's name, lunging forward to help._

_"__Sammy, no…please…" Dean choked out. "Just go. Run. Leave me here."_

_Sam knew his imaginary brother was right. This wasn't really Dean. If he left this room, there was nothing Lucifer could do, besides continue to torture this vision of Dean. But the real Dean was okay right now, unlike Sam, and he needed to get out._

_"__I'm sorry," Sam whispered to his brother, and he turned and started to leave._

_"__Walk out that door, and your brother will pay, Sam!" Lucifer warned him._

_"__That's not really my brother," Sam replied, continuing to leave. "And as long as I'm alive, you're not laying hands on the real him."_

_"__You're right, this isn't your real brother, but there are other things at stake here," Lucifer spat. "Leave and our deal is off. You walk out that door, and Julie Carters is going to hell. You leave now and you doom that girl's soul for all of eternity, Sam."_

_This time, he really did hesitate. Lucifer could save Julie, Sam knew that. And if he left now, the devil would never spare her._

_For a moment, Sam thought of it. Of saying yes right now. Lucifer wouldn't rise for another four-and-a-half months, and they still stood a chance of stopping him. If they could stop him, and Julie's soul was still saved, then everything would be okay! He thought of the look on Julie's face when she realized that she was saved, imagined Dean laughing in relief, picking her up and spinning her around and then kissing her, hugging Sam gratefully-_

_And then he imagined if they failed to stop Beelzebub. He imagined Dean's face when Lucifer rose and was able to walk right into Sam's body. He imagined all the innocent people who would die…_

_He knew what he had to do. _I'm sorry, Julie_, Sam thought guiltily, and then he walked out of the room, ignoring Lucifer's angry threats behind him and Dean's pained screams as the devil took out his frustration on Sam's brother…_

And then suddenly Sam was waking up again. But this time he was lying on a shiny, wooden floor, and there were half a dozen people talking loudly over the top of each other in worried voices. Someone started shining a bright light into Sam's eyes, and he flinched and tried to sit up, pushing everyone away from him.

"Sir, I need you to calm down," a woman's professional voice ordered him. "Please lie still so we can make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine!" he snapped, trying to get up, but a couple pairs of hands pushed him down. "Hey! Leave me alone, I'm fine!"

"Sir, you just passed out and have been unconscious for about twenty minutes," the woman told him, and she stopped trying to shine a light into his eyes. She was clearly a nurse. "If you could just lie still, an ambulance will be here soon-"

"I don't need an ambulance," he snapped. "How many times do I have to tell you, I'm fine?"

Several people started talking loudly again, but then a voice rang out over all of them. "Hey! Didn't you hear the guy? He's fine! Now everybody move so I can get to my brother."

Sam smiled a little at the familiar voice of his overprotective brother. As his vision finally came into focus, he saw three medical professionals hovering around him, as well as his snooty waiter from before, the restaurant manager, and Leah, who looked scared out of her wits. Poor Leah. But then Dean was pushing through all of them, despite the nurse's protests, and kneeling down next to Sam.

"You okay, Sammy?" Dean asked quietly, trying to keep his voice steady. His eyes blazed as he looked his brother over for injuries, and Sam knew he really wanted someone to attack for this. Well, unless he felt like going into the cage and fighting Lucifer…

"Sir, I need you to step aside," the nurse tried again. "This man is in need of medical attention, and-"

"No, he's not," another familiar voice said, and Sam looked up to see that Julie had pushed through the crowd as well and was standing protectively nearby. "He was probably just suffering from a flashback. Sam used to serve in the army, and he's seen some pretty rough stuff. Sometimes it can overwhelm him, and he'll pass out for a few seconds. Still, I don't think he hurt himself when he fell, and he isn't showing any signs of a concussion, so I think he should be fine to return home with us."

"And who are you?" one of the male nurses asked suspiciously.

"His sister-in-law," Julie said, putting a hand protectively on Sam's shoulder. "And a nurse, as well. Believe me, I know a lot more about this guy and whether or not he needs medical attention than you do."

The nurses did not look like they agreed, but Dean didn't care. He wedged his shoulder under Sam's arm and helped his brother to his feet. "You alright, Sammy?" he asked, concerned. "Think you can stand on your own?"

"Yes," Sam sighed, rolling his eyes and stepping away to stand on his own. "I keep telling everyone, I'm _fine_."

The nurses checked Sam for a concussion, but he really was fine, at least physically. Finally, they allowed him to go home, making Dean and Julie promise to call the hospital if he showed any signs of not being one-hundred-percent. Dean and Julie assured them they would (although they wouldn't) and left the restaurant with Sam. The two of them forgot to even check to see if Leah was following until they got to the car, but thankfully she had.

"What happened in there?" Leah asked, concerned, when they reached the parking lot, where Dean had hastily parked one of the classic cars from the bunker's garage next to the Impala.

Dean looked over at Sam, who had fallen silent. "We can talk about it later," he muttered. "For now, let's just get this guy home." He looked at the two cars. "Okay, Leah, can you take this other car back to the bunker? I'll take Sam home in my Baby." He hesitated and then added, "Jules, why don't you go with Leah to make sure she doesn't get lost?"

Julie nodded. "Okay. But you're talking with me on the phone the whole time," she warned Sam, and he nodded.

Suddenly, Julie hugged Sam tightly, and he closed his eyes and hugged her back as well. "Thank God you're okay, Sam," Julie muttered, clinging tightly to her best friend.

"Well, physically, at least," he sighed.

Leah watched Sam hug Julie and press his lips to the top of her head for a moment before letting her go. It wasn't a romantic gesture, but for some reason it bothered Leah a little. It bothered her that Julie had been the one comforting Sam and defending him and not her. It bothered her that Sam was hugging Julie and comforting Julie now, and not Leah.

When Sam and Julie pulled apart, Sam noticed Leah watching them. "You okay?" he asked her, genuinely concerned.

She nodded. What else was she supposed to do? Say that she was a bit jealous? Say that she felt scared and useless and out of her depth, like she had since the day she moved in with them? Say that she was starting to realize she didn't belong here with these dangerous, troubled men like Julie did?

The first thing Julie did when they got into the car was tell Leah about how Beelzebub was trying to raise Lucifer. She didn't give Leah time to even try to process it, though; she just called up Sam and sat there on the phone with Sam while Leah drove. Both phones were on speaker so all four of them could talk, but Leah never said a word. There wasn't anything she could say to actually help, since Sam was telling them how Lucifer was growing stronger and now could come into his mind for brief periods of time and threaten him. She was so out of her depth that she had nothing to say.

Dean and Julie, however, had a hundred things to say. Dean growled out questions about what Lucifer had done to Sam, and Sam confessed that Lucifer had tortured a fake Dean to try to get to Sam. Dean then snarled threats and promises to make Lucifer pay for hurting his brother, but they all knew they were empty threats. There was nothing Dean, a mere human, could do to Lucifer besides maybe stop his rise.

Julie asked a lot of questions, about Lucifer's threats and offers. Sam eventually admitted that Lucifer had offered to save Julie's soul if Sam said yes, and then admitted that he had walked out, throwing away any hope of saving her soul that way.

There was silence for a moment. Then Julie said, "Good."

"What?" Sam asked in disbelief. "Julie, he could have saved your soul!"

"In return for possessing you and destroying the world? Come on, Sam! You know you made the right choice."

"Yeah, yeah, I just…I'm sorry," Sam's voice came softly. "I wanted to be able to save you, Julie, and…"

"I know," Julie said in a soft, gentle, sad voice. Leah didn't like how intimate their conversation was, especially since she and Dean could hear everything they were saying. "I know, Sam. I wish you could, but…it's okay."

"No, it's not," Sam said coldly, and after that they fell silent. They reached the bunker, and the four of them met back up at the main table. Dean dragged an entire cooler of beer out of the kitchen and placed it on the table.

"We're going to want that," he said flatly, pulling a beer out for himself.

Sam grabbed two beers, and tossed one over to the girls. Leah put a hand out, assuming it was for her, but it was clearly for Julie, who caught it deftly. Sam saw Leah standing there expectantly and quickly threw her a beer, but Leah still felt embarrassed and a little jealous.

Sam sat down at the table, and Julie sank into the chair to his right. Leah hesitated before sitting to his left. Dean was far too upset to sit and paced back and forth, drinking his beer. Once he'd finished the first one, he snapped, "So what does this change?"

"Nothing, really," Sam pointed out. "I mean, it means that Lucifer can mess with me a bit, and that Michael might start doing the same to you, Dean, but it doesn't change anything else."

"We've still got to figure out Beelzebub's next move and stop him," Julie muttered.

"Cas and Crowley are on that," Sam answered. "Hopefully they can find something. We can look through these books for any things that might give us clues on these other secret seals or whatever, but I feel like we would have come across it already if it was here."

Dean and Julie both nodded and murmured in agreement. Leah watched the three of them interact and plan, feeling like an outsider, an audience member. It wasn't like they were _trying _to shut her out. She was just starting to realize that maybe she really didn't belong with these three tough, experienced, strong, dangerous hunters, trying to save the world. Maybe this wasn't where she should be right now…

Leah sat in silence and listened and watched as the three older, more experienced hunters began to plan and think out loud. They bounced ideas for seals off of each other, discussed people or even monsters that might be helpful, even suggested putting Apollyon back together to see if she knew anything, but deciding that wasn't worth the risk of her getting free. After an hour or so, they finally decided that for now the best thing was just to get some rest and worry about all this tomorrow. Leah watched Dean squeeze his brother's shoulder and assure him things were going to be alright, and then she watched Julie squeeze Sam's hand reassuringly and assure him that he had done the right thing in not saying yes to Lucifer, even though he could have saved her.

Sam nodded at the two of them, the two people closest to him, the two people he loved most. Leah watched Dean and Julie leave the room together, watched Dean take Julie's hand in his and squeeze it reassuringly like she had for Sam. She watched the way Sam stared after the two of them, and knew that he would probably never look at her like he did them.

She didn't know what was wrong with her. Just a few hours ago, leaving on their date, she had been so happy, feeling so good about her and Sam. The guy cared about her a lot, and things were going well. She really liked him, more than she'd like anyone in…well, probably her whole life. But something had happened, as she watched Sam collapse and lie there, twitching, trapped in some nightmare. It had felt like such a normal date, and she'd been having a lot of fun, thinking how much she liked this. But then that had happened, that jarring reminder that Sam wasn't normal, and neither was she.

But Leah couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't _this _kind of weird. Sure, she could hunt evil things. But she wasn't like these people. She couldn't take on a couple dozen Amazons without breaking a sweat. She couldn't talk down medical professionals like they had in the restaurant. She definitely couldn't sit there and plan how to stop the rise of Lucifer. Hell, she couldn't even process that! The idea that her boyfriend was also Lucifer's vessel? Leah couldn't wrap her head around it. And yet to these people, that was just a fact, and they seemed far too calm when they talked about Sam getting possessed by the devil.

Sam looked up at Leah and saw how pale and distant she looked. "You okay?" he asked her uncertainly, getting up.

After a moment, she shook her head.

"I know," Sam sighed, walking over and hugging her. She barely hugged him back. "I'm sorry. We didn't want to scare you with all this."

Well, she was definitely scared. And completely out of her depth. She hunted ghosts, not _the devil_! She saved a couple innocent people, not the _entire planet_!

"So…the devil's inside of your head?" Leah asked slowly when he pulled away.

"Not right now!" Sam said quickly. "And not most of the time. It sounded like it took him a lot of effort to do it that one time, so hopefully it won't be too often."

"Okay," Leah said slowly, trying to wrap her head around everything she had just learned. And she had thought he had finally told her everything…

"Okay?" Sam asked uncertainly.

"Okay," she repeated, forcing a smile for him.

Sam took Leah's hand like Dean had Julie's, and they walked to their bedroom together in silence. Sam changed into sleep clothes and crawled under the covers before passing out. Leah changed into pajamas and sat down on the bed next to him, studying his sleeping face. He was a very handsome guy, and a very sweet, caring, intelligent one, too. And she really liked him.

But as Leah sat there, watching Sam Winchester sleep, she couldn't shake the feeling that she didn't really belong here with him.


	58. Chapter 58

**Chapter Fifty-Eight**

The next morning, Julie woke up feeling extremely well-rested and smiled gratefully at the angel sitting in a chair nearby.

She and Dean had called Cas last night and filled him on Sam's vision of Lucifer and how Beelzebub had broken yet another seal. The angel had seemed reasonably worried and been even more frustrated that he was finding no leads. Julie had figured Cas would just head back to heaven, but he admitted there was nothing for him to do there at the moment, and had stayed on earth with Dean and Julie to make sure they each had a peaceful, dreamless night of sleep. Dean had protested, saying it was creepy for Cas to just sit there watching them sleep, and the angel had replied, "I used to do it all the time, and it didn't seem to bother you."

Of course, that hadn't gone over well, Castiel admitting he used to watch Dean sleep. Julie had ignored their bickering and gratefully accepted a night of sleep without visions of hellhounds and Beelzebub torturing her filling her mind. And now, as she sat up and saw Dean passed out next to her, a peaceful expression on his face, she guessed that he had given in, too.

Julie slipped out of bed in a t-shirt and cotton shorts. She usually tried to wear more modest sleep clothes when Cas was around to help her rest, since the angel didn't seem to appreciate her skimpy shorts and tank tops as much as Dean did. Castiel had been staring absently at the wall, lost in thought, but when he noticed that Julie was up, he smiled a little at her.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked her quietly, trying not to wake Dean.

She nodded. "Thanks, Cas. Really. You have no idea how much I needed that." It was bad enough having to get up and know the apocalypse was coming and her time on earth was running out without a fitful night of nightmares and very little sleep.

"Should I wake him?" Castiel frowned, studying Dean.

Julie watched his sleeping form for a moment. "No," she sighed. "Let him sleep. He really needs it."

Cas nodded. Julie started to leave the room, assuming he would follow her, but when she reached the door and looked back, the angel was still sitting there, studying her boyfriend with a troubled expression. Julie sighed and left the room, leaving Cas to worry over Dean. For the past six years or so, Dean had been Cas's…well, pretty much everything. The angel had fallen from heaven, abandoned his calling, killed his siblings, and fought dozens of battles for Dean. Dean was Castiel's best friend, and vice versa, and Julie knew how much it must hurt Cas to see how much pain his friend was in. Of course, Dean was good at hiding it, but Sam, Julie, and Cas could see how hard this all was on him. So Julie left Cas in her bedroom to worry over Dean.

She walked into the kitchen to make some coffee and saw Leah already there, her long, dark hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun. "Oh, hey, Leah," Julie said, smiling at the younger girl. "You're up early."

"So are you," Leah pointed out, getting out another mug for Julie.

"Touché," Julie smirked. "Where's Sam?"

"Sleeping," Leah sighed. "Castiel came in last night and helped him go to sleep or something. I don't know."

"He did? Great," Julie said, relieved and grateful. "After seeing Lucifer again, he was probably going to get some rough nightmares. Thank God for Cas."

"Yeah," Leah muttered, and Julie noticed that something seemed a bit off with her. "Where's Dean?"

"Sleeping, too," the older girl smirked slightly. "Cas is watching over him, which, as I say it out loud, sounds really creepy."

That got a little smile out of Leah. Julie sighed as she filled her mug of coffee. "Leah, how are you doing with all of this? I know it sure as hell can't be easy to take in, the fact that your boyfriend is Lucifer's one true vessel."

"Yeah. No. It's not easy."

Julie shook her head a little. "I'm sorry, Leah. I really am. I love Sam, and there's nothing I want more than for him to find a nice girl and be able to happy with her. I think you're a great girl, and I know that you definitely would make him happy…but everything going on right now is going to keep you two from ever really being happy."

"I'm starting to realize that," Leah sighed, and then the two of them were silent. Julie usually never ran out of things to say, but there was nothing to say after that.

Thankfully, they could hear voices coming towards the kitchen. Julie recognized Dean's voice as he snapped, "But, come on, man! You gotta admit that's creepy!"

"It didn't seem to bother Julie," Cas answered. "And you two were sleeping. It wasn't like you were doing anything more _intimate…_"

"Oh, god, Cas, why would you say that?!" Dean cried as he and his best friend entered the kitchen, and Julie was amused to see him blushing furiously.

"You okay there?" she asked Dean, who looked hilariously embarrassed and uncomfortable.

"No," he mumbled, and Julie laughed and pulled him in for a hug. Cas stared at her, wide-eyed.

"I'm not sure what I did wrong," the angel said. "It didn't seem to bother _you_ that I stayed to watch over you two while you slept."

"Yeah, well, Dean's got to be all macho to keep up his reputation," Julie smirked, patting her boyfriend reassuringly on the back. "Just ignore him."

"Hey!" Dean protested, pulling away, but she just laughed at him. "Am I really the only one who thinks it weird that an angel was watching me sleep all night?"

"Yes," Julie said. "Now be quiet and drink your coffee." She pushed her own mug into his hands and poured herself a new one.

Castiel looked around. "Should I wake Sam, since everyone else is up?"

"Don't worry about it," another voice said in a thick, half-asleep voice, and Sam walked into the kitchen, pushing his shaggy brown hair out of his face.

Leah swallowed. He looked so good, even half-asleep. He was wearing a t-shirt, and it was showing off his large biceps, and his hair was adorably messy from sleep. She wanted to kiss him until he was fully awake. She wanted to be alone with him, together in their bedroom, just the two of them, nothing else mattering.

But things were different now. He had the devil and the apocalypse to worry about, and she knew a lot more about him than she had ever really wanted to know.

Sam met her eyes and his mouth tried to smile, but just ended up twitching. "How you doing, Sammy?" Dean asked, concerned, and Sam turned away from Leah to talk to his brother.

"I'm…" Sam tried to say good, or okay, or even just fine, but nothing would come out.

"Sounds about right," Julie muttered. "Here." She handed him her mug of coffee. He started to protest, but she forced it into his hands, closing his fingers around it for him, and then turned and poured herself a third mug.

Leah watched that little interaction and studied the way Sam stared at Julie sadly as she turned away. Leah felt a little jealousy rise up in her, but it wasn't that she was worried that Sam might love Julie more than her. Although he probably did, but in a different way. That was the problem. Leah was starting to realize that, while Sam clearly did have feelings for her and really like her, he could probably never love and trust and depend on her like he did Dean and Julie. Dean was his whole life, and Julie was his best friend. They'd been through so much together, and sometimes Leah felt like she was third wheeling around them, even though they were technically two couples.

Before Leah could keep dwelling on her insecurities though, they heard the far-off sound of someone knocking on the front door. The four hunters and angel exchanged looks, and then Sam, Dean, and Julie set down their coffee and set out for the door. Cas was right behind them, and Leah trailed after them uncertainly.

Dean and Sam picked up guns on their way to the door, and Julie picked up an angel blade and hid it behind her as Dean reached the door and looked through the peephole to see who was out there. Suddenly, he relaxed and rolled his eyes.

"Great," he muttered as he unlocked the door and opened it wide. "What do you want, Crowley?"

Sam, Julie, and Cas all relaxed as a rather short, dark-haired, bearded man in fancy, black clothes walked smoothly into the bunker. "Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," he quipped in a British accent. "Did I wake you all?"

"No," Julie said flatly. "But I haven't had my morning coffee yet, so you're going to want to get to the point."

"Rough day yesterday?" Crowley guessed with a smirk. "You're usually the chipper one."

"Yeah, it was," Julie replied flatly. "And try rough past seven months."

"In that case, I'll get to the point," the demon smirked. "You know how Beelzebub's been breaking seals?"

"Yeah, we do," Sam sighed. "And he broke another one yesterday."

Crowley frowned. "How did you-?"

"Lucifer told me," Sam said flatly.

"Lucifer—okay, I'm just going to accept that and move on," Crowley sighed, knowing better than to try to understand the Winchester's crazy lives. "Anyway, I've received some inside information, and apparently he plans to break another one tonight. I've got a location and a time, but I need some backup to stop him."

"Wait, you're serious?" Dean asked darkly. "But he just broke one yesterday!"

"Well, he's got a lot of seals to break if he wants to be able to open the cage when Juliet here dies," the former king of hell replied.

"_If _she dies," Dean growled. "We're not letting that happen."

"Whatever you say, Squirrel," Crowley sighed. "Anyway-" Suddenly, he stopped, finally spotting Leah, who was watching them in confusion.

"Now, who is this lovely young lady?" he smirked flirtatiously. "Is _this _one with you, Moose?" he asked.

"Yeah," Sam said, stepping protectively closer to Leah.

"'Moose'?" she asked him softly, confused. He just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Now, how did this happen?" Crowley asked with a smirk, studying the two of them. "Obviously, Julie got with Dean because of a couple pity dates, and then she couldn't get out of it, but I want to hear this story."

Dean rolled his eyes and snapped, "We've got bigger issues than that, Crowley. Like the fact that apparently Beelzebub will be breaking _another _seal in just a few hours!"

"We have to stop him," Sam said darkly. "Lucifer can_not _be allowed to get out."

"I'm with you there, Moose," the demon sighed. "But I'm going to need some backup. So, Castiel, if you wouldn't mind finding some angels who feel similarly about Lucifer rising, I'm going to need more help in stopping Beelzebub than just a few humans and their pet angel."

Cas ignored that last bit and turned to Dean, frowning. "I should go to heaven," he told his best friend. "I'll find Hannah and get as many angels as we can spare and return here as soon as I can."

Dean nodded and squeezed his friend's shoulder. "Alright. Just…make sure they know how dangerous this is. I don't want anyone dying in this, but if somebody does, they better know what for and choose it themselves."

Cas nodded in agreement and disappeared with the sound of fluttering wings. That left Leah and the other three hunters alone with a demon, and Leah was really not okay with that, even though Sam had told her that Crowley was on their side.

Crowley was eying the four of them. "You three will be useful in this fight," he said after a moment, nodding towards Sam, Dean, and Julie. "Especially you, Moose. These demons are forbidden from killing you—they are just to take you prisoner—and you can use that to your advantage. But what about this one?" he asked suspiciously, nodding towards Leah, who flinched. "Can she fight?"

"She's a new hunter," Dean explained after a moment of silence. "She _can _fight, but probably not well enough for this battle."

Leah opened her mouth to answer that, offended, but Sam spoke over her. "Oh, she's not fighting," he said firmly.

"Why not?" she snapped. "If everyone else is, why can't I?"

"Because this is our lives, Leah," Sam explained gently. "Killing demons is our job, and we've been doing it for years, and we're pretty damn good at it. But you're still new. You don't have the experience or training we have, and I'm not going to risk you getting hurt."

"Do you really think you guys are that much better than me?" Leah snapped, offended even though she secretly agreed with him.

Dean and Julie exchanged nervous looks. "It's not your fault, Leah," Julie said gently after a moment. "You're still new to this life. No one would expect you to be good enough to fight and kill demons yet."

For some reason, this conversation was really pissing Leah off. "You know what? So maybe I'm not as strong or experienced or good of a fighter as you guys, but I can still fire a gun and stab people. I know the exorcisms well, and I'm getting the feeling you guys are going to need all hands on deck."

"You're not fighting!" Sam insisted.

"But, Sam-" she protested.

"No!" he snapped, and she saw desperation in his eyes. "You could get really hurt, Leah, and I can't let that happen."

"Yeah, well, so could you, Sam! And you're not going to go out there and fight and maybe die without me."

Sam looked at her, frustrated, and then looked to Dean and Julie for help. They both shrugged. "Sorry, Sam," Julie said. "But if Dean was trying to pull that, I would insist on going, too."

Finally, unable to believe he was doing this, he looked to Crowley for help. But the demon just shrugged indifferently. "I don't care what she does. And besides, she's right. We need all hands on deck to stop Beelzebub."

Sam sighed, defeated, and turned back to Leah who looked half smug and half terrified now that she had won and was going into this fight. "Fine. Just…don't get hurt. Please."

Leah's heart ached when she saw the pain and worry in Sam's eyes. She stepped close to him and hugged him tightly. "I won't," she said, fully aware that she could not guarantee that. "I promise."

* * *

Dean had been sitting here for an hour, crouched down behind a thick clump of bushes. He was hiding along with a few angels and Sam, Leah, Julie, and Crowley on the outskirts of a cemetery where one of his long-lost ancestors was buried. Apparently, Beelzebub needed the bones of their ancestor to complete a spell that would break yet another seal, and they had to stop him. It was a chilly November night, and a biting wind kept blowing through their little hiding place, freezing his skin even through a t-shirt, button-down shirt, and an old hunting jacket.

Next to him, Julie shifted slightly and blew her warm breath on her icy hands before rubbing them together. Dean watched her for a moment. She was wearing an old, ripped pair of jeans, a blue wool sweater, and a tan hunting jacket over that, and her blond curls were whipping in the wind. She looked very cold, and so beautiful. Dean found himself realizing how naturally beautiful she was without trying even more now that he knew he had a time limit with her. It seemed that only when he was about to lose her did he realize how truly amazing she was.

"You look cold," he said softly, and she looked over at him.

"You do, too," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but I'm a man," Dean said, smirking slightly. "I have to be tough." She opened her mouth to protest against that sexist statement, but he quickly said, "Come here," and dragged her closer to him. He wrapped his large jacket around her as best he could and still be wearing it, leaving her pressed tightly against his chest. Dean found her icy hands and took them in his own, trying to rub some life back into them. It was a pretty hopeless task, since his hands were just as cold. Still, Julie couldn't help smiling a little at his naturally protective instincts from a lifetime of taking care of his little brother kick in.

Julie caught his hands as he tried to rub some warmth into her hands, stopping Dean, and then laced her fingers with his. "I'm okay, Dean. Really." He tried to protest, but she leaned in and kissed him briefly with cold lips. "I'm fine."

Dean smirked slightly. "I don't think you've quite convinced me," he said suggestively.

She rolled her eyes. "Nice try, Winchester."

"No, really! My lips are freezing! I need help warming them up!"

"Could you two keep your hands to yourself over there?" Crowley's irritable voice hissed from a few feet away in the shadows. "Any second now we could be fighting for our lives."

Dean opened his mouth to shoot back a retort, but Julie said quickly, "He has a point."

Dean sighed in defeat, but Julie stayed snuggled up close to him as they waited in the dark. Her head rested on his chest, right over his heart, listening to the soothing, steady beat as they waited.

Dean watched his brother and Leah. They were a few feet away from Dean and Julie, sitting in wait for the demons to appear. Dean frowned when he saw that the two of them were sitting a couple feet away from each other and not looking at each other. He had noticed that things between his brother and his new girlfriend had seemed a little distant and tense ever since Sam's vision of Lucifer, and he just hoped that things would work out. He didn't want Sam to have to lose yet another girlfriend.

Dean felt eyes on him and looked over to where the angels were standing in wait. There were eleven of them, and he recognized all of them from that horrible day when they had gone to fight Metatron and he had died and become a demon. Cas was staring at him sadly, but he quickly looked away when Dean looked up. Hannah was standing next to him, staring at the gravestone where one of Sam and Dean's long-lost ancestors lay. Still, Dean felt eyes on him, and then he noticed another angel staring at him and Julie—Jonah, who had once kidnapped Sam and Julie to get to Cas. He stared at the two of them, eyes narrowed in confusion and head cocked in a way that reminded Dean a bit of Cas himself.

When Dean met Jonah's eyes, the angel had the decency to quit staring. Julie didn't even notice, though, and she stayed where she was, snuggled up to Dean, wrapped in his jacket. Dean absently brushed his fingers through her blond curls. Then suddenly the wind picked up and blow her hair into his face.

Without a word, Dean and Julie pulled apart and shifted into crouches, ready to spring up and attack at a moment's notice. This powerful wind continued to blow, shaking the branches of nearby trees and whipping Julie's hair everywhere.

And then suddenly the wind stopped. Julie tightened her grip on the angel blade she was armed with, and Dean pulled out the demon-killing blade and fingered the holy water on his belt. The sixteen of them were completely silent, waiting.

And then suddenly three or four dozen figures all in black appeared in a circle around them. A burly man a few feet away from Dean smirked, "Surprise," and then the small army of demons attacked.

Immediately, everyone leapt into battle. Angels began to spar two or three demons at a time, slashing and stabbing with angel blades and trying to get close enough to smite the demons. Crowley fought off three demons on his own. However, most of the demons went after the four humans.

The second they realized it was an ambush, Dean and Julie went back-to-back and began to fight off seven demons at the same time. Dean splashed holy water onto the oncoming demons and Julie would spring forward and slice their throats while they were still recovering before quickly returning to Dean's side to help defend him. But it seemed that for every demon they killed, another two would spring up. They only seemed to be multiplying. There were now definitely more than four dozen demons here, and they had the element of surprise.

Sam fought off four demons at the same time, while Leah tried to fight off one. She was barely defending herself, and Sam was trying to cover her, but he was quickly becoming overwhelmed. Finally, the demon fighting Leah managed to disarm her, and went to stab her in the heart. She tried to twist away, but the demon's knife pierced her side and she screamed.

Sam slammed a demon into a tree and turned to stab another through the throat. Adrenaline was pumping through him, and dead demons were beginning to litter the ground around him. But just as he was starting to feel good about his fighting, he heard Leah scream in pain a couple feet away.

He turned to face her and saw a red-haired female demon pulling her knife out of Leah's side. The girl staggered and then fell, and Sam watched in horror as she put her hand to her side and it came away red with blood.

The female demon grinned savagely and raised her knife to finish Leah off. But an angry roar tore out of Sam's throat and he ran at the demon, plunging his knife into her chest again and again until she was past dead.

He didn't have time to be relieved, because another wave of demons was coming at him. He knew he couldn't take care of a wounded Leah and fight off these new demons, and he was about to accept the fact that he was about to die when Cas appeared next to him.

"I will defend her," the angel said grimly. "You take care of them."

Sam nodded gratefully, trying not to think about that pretty severe wound in Leah's side and just focused on taking all of his rage and pain out on these demons.

Meanwhile, Dean and Julie, who had been doing so well, were beginning to lose the battle. Four demons had descended on them at once. Julie slashed her angel blade at a female demon, but she was fast and danced away. Julie began to spar the female demon, and she was slowly led farther and farther away from Dean as she fought the strong, fast demon.

Meanwhile, Dean was fighting two large, burly demons at once. He tried to stab one in the heart but it moved and he only managed to stab its shoulder. As he pulled the knife out of the wounded demon, the other demon grabbed him in a headlock. As Dean struggled and fought against the demon that was slowly choking him, the wounded demon got up and prepared to stab Dean.

Julie finally managed to slit the female demon's throat, and she turned back to see Dean being choked, so weak he barely even kick or struggle anymore. A wounded demon was heading towards him with a murderous look in its eyes, holding a knife, and Julie knew she was about to watch Dean die.

"Dean!" she screamed in horror, and she was so focused on the man she loved she didn't even notice the fourth demon pull back his knife to stab her in the back.

Dean's vision was beginning to go fuzzy, but with his last bit of strength, he managed to reach the holy water on his belt and splash it on the demon choking it. The demon roared in pain and released him and he fell to his knees, trying to catch his breath. He saw another demon about to stab him, grabbed the demon-killing knife, and drove it up into the demon's ribcage.

The demon flashed with fire from inside and then collapsed. It fell just in time for Dean to watch a demon lunge forward to plunge a knife into his unsuspecting girlfriend's back.

"Jules!" he cried, but he would never get there in time.

Thankfully, someone else was closer.

Suddenly, someone threw themselves in-between the demon's angel blade and Julie. Dean watched in shock as the blade plunged into an angel's stomach. An angel he recognized.

Julie turned around as Jonah fell and stabbed the demon who had almost killed her. Once that demon fell, Dean became aware of the fact that nearly all the fighting had stopped. Hannah had just killed the demon who had been choking Dean, and only Crowley, Sam, and half a dozen angels were still fighting. All of the other demons had either been killed or wisely fled, knowing they would die.

Dean rushed to Julie's side. "You okay?" he asked, concerned.

She wasn't even listening. She sank to her knees and pulled Jonah's jacket off of him. She wadded it into a ball and pressed it against his stomach, which was bleeding heavily. The angel was struggling to suck in a good breath, and pain was etched into the lines of his face.

"Listen, Jonah, you're going to be okay," Julie said gently, but it was very clear he wasn't. That had been a fatal stab. Dean sank down next to Julie and watched the dying angel helplessly.

"Why did you do that?" Julie asked the angel softly.

"He…he loves you," Jonah got out, his eyes flicking to Dean for a moment. Dean and Julie both frowned, confused. "Everyone…knows it. He…needs…you. No one…needs…me."

Julie wanted to argue with him, but she had no proof that anyone needed this angel like Dean needed her. "I'm sorry…I hurt you," Jonah added, and his voice was beginning to fail. Julie knew he was referring to all that time ago, when he had kidnapped and tortured her and Sam to get Cas to surrender. He was a much different angel now than the one she had first met. He was dying for her.

"I forgave you a long time ago," she said softly, unsure why tears were beginning to sting her eyes.

The dying angel smiled very slightly. "I'm…glad…you…are…alive…" he got out very weakly. Scarcely had he got that last word out before his eyes closed and his last breath left his lungs.

Dean put his arms around Julie and let her bury her head in his shoulder until she got her emotions under control. "Thank you," Dean told the dead angel softly, his throat tight with emotion.

The fighting finally stopped, and the cemetery was silent for a moment. Dean relaxed, thinking everything was over. And then he heard Sam yell desperately, "Leah!"

Julie lifted her head and she and Dean turned to see Sam rushing to his girlfriend's side. The girl was lying on the ground, clutching her side and moaning in pain, and there was a growing pool of blood beside her.

"Oh, god," Julie breathed, and then the two hutners were running to her side.

"What happened?" Dean barked when they reached Leah and saw the wound.

"A demon stabbed her," Castiel said flatly, sinking to his knees next to the girl. Sam was clutching her hand tightly and telling her that everything was going to be okay, but he looked like he doubted her believed it.

Cas gently reached out and touched Leah's side. She winced, but then his hand glowed with white light, and when the light faded, her side was whole once more.

"Thank God," Sam breathed, still clinging tightly to Leah's hand as she sat up.

"More like thank Cas," Dean muttered, clapping his friend on the shoulder.

The angel didn't reply. He looked dead tired and about to collapse. There was blood on his trench coat, his own blood, but wherever he had been wounded, it was now healed. Still, he looked like he needed a week-long nap.

Hannah appeared at his side, a bad bruise on the side of her face and blood on her hands. Her expression was dark. "Almost thirty demons dead," she reported. "And three angels dead."

"Who?" Cas asked, his expression heartbreaking.

"Jonah, Aaron, and Delilah," she reported flatly.

Cas's expression turned dark and angry. "This should not have happened. They knew we were coming, and they surprised us. And there was no Beelzebub to stop."

Slowly, the two angels and four humans turned to glare at Crowley, who was hovering nervously nearby.

"Don't look at me!" he cried. "I really thought there was a seal to stop!"

"Did you really?" Dean snapped, stepping angrily towards the demon. "Or did you just want to lead us into a trap?"

"What good would that do me?!" Crowley snapped. "I _need_ your help and I want Beelzebub dead. Besides, if I did want you dead, you would be. Come on, Squirrel. Use your brain."

"I wouldn't be taking that tone with us if I were you," Sam growled, stepping forward with his brother. "Considering three angels are dead and other people wounded because of you."

"I didn't know!" Crowley cried.

"Prove it," Dean snapped.

"How?" the demon shot back. He got no reply but many hateful glares. Finally, he realized he wasn't going to make any progress convincing them and just vanished.

Dean sighed when the demon disappeared. "We should have known better than to trust him."

"Well, I really don't think he knew about this," Julie said. "But whatever his inside sources are, they must really be Beelzebub's, not his, so he can't trust them anymore."

Everyone was silent then. "Well, there's no point in staying here," Sam pointed out. "There's obviously no seal. It was just a trap."

"I will take you four home," Castiel said flatly. "Hannah and the others will give my brothers and sister a proper burial and return to heaven."

Julie stepped forward and touched the clearly grieving angel's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Cas," she said softly.

His blue eyes met hers, and there was a lot of sorrow in them. "I'm sorry, too," he said sadly, and then the five of them took hands and vanished.

* * *

Sam wasn't sure why he felt so nervous as he walked into his bedroom. Leah was okay now. Cas had healed her wound and she was no longer in danger of dying or even bleeding. But somehow he knew walking into this room and talking to her for the first time since returning from that disastrous fight would not end well.

Sam's heart sank when he saw a large duffel bag on his bed and Leah digging through drawers and the closet, throwing her clothes into it. He stood in silence, watching her for a few seconds, and then finally just asked, "You're leaving?"

She stopped what she was doing and looked up to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry, Sam," she said after a moment, and she really did look sorry. "But I can't stay."

He took a step further into the room. "Why not?" Sam frowned.

"Because I…I don't belong here," Leah admitted.

"What? Leah, that's-" he started to protest.

"I don't!" she said over the top of him. "Sam, you and your brother and Julie… you guys are heroes. You fight armies of demons and come out on top, you save the world, you're friends with demons and angels, you fight Lucifer and try to stop demon deals. And I…I hunt ghosts. Occasionally lone monsters who can be taken out by one newbie hunter."

"We all started out somewhere," Sam pointed out. "I used to be just like you."

"And then people you loved died and you drank demon blood and slept with demons and were possessed by the devil and saved the world," she finished darkly. Sam flinched, hearing how awful his life sounded. "Sam…that's amazing stuff, it really is. Some of it really scary. And I…I can't do that. That's not my life."

Sam sighed. "I know. Our lives are crazy, and they're full of so much crap, and it usually ends messy. People around us get hurt, like you today. And I don't want to let that happen again But I also…I don't want you to go."

"I don't either," Leah admitted, brushing her dark hair out of her eyes to get a better look at Sam. "But I have to. You and Dean and Julie both killed half a dozen demons at least, and I nearly died trying to fight one. If that's not proof enough that I don't belong with you, than maybe the fact that I was absolutely useless in saving you from Amazons or helping with your visions of Lucifer is."

Sam swallowed. He knew she was right, but…he didn't want to have to say goodbye to another girlfriend.

Leah's face softened. "I'm sorry, Sam. I really am. I don't want to leave you. I…I care about you a lot, and I want to make this work, but-"

"Right now, it can't," he finished. "No, I get it. This was probably inevitable."

He helped her finish packing her few belongings and gave her a couple hundred dollars and a fake credit card and the keys to one of the cars in the garage they never used. He walked her to the car, not wanting to say goodbye but knowing it was time.

"Listen, Sam…" Leah said, setting her stuff in the car and turning to face him. She looked like she might cry. "If things ever work out…if Julie manages to get out of her deal and you guys stop Lucifer from rising…call me, okay? I think, if there just wasn't so much going on…I think there might be something here."

"Yeah, me too," he said with a slight smile, knowing he'd never call her. They probably weren't ever going to save Julie or stop Lucifer.

"And if you ever need anything, _anything_, please call me," she insisted.

"I will," he assured her. "And if you ever need help with a case, you know who to call."

She nodded, and then they were silent. Leah swallowed and then threw her arms around Sam. "I'll miss you," she whispered.

They pulled apart enough to kiss one last time, a long kiss that Sam wished could last forever. But in the end, she had to pull away. She had to go.

"Say bye to Dean and Julie for me," Leah said softly when she pulled away.

Sam nodded. "Take care of yourself, Leah."

"You too, Sam." She took one last long look at the handsome, brave, tough, smart, funny, kind hero she was leaving behind and got into the car. She started the car and rolled down the window, blinking back tears. Finally, she called out the window, "Bye, Sam."

He nodded at her, his eyes sad. She wanted to get out of the car and run to him, but she knew where she belonged, and it wasn't here with him.

So Sam watched, alone, as Leah drove out of the garage, somehow knowing that he would probably never be with her again.


	59. Chapter 59

**Chapter Fifty-Nine**

Julie woke from a long, restless night of nightmares a little after eight in the morning. She lay still in bed for a moment, trembling slightly, before she found Dean's arm in the tangled sheets around her and clutched it tightly. Feeling his warm skin under her fingers, she was able to shake off the residual images of demonic red eyes and yellow fangs tearing at her flesh.

Dean was lying on his stomach, passed out. He had drunk a lot of beer last night after yet another long, frustrating, pointless day of fruitless research, and she doubted he would wake up no matter what she did.

God, poor Dean. It had been six days since Leah had left, and Julie had mostly been worried about Sam these past few days. He had just had to say goodbye to yet another girlfriend, and he was also struggling with dark nightmares brought on by the looming threat of Lucifer rising. But while she fretted over her best friend, she sometimes forgot about the man she loved who was watching her time quickly run out, unable to do anything to stop it.

Poor Dean. She was almost down to only four months left, and it was killing him, having no idea how to help her or his brother or stop Beelzebub. Most of the time, Dean was okay, cracking jokes and talking and spending time with his brother and Julie, but then there were times like last night, when he just lost it. He just huddled down with a book of lore and a couple cases of beer and didn't say a word to anyone. Julie had tried to talk to him a bit, but had quickly realized he needed to be alone right now.

At least he had come to bed. When she had gone to sleep last night, he had still been in there, getting wasted and reading the same boring, unhelpful book he'd read twice before. But he must have finally given up and crawled into bed, and for that she was grateful.

Julie rolled over in bed and moved closer to Dean. He was warm, and her nightmare had left her shivering, so she shifted closer to his side and pressed her cheek against his shoulder, still clutching his arm. He was so out he didn't notice, and she lay like that for a while until she was done shivering and felt ready to face the world.

Julie got up and pulled a sweatshirt on over her tank top, pausing briefly on her way out of the room to kiss Dean's forehead. She let him sleep, knowing he could use it, and walked into the living room of the bunker, unsurprised when she found Sam sitting on the couch with a mug of hot coffee in front of him.

Sam looked like hell. He was paler than normal, and there were dark circles under his eyes. His shaggy hair was a mess, and there was more stubble on his jaw than usual. The worst part was the haunted, guilty look in his eyes as he stared at the wall, lost in thought.

Julie walked into the room and sat down beside him, snapping him out of whatever dark thoughts were filling his mind. "Rough night, huh?" she asked flatly, and he nodded.

"Were they Lucifer nightmares or just normal ones?" she asked carefully.

"I can't even tell anymore," Sam sighed. "They're just…nightmares."

"Can I ask what about?" Julie asked, careful to give him a way out if he needed one.

"First a memory of the cage," Sam sighed. "Cas took most of the memories from them, but I have a few left over, and that's enough to give me fuel for nightmares for the rest of my life." Julie nodded, thinking of her own horrific nightmares of hell and how she couldn't go back… "But it was just a memory, so I don't think it was really him causing it. Just my screwed up mind."

Julie put a hand on Sam's arm in a comforting gesture. Feeling a little comforted, Sam continued, "And then I dreamed about what might have happened if Leah had stayed and Beelzebub had attacked. So, basically, I watched her die."

Julie watched Sam sadly. "I'm sorry, Sam," she said softly. "I wish she hadn't had to go."

"Yeah, me too," he sighed. "But she needed too. She was only going to get hurt more if she stayed with us. Cas cloaked her, so she'll be near impossible for demons to find, and as long as she's not with us she'll be less of a target. Besides…I think it was getting a little too crazy around here for her. And I get that. I mean, she's a new hunter, and we're trying to save your soul and stop the devil from rising at the same time and it's just…it's a lot."

"Yeah, I know," Julie said. "But I still wish she could have stayed. I want you to be happy, Sam."

He turned his head to smile a little at her. "Thanks. And you know all I want is for you and Dean to finally just get to be happy like you deserve to."

"Yeah." Julie looked down.

"How are you doing? You've only got about four months left," Sam said gently.

"Not well," she shrugged. She didn't bother hiding things from Sam, since even if she tried, he would probably know. He knew her too well. "Neither is Dean."

"It's got to be awful for him," Sam sighed. "I remember how horrible it was being in his shoes when it was him who had sold his soul for me. I just really hope this time ends differently."

"Me too," Julie whispered, and Sam heard the fear in her voice and knew she must be imagining her deal ending up like Dean's had and her returning to hell. Sam took Julie's hand, knowing how much she needed comfort and just some physical contact right now.

Julie leaned into Sam's side and closed her eyes. They sat like that for a long time, and then eventually Sam got up and got Julie her own coffee. When he got back, she had turned on the television, and the two of them sat together, watching TV and trying to pretend that they were normal people with normal lives who weren't basically doomed.

* * *

Dean woke up with a bad headache. He could tell he was hungover, but it wasn't that bad. He was able to drag his body out of bed and into the bathroom in case he suddenly started vomiting. Thankfully, he never did, and he was able to strip yesterday's clothes off of him and step into the shower. He let the scalding hot water pour over his body for a long time, trying to focus on the steady rhythm of the pounding water and not how little time they had left before Julie went to hell and Lucifer rose.

Julie hadn't been in bed when he woke up. If she had, she would have been in here, fretting over Dean, giving him pain meds and going all nurse-mode on him. But it was after nine, and she had probably gotten up a while ago and was up with Sam, worrying over his little brother. She was such a protective, caring type of person, and she was living with two of the world's most screwed-up people, and sometimes it was hard for her to take care of both of them.

When Dean got out of the shower, he found himself wishing Julie was here. He wanted to see her up and moving, light in her blue eyes, not the bloody corpse being torn apart by hellhounds that he had been dreaming about. He wanted her to put her arms around him and tell him everything was going to be alright, even though it wasn't. When she lied to him, it was okay, because she was so convincing he was almost able to believe her.

Dean shook off those weak, selfish thoughts and grabbed a clean white towel. He dried himself off and then wrapped the towel around his waist to go into his bedroom and find some clothes. But the moment he stepped into his bedroom, there was the fluttering sound of wings, and then a dark-haired man in a trench coat was standing in front of him.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean cried, startled. Then he snapped, "Cas, what the hell?!" Suddenly, he was very glad the towel was securely wrapped. "Give me some warning next time!"

"You are indecent," the angel said, mildly surprised.

"Yeah, so get the hell out of here so I can get _decent_!" Dean snapped.

"I apologize, Dean," Castiel frowned. "I did not realize you were not clothed-"

"_Get out_, Cas!" Dean cried, using one hand to make sure the towel stayed up while he shoved his best friend towards the door with the other. He loved the guy, but he didn't think they'd reached _that _level of intimacy yet. In fact, he hoped they never did.

A minute later, Dean stepped out of his bedroom wearing a button-down plaid shirt and a pair of jeans, his hair still a little wet from his shower. Cas was waiting patiently by the door. "Are you comfortable speaking to me now?" he asked politely.

"Now that I'm not half-naked? Yeah, I feel a little better about it now," Dean snapped, but most of his annoyance and discomfort melted away into fondness when the angel cocked his head slightly, confused why Dean was so upset.

"What's up, Cas?" Dean sighed.

"Well…nothing is exactly 'up'," the angel said carefully, and Dean frowned. "Things were actually a bit slow up in heaven, and I wanted to come and see how you three were doing after that disastrous attempt to stop Beelzebub a few days ago. I see now that this was a bad time…"

"No, it's fine, Cas," Dean sighed. "Sorry. I'm just a bit jumpy is all. And a little hungover, too."

Before Dean could stop him, Castiel reached out and touched his forehead, and when his fingers touched him, Dean's head immediately cleared and his stomach quit churning. Dean sighed in relief. "Thanks, Cas. Now I just wish you had been here all the other times I've been hungover."

"I believe hangovers are a good thing," the angel informed him. "They are a sort of punishment to encourage humans not to get drunk."

"Yeah, well, they've never stopped me," Dean pointed out.

"That is true. I'm afraid nothing can stop _you_ from getting drunk from time to time, Dean."

Dean chuckled. "You're not wrong," he admitted. "And thanks for dropping by, Cas. It's good to see you."

"How have things been since Leah left?" the angel asked gently.

Dean sighed and ran a hand through his still damp hair. "Not so great. Sammy is handling it pretty well, I guess, but he already had enough to deal with to begin with. Still, I'm glad she'll be safer away from us."

Cas nodded in agreement. "And Julie?"

Dean looked down, and the angel's heart sank. The despair in Dean's eyes could not be a good sign.

"She's…_she's _actually doing pretty well, considering she's got four months to live," he finally got out.

"But you're not," Castiel finished flatly. The two of them were silent for a long moment, both knowing he was right.

"I'm doing all I can," Cas offered. "I've been searching everywhere I can for a way to save her, talking with all the angels to see if any of them could be of any help."

"Thanks, Cas," Dean said. "Really. Anything you can do to help is great. It's just…I'm starting to worry there is no way to save her."

"We still have time," his best friend said quickly. "And even if we can't find a way to save her, maybe if we can find a way to kill Beelzebub and stop him from raising Lucifer, that will get rid of her deal."

"I sure hope so," Dean muttered. Castiel watched as his friend ducked his head, took in the dead look in Dean's eyes, and made a decision.

"You don't mind if I stay here for a while, do you?" the angel asked.

"Of course not!" Dean said quickly, and Cas was gratified to see him perk up at the thought of his best friend staying around for a while. "Let's find Sam and Jules. They'll want to see you."

Dean and Cas walked through the bunker for a few minutes until they heard the TV on in the living room. When they entered the room, they saw Sam and Julie on the couch, watching the news. Julie was curled up next to Sam, but when she saw Dean and Cas come into the room, she leapt up and hurried over to them.

"Hey, Cas!" she said, surprised and excited. "What are you doing here?"

Sam appeared behind her, frowning slightly. "Is something wrong?"

"Does something always have to be wrong for me to visit you three?" the angel asked, only pretending to be offended.

Julie smiled. "Of course not. I'm glad you're here. And look, you finally got Sleeping Beauty out of bed."

"I got out of bed myself, thank you very much," Dean frowned, but he smiled slightly when Julie smirked and leaned into his side. His arm went around her and they settled into a comfortable position.

"We were about to get breakfast if you two want to join us," Sam said brightly.

"I could eat," Dean shrugged.

"Angels do not require food," Cas informed them.

"Well then, you can come talk with the humans that do," Julie replied with a teasing smile before the four of them went to the kitchen.

Castiel took off his trench coat and suit jacket, rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt, and sat down with the three humans as they ate plates full of toast and sausage. He caught them up on how the angels were trying to do all they could to stop the seals from being opened, but since they had no idea what the seals were, there wasn't too much they could do. However, to the best of their knowledge, no seals had been broken since about a week ago, when Lucifer got strong enough to get into Sam's mind. Cas spoke highly of his fellow angels, especially his lieutenant, Hannah, but he was very clearly worried about their chances of stopping Beelzebub from raising the devil.

In return, Sam, Dean, and Julie told Cas how they had been doing. Sam admitted that Leah leaving had been rough on him, but was for the better. And Castiel already knew that Julie's deal was affecting Dean badly, and could only guess it was adding to Sam's stress and pain.

As they finished eating breakfast, Cas also talked briefly about the three angels who had died for practically nothing and how that had affected his ranks. He was clearly guilty, and seemed to blame Crowley for the trap. The demon had wisely stayed away since that disaster, knowing that the Winchester's and Cas would strike first and ask questions later if they saw him right now. The hunters couldn't help but feel guilty hearing about the three angels who had died to help them.

Hearing about how Jonah's death and impacted Cas's ranks, Dean couldn't help but think about how odd that death had been. Jonah had literally died to save his girlfriend, even though he had once tortured and threatened to kill her. And when Julie had asked why, his answer had been that Dean loved and needed her. Maybe he was crazy, but that seemed like a weird reason for an angel to sacrifice himself.

So after breakfast, when Sam and Julie headed back into the living room, Dean grabbed Castiel's arm and pulled him aside. "Listen, Cas, I've been wondering…why _did _Jonah die for Julie? I mean, I'm totally grateful that he saved her, but…am I crazy, or was that weird?"

Cas swallowed and looked down. "Well…it's complicated. Jonah has felt guilty ever since he rejoined heaven's cause for what he did to Sam and Julie. He's never felt like his life was worth as much as others'…it reminds me of someone." The angel looked pointedly at Dean, who rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, I should hate myself less. Anyway, we were talking about Jonah?"

"Well, there was that," Cas said. "And I believe he found Julie very likable, like everyone she's ever met." Dean smiled a little at that. "But I think the main reason was you."

"Yeah, he said something about me needing her? What was that about?"

Cas sighed, and Dean knew he was finally getting somewhere. "Well…like I said, we angels are doing all we can to stop the seals from being broken, but there's little we can do to stop Beelzebub when we don't know what the seals are. So there are a lot of angels who are already preparing for the worst case scenario."

"Which is…?" Dean frowned suspiciously.

"Lucifer rises. He manages to possess Sam, probably by threatening you, or thousands of innocent people."

"That won't happen," Dean snaps protectively.

Cas gave him a sad, knowing look. "Dean, if Lucifer does rise and threatens or tortures you or innocent people, you know what your brother will do."

Dean took a deep, steadying breath, because he knew Castiel was right. The angel sighed and continued, "If that happens, most angels are already betting on Michael being able to possess you and bring about the apocalypse and hopefully be able to stop Lucifer. You would need to say yes for that to happen, and most angels believe you'll only do that if you have people to protect. If Julie dies and Sam is possessed, you won't say yes, and Lucifer will destroy the world practically unopposed."

"But if I say yes, millions will still die in the battle! Maybe even billions!" Dean cried.

"I know," Cas said sadly. "There is no right answer, not even a good one. But most angels are already betting on that happening, and Jonah was one of them. He knew if Julie died, you'd give up, and the world would be doomed."

Dean shook his head. "God, our lives are the worst," he said suddenly, and Cas couldn't help but agree.

The two of them went into the living room and crowded together on the couch with Sam and Julie, trying not to think about what could be coming. They watched a movie on TV, Dean tried to get Cas to play strip poker, and when lunch came, Dean made heaping plates of delicious sandwiches while Cas, Julie, and Sam entertained themselves with charades. It really wasn't a bad day for all of the crap going on in their lives.

And then Julie's phone started to ring.

They had finished lunch and were just relaxing at the table, chatting and laughing. Julie's phone began to ring, and she fished it out of her pocket and saw that it was Jasper's number. She held a finger up to the three men with her and then answered, smiling.

"Hey, Uncle J," she said, brightly. "What's up?"

"Juliet, honey, I need you now," Jasper's voice answered through the phone in a strained, worried, hushed voice, and Julie's blood ran cold.

"Jasper?" she frowned. "What's wrong?" Dean and Sam both looked up, concerned, at her worried tone.

"We were on a hunt," he said, sounding almost scared. "Me and Tay and James, it was just supposed to be one demon. Just one demon…"

"Jasper, what's going on? Where are you?" Julie cried, trying to swallow her rising panic. Whatever was going on there did not sound good. Dean appeared at her side and touched her arm, and Sam and Cas were right behind him.

"We're in Louisiana," Jasper said, and his voice sounded strained, as if he was panicking. He was talking oddly quietly, and she wasn't sure why. "We're in a warehouse, barricaded in a room. I don't know where Taylor is, and I need you, sweetie, I need your help."

Never in her life had she heard Jasper sound so scared and worried, and he had never once asked for her help. For some stupid reason, Julie felt tears stinging her eyes. "What do you mean? Why are you barricaded in there? And what do you mean you don't know where Tay is?"

"We got separated in here," he choked out. "There's more demons than we realized, dozens more. We weren't ready, and James and I got in here before they could get us, but I don't know where Taylor ended up and…and…"

Jasper sounded near tears. The poor man was clearly in a hell of a lot of trouble, and he knew that his daughter could very well be dead, murdered by demons. Julie took a deep breath, realizing she needed to be strong for her uncle, the man who had always been strong for her.

"Okay, Jasper, we're going to be right there. Me and Sam and Dean and Castiel, we're all going to come. We're going to get you and James and Tay out of there and kill those demons. Everything's going to be okay."

"It's a trap," Jasper cried. "It's a trap for you four, we're the bait!"

"I know," Julie said softly.

"I wouldn't have called…I didn't want to drag you four into this, but…" She could swear she heard Jasper sob, and her heart broke. "She's my daughter, Juliet. She's my baby girl and I can't…if she…"

"I know," Julie whispered again, and she was definitely tearing up now. Sam, Dean, and Cas were crowded around her, confused and concerned and comforting, waiting for her to give the order to go to battle.

"We're gonna be right there, okay? You guys will be okay, I promise," Julie got out.

On the other end of the phone, there was a thud, and Jasper yelled, "James, hold them off!"

"I'm trying!" James' panicked, far-off voice cried.

"Help," Jasper whispered into the phone, and Julie's heart broke all over again.

She hung up and turned to the three waiting men. "Jasper and James and Taylor are trapped by some demons in some warehouse in Louisiana," she said quickly. "They're overwhelmed and they need our help. Cas, can you find them?"

"Already have," he replied calmly.

Dean suddenly disappeared from her side and was back ten seconds later with a duffel bag. He pulled out an angel blade, tossed it to Sam, as well as a gun full of devil's trap bullets. He got one for himself, as well as the demon-killing knife, and gave Julie an angel blade as well. Then he nodded at her. "Let's go."

If her family's life hadn't been in danger, she would have thrown herself on him and kissed him right there. His willingness and readiness to drop everything and risk his life to save her family was unbelievably sexy and made her love him even more.

But right now nothing mattered more than getting to Jasper and the others before it was too late.

Dean grabbed Julie's hand, and Sam touched her shoulder, and Castiel touched Dean's arm. Julie didn't even have time to prepare herself before suddenly, they weren't in the bunker anymore.

The four of them stood in what looked a storage room. It was full of old, rotting cardboard boxes, and two other men. The two of them were trying to keep the door shut as outside forces tried to push inside.

"Move!" Dean barked the second he realized what was going on, and Jasper and James looked up, shocked to see them.

The two of them quickly stepped out of the way when Castiel, Sam, and Dean reached the door and the three of them poured all their strength into pushing the demons back. Once they got the door all the way shut, Cas melted the metal door into the wall with his angelic powers.

"Salt!" Dean growled, and James snapped out of his shock and hurried for with a large container of salt. Sam helped him pour a salt line along the door, and suddenly the outside forces quit trying to get in.

They all relaxed very slightly, stopping to take a breath. Julie turned to her uncle, whose shirt was torn and eyes were wide and wild, and then threw her arms around him. He hugged her tightly, catching his breath.

"Thank God you're here," he panted, and she squeezed him tighter.

"This is great and all, but Taylor's still out there!" James snapped, agitated. "I'll be damned if I let something happen to her."

"He's right," Jasper said. "Let's get out there."

"Wait!" Sam said quickly. "What do you have weapon-wise?"

James held up a backpack packed full of salt and a couple canteens full of holy water, and Jasper did the same. Sam shook his head. "Here, at least take these," he sighed, handing them the guns with devil's trap bullets in them. "They'll freeze the demons in their tracks."

James and Jasper nodded. The six of them got ready for a fight, shifting into offensive positions. Then Dean nodded at Cas, and the angel raised his hand and blasted the door off of its hinges.

The door took two demons down as it went flying, cutting a path for Sam and Dean to spring through. The two dangerous fighters began hacking their way through a crowd of about ten or twelve demons, with Julie and Cas covering them from behind and taking out demons as well. Jasper and James hung back, shooting a couple demons to trap them in place, but it was really the three hunters and the angel that managed to cut through the crowd of demons in under thirty seconds.

When that fight was over, they barely even stopped to catch their breath. "We have to find Tay," James said desperately.

"Can you find her, Cas?" Dean asked, looking around the hall on high-alert.

Julie noticed Castiel's eyes widen. "What's wrong?" she frowned.

"Something just started blocking my powers," he said slowly. "Something that just got here."

"Who-?" Sam started to ask.

"There's only one being still in one piece that could do this," the angel said darkly.

The three hunter's eyes widened in surprise and even a little fear. "You weren't kidding, Jasper," Julie sad softly. "This is one hell of a trap."

"Who is it?" James asked.

"Beelzebub," Castiel, Julie, and Sam all said in unison.

"Cas, you get James and Jasper and Sammy and Jules out of here," Dean said darkly. "I'll find Tay and make sure she gets out of here and see how long I can hold him off."

"Are you insane?!" Sam cried.

"Sammy, we don't have time to argue! Go!" Dean snapped.

"If anyone's staying, it's me!" Julie shot back angrily.

"No way in hell is that happening," Dean replied.

"I'm already dead, Dean! If I go to hell four months early, what does it matter as long as the rest of you make it out of here alive?!" she cried.

There was a moment of silence, and then Jasper said slowly and coldly, "What?"

Julie was frozen in place, realizing what she had just done. "Look, we don't have time for this!" Sam said quickly, taking the focus off of her. "Jasper, James, Julie, get out of here-"

"Not without my daughter!"

"I'll die before I leave Taylor here," James growled.

"Fine!" Dean cried, frustrated. "Jasper, you stay and help me find Tay. Sammy, Cas, you get Jules and James out of here."

"Dean-" both Sam and Julie started.

"_Now_!" Dean barked. "If you die right now, Jules, you'll going to hell, and that _will not _happen. And Beelzebub cannot be allowed to get his hands on you, Sam. Cas, you make sure the three of them get out of here. Jasper and I will find Tay and get out of here."

"You won't fight him?" Julie asked, concerned.

"No," Dean promised her. "I'll just find your cousin. We're all going to make it out of this, okay? I promise. But only if we move _now_!"

Julie nodded, and she and Sam and James took off towards the exit, Cas guarding their backs as they went. Without a word, Jasper and Dean took off in the other direction.

They ran down a couple hallways until they heard voices. When they drew nearer, they heard a girl's muffled screams and men's rough laughter and cruel, jesting voices. Dean gestured for Jasper to be quiet, and they reached the corner and peeked around it.

Three male demons had Taylor pinned up against a wall. One was covering her mouth with his hand and laughing cruelly while another pulled her jacket off of her, leaving her in a low-cut red tank top. The third demon drew a knife and traced it teasingly over her neck, down towards her breasts, laughing.

Jasper started to lunge forward, but Dean put out an arm to stop him. Jasper opened his mouth to protest, but then Dean took his gun from him and shot the demon with the knife with a devil's trap bullet.

The other two looked up, surprised, while their companion howled in agony. Dean shot the one pinning Taylor, and then Jasper ran forward, wielding Dean's demon-killing knife. Dean rushed in and pulled a shaking, terrified Taylor to safety while Jasper attacked the three demons, swearing and yelling like a madman.

When he was done, the demons were three bloody corpses and Jasper's eyes were wild. "That'll teach you to lay your filthy hands on my daughter," he growled, and he spat on one of them.

Taylor half-sobbed and fell into her father's arms. Dean wanted to smile at the two of them, but he was looking around, nervous and wary. He knew Beelzebub was here, and yet he'd seen no sign of the near-invincible Knight of Hell. And he was really starting to get worried.

Taylor and Jasper pulled apart, and he asked, "Are you alright, sweetheart?"

"Yeah," she choked out, and he pushed a strand of her blond hair out of her face.

"We have to go, guys," Dean said warningly. "Beelzebub could be here any second."

"Beelzebub? Like, the Knight of Hell Beelzebub?" Taylor frowned. "The one that killed Julie? The one that-"

"Yeah, finish that list when we're not in danger of getting slaughtered by him," Dean said darkly, starting to push them forward. "I promised Julie that everybody was getting out of here okay, and I am keeping that promise."

The three of them hurried through the halls, headed for the exit. They had made it back to the hall full of doors that led to storage rooms, the one where they had fought demons earlier. Taylor looked shocked when she saw the corpses lining the floor.

"Did you do this, Dad?" she asked, surprised.

"No," Jasper said. "That would be our saviors, Dean and Sam and Julie and that angel, Castiel."

"You guys all came to save us?" Taylor asked, awed.

"Yep," Dean said shortly, pushing them forward still. "And I intend on doing so, so let's keep moving."

"Oh, just give it up, Dean," the voice he had been dreading hearing said from a few feet behind them, and Dean's blood ran cold. He whirled around and shifted into a defensive position, pushing the two Carters' behind him as he glared at the handsome, dark-haired, cruel, evil son of a bitch in front of him.

"We all know you're never making it out of here," Beelzebub said with an evil grin.


	60. Chapter 60

**Chapter Sixty**

"Get out of here, guys," Dean said in a surprisingly calm, cool voice as he glared down the extremely dangerous Knight of Hell before him.

Neither Taylor nor Jasper moved, and Dean snapped, "Now! Guys, get out of here, find the others, go somewhere safe."

"Dean, no-" Taylor started to protest.

"Tay, go find the others," Jasper ordered.

"Dad-" she tried again.

"Sweetheart, _go_!" Jasper cried, and his voice was so full of pain and anger and desperation that she did as she was told and took off.

Dean held out his knife, daring Beelzebub to try to stop Taylor, but he just smiled. "To be honest, I don't really care about her. I mean, sure, I'll kill her at some point. But right now, you two are much more interesting targets."

"You will never lay a hand on my daughter," Jasper snarled at the demon before him, and Dean was impressed by how brave the older hunter was being in the face of such terrible danger. Although, if Dean had a daughter and anyone threatened her, no matter how dangerous, he would certainly threaten to kill them and make sure that threat came to pass.

"I beg to differ, Jasper," Beelzebub said calmly, a smug smirk on his handsome features.

"Jasper, get out of here," Dean snapped, ignoring the Knight of Hell in front of him. "Go make sure Taylor gets out of here, okay."

"No, Dean," the older hunter replied calmly, unmoving.

"Dammit, Jasper! I promised Julie I was getting everyone out of here in one piece!" Dean snapped.

"Well, that was a foolish promise, Dean," Beelzebub smirked.

"I'm not leaving you here, son," Jasper said firmly.

"How sweet," the Knight of Hell before them smirked. "Jasper's going to die to try to protect you, Dean. Just like his niece."

"What?" Jasper snarled. "Why does everyone keep saying stuff like that?"

Beelzebub looked back and forth between the two hunters, and then started to laugh. "Oh, Dean…come on! You didn't even tell her uncle where Julie's going?"

"Shut up," Dean growled.

"He has no idea…does he even know you used to be a demon?"

"Yes, I know about that," Jasper snapped. "But he's not now, so you can drop it."

"And it never bothered you that he was suddenly miraculously saved, Jasper?" Beelzebub asked. "Not even a little?"

Jasper frowned, but stayed silent.

"What bullshit story did they give you?" the Knight continued. "Dean was cured by purified blood? He overcame his demonic side because he's such a good person?" Beelzebub laughed at that. "He was miraculously saved by some higher power?" The demon paused. "Well, I suppose that one is sort of true. But it came at a price."

"What is he talking about?" Jasper asked Dean quietly.

"Would you just stop, Beelzebub?" Dean snapped. "You've already got us. Just go ahead and kill me already!"

"You're no fun, Dean," the king of the Knights smirked. "And I'm surprised at you. How can you be so eager to die? Your Julie sold her soul to save your life, and if you die, she's going to rot in hell for all of eternity for _nothing_."

"_What?!_" Jasper cried.

"You son of a bitch," Dean growled, and he took a threatening step towards the Knight of Hell. But he stopped in his tracks when Beelzebub reached inside his black jacket and pulled out…the First Blade.

Beelzebub smirked as Dean's eyes locked on the Blade. "Remember this old thing, Dean? I think it would be pretty hard to forget." The demon turned the Blade over in his hands. "You know, I wouldn't even have this, or the Mark of Cain, if it wasn't for pretty little Juliet. She was so focused on protecting you and Sammy and Castiel when she made her deal, she forgot to forbid me from taking the Mark and the Blade for myself. And now I'm indestructible, and finally able to free my lord, Lucifer. I'd say after a screw-up as big as that, that bitch deserves to rot in hell."

This time, Dean really couldn't control himself. He lunged towards the demon and splashed a canteen of holy water right into his face. While the demon howled in agony, Dean grabbed Jasper's arm and dragged him into the nearest room. They barely got the door shut and locked before Beelzebub began banging on it furiously. Jasper and Dean quickly poured salt by the door to keep the demon out and armed themselves, facing the door and waiting to see if he would be able to get in.

Beelzebub eventually gave up on trying to beat the door down. "You really think you're safe in there, boys?" he yelled. "I'll find a way in eventually. And if not, I'll wait here. You'll come out or die of dehydration, I don't really care. Either way, you two are going to die. And then I'll hunt down all of them. I'll find your pretty daughter, Jasper, and her friend, James, and I'll peel the flesh off their bones." Jasper's fists clenched and he looked murderous, but he knew better than to charge out there and die.

But Beelzebub wasn't done yet. "And as for your friends, Dean…I'm going to get your angel buddy Castiel one of these days, and I'll make sure he dies slow and bloody, a good example to all of his followers of what's coming for them." Dean tightened his grip on his demon-killing knife, angry, but he wasn't going out there either. "And then I'll get my hands on Julie. And oh, is that going to be sweet! I'll kill her, but first I think I'll have a little fun with her. A beautiful girl like that, completely at my mercy…well, I'm still a man. I do have needs, and I think she'll do quite nicely for filling them."

"You son of a bitch," Dean and Jasper growled in unison, but the door was thick enough that they doubted he heard them. They could only hear him because he was shouting, and even then he sounded muffled.

"And after I get bored of her, I'll kill her nice and slow, pick her apart bit by bit," that horrible demon continued. "And when she's dead, I'll put her soul on the rack and continue to torture her for the rest of all time. And all because she just _had_ to save you, Dean."

Dean felt sick, hearing all of this. And he could feel Jasper's accusing stare on him, and all he could think of was all that time ago, when he had first taken Julie from her family, and he had promised to do his best to keep her safe.

Damn, had he failed! He was the reason she was damned.

"And once they're all dead, every last one of them, I'll get some quality time with little brother," Beelzebub finished, his voice filled with cruel glee. "I'll take Sam apart, until he's nothing but a quivering mess that'll do whatever I want. And when I finally get my lord free, the first thing he'll do is possess your little brother, Dean, the one you've tried so hard to protect. And then he'll destroy the world!"

Finally, the demon stopped with his monologue and was silent, but the damage was done. Dean doubted he'd ever shake those images of Beelzebub murdering James and Taylor, brutally ripping Cas apart, raping and torturing his girlfriend, and torturing Sam until Lucifer rose and possessed him.

Slowly, Dean turned to face Jasper, who was wide-eyed. After a long moment, Jasper choked out, "She…she sold her soul?"

"I'm so sorry, Jasper," Dean whispered. "I didn't know…I couldn't stop her…she didn't tell me until a month afterwards, and I've been trying to do everything I can to save her, but-"

"How long does she have?" Jasper snapped.

Dean looked down. "I…four months." The two of them were silent. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"And it _would_ be for you," Jasper smirked bitterly. Dean felt yet another wave of guilt wash over him. "At least it was for a decent reason," Jasper muttered after a long moment, and Dean blinked, surprised that he wasn't angrier.

"We've got to do something about that bastard," Jasper said after a moment, nodding towards the door.

"We can't kill him," Dean sighed. "He wasn't wrong; he's basically invincible."

"We can get rid of him for a while though, at least long enough to get out of here and somewhere safe," Jasper said, reaching into his bag. He pulled out a small, home-made bomb and smirked slightly. "This thing isn't powerful enough to blow the whole place, but it is enough to blow his vessel to chunks and put him out of commission for a while, until he can crawl back out of hell."

Dean started to smile, but then the smile froze on his lips. "But we'll have to get close enough to blow him up, and to do that…"

"One of us is going to have to get blown to bits, too," Jasper finished slowly.

"Give it here," Dean said calmly after a moment.

"What? No!" Jasper said quickly. "Are you kidding?"

"Please don't fight me on this, Jasper," Dean said wearily. "Just let me do this. I've already screwed up so much, and it's because of me your niece is going to hell. This is the least I can do."

Jasper stared at him for a long moment. "You're not going to let me talk you out of this, are you?" he sighed.

"Nope."

Jasper sighed again and handed the younger hunter the bomb. Dean nodded at him. "Tell Cas I'm sorry, will you? And tell Jules that I love her, and that I'm sorry. And tell Sammy…" Suddenly, Dean was blinking away tears. "Never mind," he muttered. "He already knows everything I would say anyway."

Dean turned away and faced the door, gripping the bomb tightly, careful not to press the button that would blow both of them up. He took a deep breath and steeled himself.

And then something hard collided with the back of his head.

Dean collapsed to the ground, stunned, and Jasper pulled the bomb out of his hand, careful not to set it off. He set it aside and dragged the barely-conscious man over to the wall as quickly as he could. He knew if Dean was able to recover from that blow before he could tie him down, Jasper would lose the fight that was sure to happen. He had to do this fast.

Jasper fished some rope out of his bag and propped Dean up into a sitting position, his back against the wall. Jasper tied Dean's wrists to a pipe behind him, making sure he was securely tied, and then he walked over to the bomb.

He hadn't even gotten to the bomb before Dean groaned and his eyes fluttered open. "…The hell?" he asked slowly as he recovered from that pretty hard blow to the head. Dean looked around, confused, and tried to move his arms from behind his back, but found himself tied to a pipe.

He looked around, confused, until he saw Jasper head for the bomb. "Dammit!" Dean growled. "Jasper, you've _got _to be kidding me!"

"Sorry, Dean," the older man sighed, turning to face him. He really did look sorry. "I didn't want to hurt you, but you weren't going to let me reason with you."

"Because the only reasonable thing to do is let me die!" Dean snapped.

"I'm not going to be any help in stopping that monster out there," Jasper said flatly. "I'm not. I'm getting old, and I can barely even take out a couple demons on my own. But you know who might be able to stop him? The man who's saved the world repeatedly, the man who can kill half a dozen demons single-handedly without breaking a sweat."

"Jasper, come on," Dean whispered. "Please don't do this. Don't you know what this will to do to Julie?!"

"Yes," the older hunter said. "It will be very hard for her, and for my daughter, and for that I'm sorry. But they'll survive. They'll learn to live with it, and they'll move on." Jasper met Dean's eyes sadly. "But if you go out there, and you die right now…it will destroy Julie. She sold her soul for you, Dean. If you die, nothing will ever make her okay again. I should know—I saw what she was like when you were dead. She can't make it without you, and neither can your brother."

"Jasper, please!" Dean begged. "I can't let you do this!"

"Which is why you're tied to a pipe," Jasper pointed out, smirking very slightly.

"Dammit!" Dean cried again. "Don't do this!"

"I'm sorry, Dean," Jasper said sadly. "I wish I didn't have to do this. But you have to make it out of here, and you have to make sure that monster never lays a hand on our girl, you hear me?"

Even though Dean wanted nothing more than to be free and stopping Jasper from doing this, he nodded, his throat tight with emotion.

Jasper smiled sadly. "Dean…I just want you to know…even with all of the terrible things that have happened since you and your brother came into our lives…I'm glad you did. You're a good man, and I would have been proud to call you a son." Suddenly, both of them were struggling to keep their emotions from overcoming them. "I hope…I hope you manage to stop that bastard, and I hope you all make it out of this in the end. I want you and my Juliet to get to be happy, even if I'm not there to see it."

"Jasper, don't do this," Dean begged him. "It'll break her heart."

"But she'll live," Jasper said, and there were tears in his eyes.

"Tell Juliet I love her and that I'm sorry I won't get to see you boys break her free of that deal, because I know you will," Jasper said after a long moment. "And tell Taylor I love her and that I'm sorry, too."

And then he turned away and walked over to the door, bomb in hand.

"Jasper!" Dean yelled. "Wait! Jasper, don't!"

"Bye, Dean," the older man said calmly. "I'll see you around."

And then he opened the door, stepped through, and quickly shut it behind him.

Dean waited in silence, eyes wide, breathing heavily. He wasn't the praying type, but he sat there, tied to the pipe, praying to God that Beelzebub had just left for some unknown reason and Jasper would just walk out of here, unharmed.

He waited for ten or fifteen seconds, heart pounding, praying ceaselessly that somehow, that bomb wouldn't have to go off. He prayed Julie would get to see her beloved uncle again, the one that had raised her ever since she was fifteen, the one that loved her enough to do this to save her boyfriend. He prayed and prayed-

And then the bomb went off.

* * *

Julie grabbed Sam's arm and turned him to face her. "I'm going in there," she told him firmly.

"What? No!" Sam cried. "Julie, are you insane?!"

"It has been five minutes since that explosion, and nothing's happened since," Julie snapped. "I think it's safe, and if not…well, I'm damned anyway."

"Dean would never forgive me if I let you go in there and something happened," Sam said desperately.

"Well, what if that was him that just blew up?!" Julie cried desperately, fear and pain plain in her expression.

Sam was silent for a moment, trying not to imagine that, and then said coolly, "Then going in there now won't save him."

Julie shook her head in disbelief at him. "Sam, the man I love and the man who has been a father to me for almost fourteen years are in there, possibly dying! How can you think I'll just sit here and wait for Beelzebub to slaughter them?!"

"Don't you think I want to be in there, helping them?!" Sam snapped back. "That's my brother, Julie! Don't you think it's killing me to be out here while that bastard could be murdering him?!"

"Then why are we here?" Julie shot back.

"Because I have to keep you safe," Sam insisted. "I can't let anything happen to you, or the others. And I know what it would do to Dean if I died, and I can't do that to him."

"What if you knew Dean was dying right now, and you could be doing something about it?" Julie shot back in a low, cold voice, challenging him.

"I don't know that, and there's nothing I could do anyway," Sam snapped. "Beelzebub's indestructible, and Dean's right. I can't let him get his hands on me. I doubt he'd ever get me to say yes, but if he somehow manipulated or tricked me into saying yes to Lucifer, the world would literally end."

"Why?!" Julie cried angrily, looking near tears.

"What?" Sam frowned.

"Why is this our lives?" she shrieked. "Why can't we just catch a break? Why can't we have a nice week, or even just a nice day? Why can't we just be happy? Why does the world have to be ending, and why do I have to go to hell? _Why_, Sam?!"

He looked down. "I don't know, Julie," he whispered. "And I'm sorry. I'm sorry that this is your life now. I wish it wasn't."

Julie looked away from him and wiped away a couple tears she hadn't been able to hold back. James and Taylor, who were standing nearby looked away uncomfortably. James was holding Taylor's hand, letting her squeeze the life of his hand as she waited and hoped that her father would walk out of that building in one piece. Castiel hovered nearby as well, worried about his friends and feeling infuriatingly useless.

"I'm going in," Julie repeated after a long silence.

"Julie, come on!" Sam cried, exasperated.

"No, Sam, you don't-" she started to snap.

"Guys, I don't think that's an issue anymore," James said suddenly, and the two bickering best friends looked up to see the man walking towards them.

"Dean," Julie gasped. He was walking towards them, surprisingly unharmed, his expression blank and dead. At first, her heart lifted when she saw him, alive and in one piece, but then it began to sink when she saw his shell-shocked expression. And then she noticed that he was alone…

"Thank God!" Sam cried, taking a step towards his brother. Dean stopped a couple feet away from them, his expression still blank, and Sam frowned. "Dean, what's wrong? What happened?"

Dean didn't reply. James and Taylor exchanged worried looks, and Cas frowned deeply. Slowly, timidly, Julie took a step towards Dean and asked softly the question they were all wondering: "Dean…where's Jasper?"

Dean's throat worked furiously as he tried to answer her but couldn't get the words out. Finally, he took a deep breath and said flatly, "Dead."

Taylor gasped. Otherwise, the rest of them were silent, just staring at him. "What?" Sam snapped. "How? And what happened to Beelzebub?"

"Beelzebub got us trapped in a room, and we had a bomb that could blow him sky-high and send him back to hell for a while at least," Dean said in an oddly detached voice, just stating facts. "One of us had to get close to him to blow him up, though, and they would have to die. I tried to do it, but he knocked me up, tied me up, and then did it himself."

"No…" Taylor whispered. At first she looked grief-stricken, but then she looked angry. "Why the hell would he do that? You volunteered to die!"

"He said that he couldn't let me because Julie could live without him, but she couldn't live without me," Dean said in that same flat, removed tone.

"Oh my God," Julie whispered, and Sam looked down at her, worried. She was white as a sheet and looked like she was trying desperately not to burst into tears.

"So…so he did it because of _her_?" Taylor got out after a long, loaded silence. Dean said nothing.

"Selfish bastard!" the dead man's daughter suddenly screamed, and before any of the others could say a word, she took off running away from them. James waited a moment before following after, looked terrible sad and guilty.

The tears that had been welling up in Julie's eyes had finally spilled over her lashes and were pouring silently down her cheeks. Castiel watched her sadly for a moment before stepping over to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Julie…I am so sorry," he got out after a long moment.

In response, Julie suddenly sobbed loudly and buried her face in Cas's trench coat.

The angel wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. As she continued to cry, he closed his eyes and pressed his face against the top of her head. Cas held Julie for a long time, until she finally recovered enough to pull away from him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice cracking.

"No," Cas said firmly. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Your uncle was a great man, and even though he died selflessly to save Dean, he still should not have had to die."

Sam glanced over at Dean, and saw that he had turned away, unable to watch Julie grieve. Julie looked to her boyfriend for some comfort but saw him turned away, stiff and blank, and her face crumpled again. Sam stepped forward quickly and wrapped his arms around his best friend. She pressed tightly against him, using his shirt to muffle her sobs like she had with Castiel's as well.

Sam held her tightly, trying to force back his emotions. Jasper Carters had been a good man and a friend, and he knew that he had meant even more to Dean and especially Julie. He definitely wasn't glad that Jasper was dead, but he was grateful to the late man for not letting his brother blow himself up. But he sure as hell wished that Julie and Taylor didn't have to lose the man who had been their father for years.

And he wished that Dean would quit being so stiff and cold and actually comfort Julie like she desperately needed him to.

* * *

That night was hell. Castiel transported them to the nearest safe house just in case Beelzebub managed to crawl out of hell and find a new body and attack, making Jasper's sacrifice for nothing. The angel then returned to heaven, leaving the five hunters to grieve in their own ways.

Sam did his best to damage control. He found beers in a mini-fridge, a necessity of any place a hunter might stay, and tried to make sure everyone had enough to drink to numb the pain. Dean took an entire cooler out of the Impala and into the room where he and Sam were bunking, meaning to drink himself into unconsciousness, not caring what the consequences would be in the morning.

James and Taylor were both happy to take the beers from Sam and try to drink away the pain. Taylor didn't say much, just sat in the safe house's small kitchen, glaring at the wall, mascara tears tracks running down her cheeks. A few times, James tried to comfort her, but she was icy and distant towards everyone, even him, clearly hurting. That just made James even angrier, and Sam wisely stayed away from the grieving, angry, semi-drunk man.

Worst of all was Julie. Dean was far too drunk and surly right now to even think of comforting her, so she sat on a small couch in the living area of the safe house, staring blankly at the wall, her beer untouched, silent tears dripping down her cheek and onto Sam's jacket. She had been shaking since they got into the safe house, and he had wrapped his jacket around her, hoping some warmth would help. Instead, she sat on the couch with her knees drawn up to her chest, being swallowed up by Sam's massive jacket, just crying. She never seemed to stop.

She would quickly move to wipe away her tears and stop sniffling whenever Sam came around to check on her, but the moment he was gone, the tears began again. Julie couldn't stop them. At least she wasn't sobbing grossly like she had when Dean died. But, as the humiliating waterworks never seemed to end, she began to wonder which was actually worse.

Julie couldn't stop thinking of him. Of the laugh lines around his warm, twinkling eyes, of the way his stubbly cheek had felt when she kissed it as a little girl, of the way he picked her up and spun her around when she shot her first werewolf. Jasper's voice echoed in her ears, bright and teasing, soft and soothing, rough and protective. She remembered the way hugging him felt, like she was safe and a child again. She remembered how infuriating he could be, and how much she loved him for it. She remembered how much he had loved her father, how much he had loved her and Taylor. She remembered how hard it had been to leave him to go live with Dean all that time ago.

Jasper had been her father since she was fifteen, and he had been a beloved and very close uncle before then. Julie had always adored him, and he had meant so much to her. Sure, she hadn't technically needed him in years, not like a child needed a father. But she did need him, to be there to talk to when things got rough, to have a joke to lift her spirits, to say what she needed to hear and then wrap her in his sturdy arms.

Julie just couldn't really believe that he was gone, and that she had lost all of that.

Eventually, long after the others had gone to bed, or at least gone into bedrooms, Julie curled up on her side on the couch, drawing Sam's jacket over her like a blanket. She buried her face in it and inhaled. It smelled faintly of laundry detergent and a bit like clean sweat and the mix of gasoline, fast food, and leather seats that was the Impala. The smell reminded her a bit of Dean, but it wasn't the mix of rust and leather and cologne that she had always associated with her uncle.

She missed him already. Kind, funny, goofy, idiotic, selfless, brave, protective, loving Uncle Jasper, who she really had come to think of as her father. It wasn't fair that she had to lose him, too.

But at least he had died for something worthwhile. At least she hadn't lost Dean. Because, as much as she wished Jasper wasn't dead, he had been right. Somehow, she would find the strength to move on from his death. But if it had been Dean who blew himself up, she knew from experience that she would not survive that.

Now she just wished that Dean were actually here so she wouldn't have to feel like she had lost both of them at once.

* * *

James and Taylor drove in Jasper's truck, following the Impala down the highway for hours. The five of them had left the safe house early that morning and they drove for several hours until they reached the cemetery where Thomas and Katrina Carters had been laid to rest.

The five of them walked in silence until they reached the two familiar tombstones, one beautiful marble and one grey stone. Julie thought back to the last time she had visited her parents' tombstones, after Dean had killed all of the vampires responsible for her father's death. That time, the three of them had been together, supporting her and taking comfort in each other. But looking at Dean, cool and stiff and distant, she doubted he would be comforting her now.

Julie brushed her hand lightly over the words inscribed on Thomas Carters' tombstone: "A good man." Tears stung her eyes as she remembered her and Jasper picking out those words, knowing that was all Thomas would want to be remembered as. Jasper…

Sam handed Taylor the small wooden cross they would be using as a grave marker. Considering Jasper had blown himself to bits, there was nothing to bury, but they still wanted him to have some kind of grave to be remembered by. Taylor took the wooden cross in silence and, with James' help, drove it deep into the ground next to Thomas' tombstone.

They stared at the grave marker in silence. "Should we…should we say something?" James asked uncomfortably.

Julie looked at Taylor, but she didn't seem like she wanted to speak, so Julie sniffled and stepped forward. She looked at the cross and spoke to it, hoping that wherever he was, Jasper would hear her.

"Uncle Jasper…thank you. For raising me and being the best father I could ask for besides my actual father. And thank you for saving him." Sam glanced over at Dean, knowing she was referring to him, but his brother was staring at the ground, determined not to acknowledge anyone or anything.

Julie was quiet for a moment, and then she quickly got out, "I love you and I'll miss you," before she couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She stepped back and Sam squeezed her shoulder in a comforting gesture.

They were silent again, and Sam began to wonder if Taylor was even going to say anything. Just as he finally decided she wasn't, she suddenly stepped forward and said almost angrily, "You always did love her too much for your own good. And you ended up dying because of it. You're a selfish bastard for doing that."

Sam and Julie exchanged a look, shocked. Neither of them had expected Taylor to resent her father so much for dying to protect Dean and, in doing so, to protect Julie.

And then Taylor suddenly sobbed, "But I loved you anyway," before dissolving into tears.

James stepped forward and guided her head into his shoulder, where she could hide from the world and cry. He held her as she sobbed for her dead father. Julie had to look away from her grieving cousin, because it was only making her cry harder.

She stood, cold and crying and alone, hugging her jacket tightly around her and not bothering to wipe at the tears she was shedding. She had every right to cry right now. She had lost the man she loved so dearly, the man who was practically her father. And she had every right to want to be held and comforted.

She stood alone for a minute or so, and then suddenly a pair of sturdy, warm arms went around her. She assumed it was Sam, because Dean felt far too guilty to so much as meet her gaze. But then she inhaled the familiar smell of gasoline and leather and sweat and felt his favorite, battered, old jacket beneath her cheek and knew it was _him_.

"Dean," she choked out before wrapping her arms around him and holding him tightly. His steady hands rubbed her back soothingly and pulled her closer to him, holding her tightly, refusing to let go.

"I'm sorry," he breathed, his voice tight from holding back his own tears.

"Me too," she got out through her tears, and then they were silent as Dean held her tightly and wished more than anything that she hadn't had to lose that wonderful man.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Killing Jasper was surprisingly hard, considering I've really grown to love him as a character. However, I've known since the beginning that his death was coming, as painful as it may be. I can't promise that this is the last death (in fact, I can promise that it isn't), but it isn't just random either. I promise there is a method to my madness. And now the Winchesters and Julie have to deal with the fallout of Jasper's death. I promise it won't be all sad stuff-in fact, I've got some familiar faces coming up that I'm excited about. Please continue to read and review! Your support really helps.


	61. Chapter 61

**Chapter Sixty-One**

Moving carefully so as not to wake the girl who was sleeping with her head on his arm, Dean slowly turned in his bed to glance at his clock. It was a little before six in the morning. Probably an acceptable time to wake up his little brother and get ready. Julie would probably be up around seven, and they wanted to be ready by then.

Dean studied Julie for a moment. She was deep asleep, her face actually relaxed and peaceful for once. Cas had known he would be busy in heaven today, so he had dropped by last night to give Julie her present early: a good night's sleep. It was probably the best gift anyone could give her right now.

It had been a week since Jasper Carters had died, and Julie hadn't been doing so well. None of the three of them had, but Julie was normally the one that kept everyone from falling apart, and she had been losing it for a week. She drank more than normal, actually getting drunk a couple times, which was a rare thing for her. Dean had hated himself so much on one of the mornings after she got drunk as he held her hair back while she puked into a toilet, hungover and miserable. She wouldn't have been so grief-stricken that she got wasted if he had just died instead of Jasper.

No. She'd be worse.

Dean felt terribly guilty about that, but even he knew that Jasper was right. If Julie was grieving this badly over her uncle, how much worse would it have been if he had died instead? Would she have just given up and died and went to hell?

Dean quickly pushed those dark thoughts away. Today was supposed to be a happy day, an escape from the crap-fest that was their lives. But it was only going to be that if he made it that way, and that required him getting up.

Dean gingerly moved his arm out from underneath Julie. She made a soft, discontent noise and stirred slightly. Her eyes fluttered slightly and she asked in a soft, sleepy voice, "Dean?"

"I'm right here, honey," he said quickly. She reached out and her hand found his shoulder. He put his hand over hers, and she sighed.

Dean waited for Julie to say something else, but the next second she was out cold, able to sleep comfortably as long as she knew Dean was there with her.

Dean felt strangely guilty as he slipped out of bed and kissed her on the forehead. He didn't really want to leave her, but he knew she would appreciate this in the long run.

Dean pulled on a shirt and slipped out of his bedroom. He started up some coffee and, after some deliberation, grabbed a CD player and a Metallica CD before heading into Sam's room. His brother was passed out, and Dean quietly plugged the CD player in and turned it up as loud as he could.

Metallica's "Enter Sandman" blasted out of the speakers, and Sam cried out in shock, trying to leap out of bed and ending up on the floor, tangled in his sheets. Dean doubled over with laughter, laughing so hard he was finding it hard to breathe.

Sam finally picked himself up off the floor, now fully awake, and flipped his brother off. "Real classy, Dean," his little brother muttered moodily.

"Oh, cheer up, Sammy," Dean smirked. "If it makes you feel any better, I got a video of it that can be Julie's present."

"Really? That's what you're getting your girlfriend for her birthday? A video of me wiping out on the floor?"

"That, and the big surprise," Dean replied. "Now get dressed so we can get stuff ready."

A minute later, Sam came out of his bedroom in a plaid, button-down shirt and jeans, finger-combing his hair. Dean smirked and tossed Sam some multi-colored streamers.

"You know she's turning twenty-nine, not six, right?" Sam smirked, looking at the streamers and balloons they were about to set up.

"We are celebrating a lifetime of birthday parties we never got to have today, Sammy," Dean said gravely. "You will not suck the fun out of this. I will not allow it."

Sam rolled his eyes and hung the streamers over the door to Julie and Dean's bedroom. Meanwhile, Dean tied a couple balloons to the chairs at the dining table and set out a large chocolate cake and a couple pies on the table.

"Cake for breakfast?" Sam smirked.

"Only for you two," his brother replied. "Pie for me."

Sam rolled his eyes yet again and got out coffee for all of them. He dug out his present, which was nicely wrapped, unlike Dean's video on his phone, and then the two of them sat down to wait.

Not even ten minutes later, Julie opened her bedroom door and walked straight into a wall of streamers. "What the-?!" she spluttered, confused and still half-asleep.

"Happy birthday!" the two brothers yelled at the top of their lungs, standing up and grinning at her.

Julie brushed the streamers aside and walked over to the two of them, starting to smile. "Really, guys? I didn't think we made a big deal of birthdays around here."

"Well, considering on your next birthday you'll no longer be in your twenties and I'll be breaking up with you to find someone younger, we thought we'd make sure and celebrate this one," Dean said sarcastically. He took one look at the unamused glares he was getting from Sam and Julie and quickly added, "Sorry. Bad joke. Won't be using that anymore."

"Probably in your best interest not to," Julie smirked. She looked around and smiled wider. "You guys really did all this for me?"

"Of course," Sam said, smiling warmly. Julie beamed at him and hugged him tightly, only pulling away when he teasingly messed up her bedhead even further.

Dean had disappeared into the kitchen, and he returned a moment later with a candle and one of his lighters. He lit the candle and walked over to the chocolate cake on the table. "Sammy, can I have a C?" he called to his brother.

"Do you expect me to know what that is?" Sam asked drily.

"I don't know, you were the nerd in school. I figured you knew pitches and that other music crap!"

Julie rolled her eyes, biting her lip to keep from grinning, and hummed middle C for them. "Looks like your girlfriend was more of a nerd than I was," Sam smirked.

"Yeah, but she was probably the sexy kind," Dean shot back.

"There's a sexy kind of nerdy?" Sam asked, amused.

"Yeah, you know, like, you do it in the library on the books and she wears nothing but her nerdy glasses-"

Sam burst out into a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday" just to get his brother to shut up. Dean quickly joined in, and Julie watched, amused, as the two of them belted the song out in a slightly off-key but very enthusiastic performance. She applauded afterwards, unable to keep from laughing when Dean added an air guitar solo in for a big finish.

"And now…cake for breakfast! Cake _and _pie!" Dean cried enthusiastically after Julie blew out her birthday candle.

"Did you make this cake, Dean?" Julie asked as she dug into her first piece.

"No, I stole it from a grocery store. Same for the pies." Dean saw the looks he was getting and quickly added, "Just kidding!" Neither of them were certain that he really was kidding, though.

Regardless of how Dean got the cake, it was delicious. As were the pies, he assured them after he had eaten both. Dean was feeling a little queasy after eating so much pie first thing in the morning, but he wasn't going to let that ruin this day.

"Is it about present time?" Dean prompted Sam, and he quickly pulled out a decent-sized box wrapped in shiny gold paper.

"You guys didn't have to-" Julie started to protest, but Sam cut her off by forcing the present on her.

"Too bad. We did anyway."

Julie opened the present and found an adorable army-green jacket with fleece lining and fur around the hood for cold weather, a new, less-worn pair of brown combat boots, and a gorgeous black leather jacket. She was instantly in love with the jacket, feeling the smooth leather, digging her fingers into the creases, breathing in the smell of it. When she pulled it on, it fit perfectly and was form-fitting enough that Dean's eyes lit up, an added bonus.

"I love it, Sam!" Julie cried, throwing herself on him again. "God, I love all of them! How did you know-?"

"Saw you checking out the green jacket online, but you said you didn't _need _it, and you mentioned your old boots being too worn out," Sam explained. "And while I was ordering those online, I saw the jacket and knew you would love it."

"You were right," Julie grinned, stuffing her hands into the pockets. "Really, they're perfect."

"I'm glad you like them," Sam said, smiling fondly at her.

"But my present's better…" Dean said in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, yeah?" Julie asked, smirking. "Just as long as it's not another free pass to do whatever I want to you in bed."

"Do you know what she did with that, Sam?" Dean complained.

"No, and I really don't want-"

"She got me all excited, got handcuffs and a gag and everything-"

"Damn, Julie!" Sam said, amused and surprised. "Didn't know you were into that stuff."

"Just wait," she muttered, smirking.

"And then she handcuffed me to the bed, gagged me, and went to sleep and made me sit there like that for three hours!" Dean finished, outraged. Sam chuckled, and even Julie had to smile at the memory.

"Well, what's it this year?" Julie asked.

In answer, Dean showed her the funny video of Sam getting scared awake and wiping out on the floor. Julie laughed so hard she could barely breathe, as did Dean, but she had to admit, she'd been hoping for something a little…more.

"And then of course, there's the other present," Dean added once the video was over.

"Oh?" Julie raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, I'll take you to it," Dean said. "Actually, wait. You should go ahead and pack first."

Julie frowned. "What?"

"He's taking you on a trip," Sam explained.

"Where?"

"Not telling," Dean said smugly.

"Well then, maybe I won't go," Julie said challengingly.

"Then I'll get a break from the both of you and get some me time," Dean shrugged.

"Come on, Dean!" Julie said. "Tell me!"

"It's a surprise," he grinned, and his excitement was so contagious she sighed and gave in.

"Fine. Can I at least know what the weather will be like so I can pack accordingly?"

"Warm," Dean said. "I already packed, so I'll go ahead and start loading up the car."

"Wait. We're leaving now? What about Sam?" Julie asked, frowning.

"I'm staying behind to keep an eye out for cases or a development with Beelzebub or your deal," Sam shrugged. "Don't worry about me, though. I'm a grown man. I can hang here for a few days while you two get a well-deserved vacation."

"That's…this is really sweet, guys," Julie admitted, starting to smile. "And you're really not going to tell me where?"

"Nope, but it'll be a pretty long drive, so we're heading out pretty soon," Dean told her.

Julie went into their bedroom and packed a few changes of clothes, bringing layers since she wasn't sure what to expect. She pulled on Dean's favorite pair of her jeans, a light blue, low-cut t-shirt, and her new leather jacket, brushed her teeth and hair, and sat and talked with Sam for a little while as Dean loaded up the Impala and got ready for the trip. Sam wouldn't even give her a hint of where Dean was taking her, but he seemed to think it would be fun.

When Dean returned, he and Julie said their goodbyes to Sam and then walked to the car. Julie couldn't help but feel a little excited as they neared the Impala. She wondered where Dean was taking her, but in the end it didn't really matter. As long as she got to be with him…

Suddenly, he spun her around and pressed her back up against the bed of the car. Dean bent to kiss Julie for a long, wonderful, heated moment, their fingers tangling in each other's hair as they tasted one another. When they pulled apart, Dean brushed a strand of hair out of her face and grinned at her.

"Is that the best present you've received so far today?" he asked cockily.

Julie shrugged. "I think you can do better."

To her surprise, he just smiled wider at that. "Oh, I plan on it," he said with a wink before climbing into his car. Julie had no idea what was about to happen, but she trusted and loved Dean, and knew that whatever he had in mind, she would love. She got inside the car as well, unable to keep from smiling as he revved the engine and started blasting one of her personal favorite classic rock songs through the car. As they sang along in obnoxiously loud voices, Dean sped out of the bunker's garage and out onto the highway.

And Julie didn't even realize that, for the first time in a week, she hadn't cried about or even thought of Jasper at all that day.

* * *

The day seemed to stretch out for a small eternity, but Julie didn't really mind. They were on the road all day, only stopping a couple times for a bathroom break and a meal. Dean was determined to get wherever they were going by sunset, which is why he had insisted on leaving by eight. Julie had felt bad about not seeing Sam very much on her birthday, so after an hour or so of listening to rock blast through the Impala, Julie put Sam on speakerphone and the three of them talked about simple, happy things for a while until he hung up and started researching.

Julie had to admit, she was having fun. Being alone with Dean all day, which hadn't happened for a very long time, reminded her of back when they first got together and lived alone together. She had a lot of good memories from those days, and it was nice to just get to sit and talk and joke around with him for hours. And, when they ran out of things to say, they would just listen to the radio and Dean would drive one-handed so that he could hold her hand. She realized she kind of missed just being alone with the man she loved.

By the time that the sun was beginning to set, they were in Arizona, and he still hadn't told her where they were going. Julie had given up on pestering Dean about it, and she just looked out the window and watched the sun begin to set. It was a beautiful day, with a clear sky, and it wasn't unbearably hot, either.

It was as she stared out the window that Julie saw the sign pointing to the Grand Canyon.

"Wait. Dean…are you serious?" Julie asked slowly.

Dean took his eyes off the road for a second to grin at her. "I remember back when we lived in Illinois, you mentioned you'd never seen it and you wanted to. And somehow, after all my driving around this country, neither have I. So I figured it'd be fun."

"Pull over," Julie ordered him suddenly.

Dean frowned. "What?"

"Pull the car over, Dean!" she said sharply, and he quickly obeyed, starting to worry that he had done something wrong.

But the second the car was off the road, Julie unbuckled herself and threw her arms around him. Dean laughed a little as he realized she wasn't upset, and pulled her into his lap. She kissed him for a long time before she let him go, and even then it was only to say, "God, I love you."

Dean grinned at her. "Guess it wasn't too bad an idea, then. But we'd better hurry. I want to get there before the sun sets."

Julie quickly got back into her seat, and they ended up making it just in time. They hurried out of the car and ignored all the tour guides and visitor centers. They found a patch of railing where no one else was and watched as the sunset set the whole beautiful place ablaze with dozens of colors.

"It's beautiful," Julie whispered after they had stared in awe at the natural beauty for a couple minutes.

Dean put an arm around Julie and pulled her close to him. They wrapped their arms around each other and stood there, never saying a word, until the sun had set and the canyon was now made up of dark shadows.

"Come on," Dean said after a while. "I want to show you the hotel."

"An actual hotel? Not a motel?" Julie asked, surprised.

"It's really more of a honeymoon kind of place," Dean admitted. "But it's super classy. It's got this awesome pool, and there's a Jacuzzi in our room, and I hear the breakfast is insane-"

"That sounds amazing," Julie cut him off, pulling away to look at him. "But expensive. How did you afford that?"

"Well, it took most of our savings, and a little credit card fraud," Dean admitted. "But hey, it's worth it. A few thousand dollars is worth it if it'll make you happy."

Julie smiled, touched. "Dean, you know I'd be happy if you took me out for a nice dinner," she pointed out.

"I know, but you deserve more than that," Dean insisted. "And I'm going to make sure you get it."

They both knew why he was making such a big deal out of this birthday. It could quite possibly be her last, unless they stopped Beelzebub and found a way out of her deal. So they had to make it count…

"Well, let's go, then!" Julie said quickly, pulling Dean back towards the car and trying to forget about all thoughts of what was coming in less than four months. All she wanted right now was be happy on her birthday, and after everything she'd gone through, everything she'd lost, everything that was coming…she deserved that much.

The hotel was beautiful, and their room had its own kitchenette, a living room with a large Jacuzzi, a large, flat-screen TV, and a sofa which was probably nicer than their bed back at the bunker, and a huge master bedroom with a king-sized bed with a canopy that was so comfortable Julie sat down on it and could barely force herself to get up again. As she looked around the large, fancy, beautiful room, Julie noticed that they had a small balcony with a little table and two chairs so they could eat outside if they wanted. When she looked out on the balcony, she saw a huge, blue, beautiful pool below them that made her want to run down there and dive in, even though it was getting late and she was a little worn-out from a long day in the car.

When she came back into the bedroom, Dean was just finishing unpacking their clothes. Julie tackled him with a hug, and he was so surprised he almost didn't catch her. Once he did, he spun her around a couple of times before he set her down, and they were both a little breathless from laughing.

"So you like it, then?" Dean asked with a smirk.

In answer, Julie stretched up on her tiptoes and kissed him for a long moment. When she pulled away, they leaned their foreheads together as they caught their breath.

"I don't deserve you," Julie whispered after a while.

"Oh, don't start that," Dean groaned, pulling away. "You're right, you deserve better."

"You're right, I shouldn't have started this," Julie muttered. "But you're wrong."

"Agree to disagree?" Dean sighed.

Julie nodded, hoping to change the subject to something happier. "This place _is _amazing," she said quickly.

Dean nodded. "No kidding. Can't wait to try out that pool!"

"Tomorrow for sure," Julie said. "And we have to spend more time at the Grand Canyon tomorrow."

"Definitely," Dean said, absently brushing some of her hair out of her face.

"How did you find this place anyway?" she asked Dean, truly curious. It was so perfect that it must have been hard to find and reserve a room at.

For some reason, Dean pulled away slightly and looked down. "I, uh…back when I…back before I knew about your deal, when things were so happy and I realized that I, uh…that I wanted to marry you, I found this place." Julie looked down as well. Although it had been more than a month since that huge blow-up, it still was painful to think about. "It seemed like the perfect place for a honeymoon, you know? Get married in some tiny church with just Sammy and Cas there, and your family, of course—not a big deal or anything. And then we could come down here, see the Grand Canyon, just…be happy."

Dean looked ashamed to want those things. It broke Julie's heart. He obviously wanted to get live a long, happy life, married to her, having kids and finally getting to be normal with her, and that was all she wanted. But that couldn't ever happen because of what she had done to save him.

"Dean…" Julie whispered sadly, starting to reach out to touch him and then stopping herself.

"Sorry," he muttered, turning away a little. "I'm being stupid."

Julie grabbed his arm and turned him back to face her. "No, you're not," she said firmly. "Dean, there's nothing I want more than to marry you and have a life and a family with you and to just be happy. And you know I'd marry you in a heartbeat, but I just…I can't make you a widow. I won't do that."

Dean and Julie stared sadly at each other. It was so damn unfair that they couldn't just be happy together. They deserved that, after everything they'd gone through, everything they'd done, everything they'd lost. But their crappy lives were never going to let that happen. Okay. Fine. This messed-up world could take their futures and even their lives from them, but Julie decided at that moment that they were going to have one good day. Nothing was taking that away from them.

"Let's not do this," Julie sighed.

"Do what?" Dean frowned.

"Think about all the crap we've been through, or how little time I have left. Please, let's just…can't we just have one good day? It was going so well, and now…"

"I know," Dean said softly, touching her cheek. "You're right. I mean, it's your la…your birthday."

Both of them looked down, trying to pretend he hadn't almost just said "your last birthday."

They were silent for a moment, and then Dean suddenly snapped, "Oh, screw it. This could very well be your last birthday, Jules, unless we find a way to save you or stop Beelzebub. So we're going to make it count."

To his surprise, Julie started to smile. "Got anything in mind?" she asked suggestively.

Dean smirked. "Hell yeah, I do!" he answered, and without another word, he started kissing Julie passionately. She kissed him back, tangling her fingers in his hair, and then sliding her hands down to the collar of his over-shirt. Dean let Julie pull his button-down shirt off, leaving him in a black t-shirt, and he slid her new leather jacket off of shoulders and onto the floor.

Dean picked her up and hitched her legs around his waist. He gently pressed her back up against the wall and they kissed for a long time, only pulling apart to catch their breath for a couple of seconds. But after a few minutes, Dean couldn't take it anymore and the two of them collapsed onto their huge, soft, comfortable, new bed. It wasn't long before the rest of their clothes were hitting the floor as well.

And that whole night, Julie never once thought of her dead uncle and how much she missed him. She didn't think of how her time was quickly running out. She didn't think how the end of the world was coming (again), and fast.

She didn't think of anything but Dean and how damn much she loved him.

* * *

When Julie woke up, she was alone.

Last night, she had drifted off to sleep, exhausted but happier than she had been in a long time, nestled in Dean's arms, her head resting over his chest so she could hear her heartbeat. That had become one of her most comfortable positions to sleep in. When the nightmares of losing Dean would come, she would wake up and hear his steady heartbeat in her ear and feel his solid warmth all around her, protecting her, and it was one of the only things that could calm her.

But this morning, when she woke up, she was alone. Julie frowned sleepily and reached out through the silky bedsheets, searching for Dean, wanting to feel his warm skin under her fingers, wanting to kiss him for so long that she got light-headed, wanting him to touch her and hold her like he had all last night. But he wasn't in bed. The sheets were cold, so he had been out of bed for several minutes. Julie was just beginning to become worried when she heard running water and rolled over in bed to see light seeping out from under the bathroom door.

Content knowing that Dean was okay and just in the bathroom, Julie sat up in bed, drawing one of the sheets around her. It was surprisingly chilly in their room this morning, and she was grateful to find a thick, fluffy, soft, white robe lying at the foot of the bed. She smiled at the thought of Dean getting up and laying it out for her, knowing she would want it. He was such a thoughtful guy, and a romantic, even if he wouldn't admit it. He had put this whole thing together, for God's sake! This was by far the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for her, and she was suddenly so grateful she had found Dean. Sure, having him in her life meant constant danger, dying and suffering ten years of hell, and in the end, selling her soul. But when she thought of how wonderful Dean Winchester was, how good he was, even if he wouldn't believe it…she couldn't possibly regret her decision to choose him.

Julie pulled on the robe and tied the sash around her waist. Then she padded across the glossy hardwood floor to the huge window that made up one of the wall of the room. She pulled open the curtains and saw that the sun had only just risen, and the beautiful pool and scenery were spread out under a clear, light blue sky. Julie stood there, arms wrapped around herself, looking at the beautiful scenery in awe for a couple of minutes. Eventually, she heard the bathroom door open, but she didn't turn around. And pretty soon, a pair of solid, warm arms went around her waist and Julie leaned back into Dean's bare chest.

They didn't say anything for a long time, just stared outside in awe. After a while, Dean bent a little to kiss Julie's neck softly. She closed her eyes and tried hard to cement this perfect moment in her memory. She never wanted to forget this, no matter what came next.

Eventually, Julie turned to face Dean. He was wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and, while his green eyes were bright and alert, he still had his typical morning bedhead. Julie smiled fondly at that, reaching up to smooth down his spiky, light brown hair. Then her hand slid down to his face, tracing over the sharp lines of his jaw and his cheekbones and the outline of his lips. This time, it was Dean who closed his eyes and tried to burn the feeling of Julie's gentle fingers tracing over his jaw into his mind forever. Even if neither of them said it, they both knew they didn't have a lot of time left together, and little moments like this really counted.

After a while, Julie's hand slid down to Dean's bare chest to rest over his heart. His heartbeat was surprisingly fast, and for a moment, Julie was proud of herself that even after all this time together, she could still get his heart racing.

Dean knew it was time to say something, but he didn't want to ruin this moment between them. In the end, it was actually Julie who eventually wrapped her thin arms around Dean's waist, drawing close to him, and said softly, "We should probably go do something."

Dean smirked suggestively. "What exactly does 'something' entail?"

Julie rolled her eyes. "Really, Dean? Did you not get enough of that last night?"

"Excuse you, you can never have 'enough' sex," Dean said, mock-offended. "Especially when it's with you."

Julie rolled her eyes again, biting her lip to keep from smiling. "Real smooth. But, sorry, Romeo. We can have sex back home. But we can't see the Grand Canyon back home."

"Good point," Dean sighed, and the two of them quickly got dressed. They went downstairs and found a glorious buffet of all breakfast foods imaginable. After a hearty, delicious breakfast, Dean and Julie drove back to the Grand Canyon and took one of the official tours. Dean was a bit nervous to go out on the glass walkway, saying it was too close to flying, but Julie dragged him out onto it, and once he was there, he had to admit that it was pretty cool. After a morning at the Grand Canyon, the two of them found a cute little diner nearby and had a nice lunch.

In the afternoon, they returned to the pool and found it empty. Julie was glad Sam had advised her to bring a swimming suit when she saw how eager Dean was to go swimming. Julie put on a blue bikini, not missing the way Dean couldn't keep his eyes off of her when she did, and she let him help her apply sunscreen, since her pale skin burnt easily. That, of course, took about four times longer than it should have, with Dean constantly trying to untie her bikini or getting turned on by rubbing her back with lotion. But eventually, she got him down to the pool, where he suddenly turned into a five-year-old boy.

Julie had brought the latest novel she and Sam were reading together to do some nice tanning and reading and relaxing, but in the end she spent most of the time watching Dean. He loved swimming to an almost ridiculous extent, diving off the highest diving board, testing to see how long he could stay under water or how quickly he could do a lap of the pool. Julie was surprised they hadn't gone swimming before, seeing how much he loved it. He whined and teased and begged her to get into the pool with him, but she refused, saying it made her feel childish. Finally, he gave up, and Julie went back to reading. She was getting sucked into her novel, in the middle of a riveting chapter, and-

Suddenly, a cold, wet arm went around her waist and she screamed. The next thing she knew, Dean was throwing her over his shoulder, and his wet skin was getting her wet, too.

"Dean! Dean, come on! What are you doing? Would you put me down? Dean?!" Julie protested, struggling to get free. But he just chuckled and kept on walking, right towards the pool. Realizing what he was up to, Julie shrieked, "Dean, no! Dean Winchester, I swear if you throw me in that pool you are getting no sex for-"

"Hold your breath!" Dean yelled and then he jumped into the pool, taking Julie with her.

The cold water came as a shock to Julie, but it wasn't uncomfortably cold. She kicked away from him and came up for air, spluttering and angry. Dean popped up a couple feet away, grinning. "You _can_ swim, right?" he asked innocently, pushing his wet hair off of his forehead. "Wouldn't want you to drown or anything."

Julie glared at him as she pushed her wet hair out of her face. She sent a large splash of water at him, hitting Dean square in the face. She couldn't resist a laugh as he spluttered angrily, and then tried to splash her back.

"Oh, come on! You splashed me! You have to let me get you back!" he cried as she began to swim away.

"Not after you dunked me in the pool against my will!" she shot back, trying to stay out of his reach. Dean began to swim after her, and Julie tried her best to outswim him, but he was faster and stronger and caught her pretty easily. He grabbed her around the waist and dragged her close to him. She squealed in protest, hitting at him and trying (but not very hard) to get free, feeling like a child. But it wasn't an all-together bad feeling.

"You lose," Dean smirked cockily, his face only a couple inches away from her.

"You're a jerk, you know that?" Julie sighed, unable to stay mad at him for very long.

"So I've been told," he shrugged. They were in a part of the pool that was shallow enough for him to stand and have his head and shoulders be above water. And since he wasn't focused on trying to stay afloat, he was very focused on how close Julie was and how little clothing she was wearing.

Julie seemed to be thinking similarly, because she leaned in and kissed him. Her lips tasted of chlorine, but Dean didn't care. He pressed her closer to him, and as her skin brushed against his, he absently wondered why they didn't go swimming more often. He was having loads of fun…

They kissed for a very long time, and when Dean finally pulled away, he immediately started pulling her towards the edge of the pool.

"Where are we going?" Julie asked breathlessly.

"We're going to go try out that Jacuzzi," he smirked, hauling himself out of the pool and pulling her out with him.

Julie grinned. "I'm all for that," she smirked, and they hurried off to their room so quickly that Julie forgot all about the book and towels they had left by the side of the pool.

* * *

That night, after Dean and Julie finally dried off and put on dry clothes, they went out to a nice restaurant nearby for a classy dinner. Julie's hair was wavy and frizzy from being in the pool, and Dean was wearing ripped jeans and an AC/DC t-shirt, and the two of them got dirty looks from all of the well-dressed people eating there, but that just made it more fun. The food was excellent, and the snooty waiter gave them plenty to make fun of. After they returned to the hotel, Dean called Sam and put him on speaker phone, and Dean and Julie stretched out on their bed, arms around each other, and talked for an hour or so with Sam, who had made no progress in his research, but was glad they were having fun.

The next day, after another long night where very little sleeping was done, the two of them got up, had another nice breakfast, and went out for a while. They went out and saw a movie and made out in the back like teenagers, and got a quick, cheap lunch at a cheap diner that Dean much preferred over their classier eating choices so far. After lunch, Dean wanted to do some exploring and shopping, but Julie was a bit tired and starting to feel a little under the weather. Dean drove her back to the hotel and offered to stay with her, but Julie knew he would just worry over her, his motherly instincts from raising Sam taking over and making him overbearing. She sent him out to have fun and took a nap for an hour or so. When she woke up, she was feeling better, but Dean was still out and she had to find something to do.

Julie tried to find an interesting TV show, but nothing was on, so she got on her small laptop. She supposed she should look for a case, but she didn't really want to put a lot of effort in. So she decided, _what the hell_, and just typed in supernatural deaths and scrolled through the things that popped up.

Most of it was crap, stuff from movies or books or hoaxes. She hadn't expected anything good, but she was bored and wanted something to do. But one very interesting thing popped up on the second page of results.

It was some page about who had died in something called _Supernatural_. Probably another crappy book or movie. But, as she skimmed over it, she saw:

**Dean died and was brought back by John selling his soul in ****_Devil's Trap _****and ****_In My Time of Dying. _****Dean later was killed again by hellhounds and sent to hell in ****_No Rest for the Wicked. _****Dean was killed one hundred times by the Trickster in ****_Mystery Spot. _Sam and Dean were both shot and killed in the unpublished _Dark Side of the Moon._**** Sam was killed by Jake in ****_All Hell Breaks Loose_****. Sam died again when he threw himself and Lucifer into the pit in the unpublished ****_Swan Song_****, Edlund's final book in the ****_Supernatural _****series.**

Julie stared at the screen, shocked. Then she read that paragraph again. And again. She kept scrolling through the page and saw the deaths of Bobby Singer, Castiel, Ellen and Jo Harvelle, Ash, Pamela, John, Mary, Jessica Moore, and others. Horribly familiar names, names that Sam and Dean would occasionally mention with pained, guilty looks. People they had loved and lost over the years.

No one should know this. How the hell would some random author Carver Edlund know this stuff? Julie was horrified and confused and…intrigued. She couldn't help but look up the first volume online and begin to read…

* * *

Three hours later, Dean returned to the hotel. He hadn't meant to be out that long, but he had gotten caught up in the shopping and exploring of the new place. He had found some new jeans and shirts and a new dark jacket, because his old one was so blood-splatted and filled with holes and tears that it was past saving. He'd also found some really freaking hot black lingerie when he accidentally wandered too far into a department store, and had bought some in Julie's size. Sure, she'd probably give him crap and never wear it, but…it was _really_ sexy!

He'd also bought some delicious sandwiches and a box of chocolates and a bottle of Julie's favorite wine, so she hopefully wouldn't mind that he had been out for a few hours.

When he unlocked the door to the hotel room, he found Julie on the sofa, huddled up in front of her laptop, looking much better than before. She was completely engrossed in what she was reading. Dean set the stuff he'd bought down on the floor and collapsed onto the sofa. "Hey, Jules," he said brightly, peeking over her shoulder. "What are you reading?"

She started and then moved her laptop so that Dean couldn't see it, and he frowned. He would have been confused if he hadn't caught a glimpse of what she was reading and seen the name Carver Edlund at the top of the website.

"No," he said slowly. "Please tell me you didn't find them."

Julie stared at him, wide-eyed. "Dean…why is there an entire book series telling the story of you and Sam's lives?"

Dean groaned. "I bet if you get deep enough in, you'll get to the book where we find out about them and hunt down that 'Carver Edlund' guy," he said drily. "I'm pretty sure he wrote about that."

"What…how…?" Julie asked slowly.

"First…how far are you?" Dean asked carefully.

"The third book," Julie said. "You were just talking to that little guy who won't talk, and he drew you a picture. It was really cute and sweet, and now his mom's into you, which is making Sam jealous, because apparently in this book series you and Sam are gay for each other?!"

"I swear, if Chuck hadn't vanished, I would kill him," Dean growled. "No, we're not gay! You of all people know that, Julie! He just thought our lives weren't interesting enough apparently and felt the need to add all that stuff in for subtext."

"I mean, I guess I could see it," Julie muttered, mostly to herself. "You guys do love each other an unhealthy amount, and you live together, and you're both good-looking, and willing to sell your soul for each other…it is plausible…"

"Are you even hearing yourself right now?!" Dean cried. "That's it. No more reading these books. You're forbidden."

"Forbidden, huh?" Julie smirked, her eyes dangerous.

Immediately, Dean backed down. "No, not forbidden, I just meant…uh…" Finally he gave up, grinned weakly, and pulled a very tiny, lacy black dress out of a shopping bag and held it up. "Feel like getting a little crazy tonight?"

Julie shoved his shoulder. "Oh my God, Dean. Really? Now?!"

"I was trying to get off the subject of the badly-written, way too descriptive book versions of my life," Dean snapped. "Which I don't want you reading."

"Why not?" Julie snapped. "I'd like to know what your life was like before I met you."

"Well, with these books, you get to know _everything_. I mean it. I tried to read them once, and I had to stop. Have you ever wondered what my brother's like in bed, Julie?"

She looked down and tried very hard not to remember the time where she'd kind of been in love with Sam and had definitely wondered that at least once. "No," she said quickly.

"Well, I never, _ever_ wanted to know, and now thanks to those books, I have a way too vivid description of exactly what he's like," Dean groaned.

"You know, you could have just quit reading," Julie pointed out, and he shot her a death glare.

"Fine, I'll skip over the sex scenes," she sighed. "I'm not into that kind of crap anyway. But I do want to know what your lives were like years ago. This way you don't have to talk about the painful stuff, but I can still know about it and help as much as I can."

Dean shook his head. "I'm not going to convince you not to do this, am I?" he sighed.

"Nope."

"Fine," he sighed. But then he lifted up the lingerie and grinned. "But if you're reading those books, you're wearing this."

* * *

The next morning, Dean woke up and rolled over to kiss Julie awake and found her huddled over her laptop again. He groaned. "Which book is it this time?"

"Skin," she said, barely paying attention to him.

Dean sat up a little in bed. "What happens in that one?"

"It's the sixth one," Julie muttered. "You and Sam go to see one of his college friends and then a shifter pretends to be you."

"Right, that was a load of fun," Dean grumbled. "The first time I ever became convicted of murder."

He rubbed his eyes, still waking up, and then frowned. "Wait. You're on the sixth one already?"

"Yeah," she shrugged, eyes still on the screen. "They're kind of crappy and there's not a whole lot of substance to them, but you blow through them pretty quickly and they're kind of addictive."

"Fantastic," Dean grumbled. After that, they were silent, Julie reading through the book while Dean just watched her face, content to spend the rest of his life staring at her.

"Ugh," Julie said suddenly, and Dean frowned, "What?"

"I kind of hate shifter you," Julie said. "He's being an ass to Sam, pretending it's you saying all of this crap that I'm sure wasn't actually true, but it's really getting to Sam."

"Yeah, the guy was a psychotic asshole," Dean snapped. Then he shrugged. "He was one handsome son of a bitch, though."

Julie took her eyes off the screen for a moment to smirk at him. She reached out and ran her fingers through his hair. "I like human you way better," she said softly.

"That's good, considering shifter me took pretty blondes like you and cut them up for fun. Pretty sure a relationship between the two of you would not have ended well."

Julie rolled her eyes and turned back to the screen. She began to read again, but she didn't get very far before Dean's phone began to ring.

He rolled over and found it on the nightstand. "It's Sam," he told Julie.

"How is he calling us? He's tied up in the shifter's lair right now," Julie said, only half-paying attention.

Dean stared at her for a long moment before shaking his head. "Wow. This is going to be a lot of fun, having you read these books, I can tell."

Dean picked up the call and said, "Sammy. Please tell me you're not tied up in a shifter's lair right now."

"What? No. Dean, are you drunk?" Sam asked, confused.

"I wish," Dean grumbled. "What's up, Sammy?"

"Look, Dean…I'm really sorry about this," his little brother said softly. "I'm sure you guys are having a ton of fun out there, and I'm so glad, but…"

"You found something, didn't you?" Dean sighed.

"Three people have died in the past week, and I can't risk letting anybody else die," Sam said sadly.

"I know. Of course. Meet you at the bunker?" Dean said shortly.

"Florida, actually."

"Huh. Okay, just give me an address and we'll be there."

After getting the address from his brother, Dean hung up and turned to Julie. She looked away from her screen. "Sam find something?" she asked.

"Yep," he sighed. "Time to get dressed. We're saying goodbye to this place and meeting him. And not in a shifter's lair, just so we're clear."


	62. Chapter 62

**Chapter Sixty-Two**

Dean drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel of the Impala just to get rid of the silence in the car. Even he'd gotten tired of blasting classic rock through the car for the long car ride over to the amusement park in Florida where they were meeting Sam. They were almost there, but he was bored out of his mind and tired of sitting in silence. Julie was sitting next to him, engrossed in one of the _Supernatural _books, and Dean finally broke down and asked, "So, which book are you on right now?"

"Route 666," Julie said flatly. "The thirteenth one."

"Route 666…okay, I have no idea which hunt that would be," Dean admitted.

"Black people are getting killed by a ghost truck that drives them off the highway," his girlfriend said shortly.

"Oh, right," Dean said. Then he frowned. "Wait. If you're reading that one then… you know, you probably don't want to read that one. It's not very good, if my memory serves."

"Dean, I already got to the part where you and Cassie have sex," Julie sighed.

"Great," he sighed. "Please tell me you skipped it."

"I skimmed through it," Julie shrugged, smirking very slightly.

"Ugh. Why would you want to read that?"

"Well, it was eight pages long, Dean! I kept thinking it was over, but no, you two were still going at it, and he just had to write every gory detail."

Dean shuddered at the thought of his girlfriend reading a way-too-vivid description of him having sex with another woman. "Well, isn't that just horribly uncomfortable for me," he muttered.

She smirked and glanced over at Dean. "How come you never mentioned her?" Julie asked. "The book makes it seem like you really cared about her. Sam is convinced you're in love with her."

Julie didn't sound jealous, surprisingly, just curious. "Yeah, well, Sammy just wanted me to hook up with some chick so he could have me off his back," Dean muttered. "And I don't know why I've never mentioned her. To be honest, I'd kind of forgotten about her. That was over ten years ago, and, well…a lot has happened since then. That was the last time I ever saw her."

"Huh," Julie muttered. For a while they were silent, and then Julie laughed softly.

"What?" Dean asked nervously. He didn't like not knowing where she was in the story of his life.

In answer, she quoted, "'I'm going to kill him.' You two were funny."

"What, and we're not now?" Dean pouted.

Julie rolled her eyes at him and went back to reading. Dean was grateful when he finally reached the amusement park where they were meeting Sam. Julie closed her laptop, and the two of them got out of the car and walked over to one of the classic cars from the bunker's garage, where a tall, shaggy-haired man stood waiting.

Julie threw her arms around Sam and they hugged for a long moment before pulling apart. "Hey, Julie," he said warmly. "Did you guys have a good time?"

"A great time," she beamed at him. "It's good to see you, though."

"Sorry about pulling you guys away from there," Sam sighed.

Dean reached out and clapped his brother on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Sammy. I couldn't take another second with her, anyway."

Julie shot him a look, and Sam frowned, confused. "She found the _Supernatural _books," Dean explained, and Sam nodded in understanding. "She'd rather read about twenty-six-year-old me than spend time with thirty-seven-year-old me."

"Well, to be fair, twenty-six-year-old you seems pretty hot," Julie smirked teasingly.

"What, and I'm not?" Dean pouted.

"_Anyway_…I'm fairly certain there's a case here," Sam said quickly to get them off the subject of the _Supernatural _books.

"What have we got so far?" Dean asked, slipping into work mode.

"Two employees of this one ride have died in freak accidents this week, and one of the managers of this place was found dead with a bunch of fake corpses on the ride," Sam explained.

"Lovely," Julie muttered. "Which ride?"

Sam pulled out a map of the amusement park and pointed to a monstrous roller coaster. "'The Whirlwind of Doom'?" she asked skeptically.

Dean chuckled. "What a name. Any idea why people related to the ride are dying?"

"Maybe," Sam shrugged. "I went on the ride once earlier today-"

"Wait, what?" Dean snapped.

"That's dangerous, Sam!" Julie protested.

"I was fine!" he sighed. "It was really fun, actually. It starts out slow in this graveyard, and you're going through some really crappy horror sets and then you start to pick up speed and it turns into this really intense roller coaster and everything's pitch black, and at the end you suddenly stop and then these fake corpses suddenly drop down in front of you and you hear evil laughter and then you fall one hundred feet straight down and then it's over."

"Okay, that sounds really cheesy and incredibly awesome," Dean laughed. "I want to try it!"

"The park's going to close any minute," Sam explained, and his brother groaned. "But once it's dark, I figured we'd break in and look around for some clue as to what's going on."

"But I thought you had a lead?" Julie frowned.

"Well, about a month ago, this guy didn't properly harness himself in, and when they took a sharp turn he kind of fell out and snapped his neck," Sam explained.

"Yikes," Julie muttered. "And you went on this thing?"

"Well, I harnessed myself properly. And anyway, his wife pushed for the ride to be shut down, but the people running the park wouldn't do it, and they covered the whole thing up really well."

"So you think maybe the guy's out to shut down the place and get revenge?" Dean guessed.

"Makes sense," Sam shrugged. "Problem is, he was cremated."

"Fantastic," Dean muttered. "So, what? Search the ride for remains or hope we run into the killer and get a clue on how to put him to rest?"

"Pretty much," Sam shrugged.

"Awesome," Dean sighed. "So now what?"

"We wait until dark."

* * *

Sam and Dean sat in the front seat of the Impala, watching and waiting for the security guards standing by the gate to clear out so they could break in. Julie sat in the backseat, reading a _Supernatural _book on her laptop.

"Which book are you on now?" Dean asked in a bored voice.

"Number fifteen, _The Benders_," Julie recited.

"Wait, is that when those crazy people kidnapped me?" Sam frowned.

"Yep," Julie said darkly. "And Dean teams up with that Kathleen woman, the cop, to find you, except she gets caught, too, and then so does he."

"Those were some fun times," Sam muttered. "Where are you now?"

"One of those sick bastards just stuck a burning poker into Dean's shoulder," Julie growled dangerously.

Dean winced at the memory. "Yeah, that hurt like hell."

"It's too bad," Julie muttered.

"What?" Dean asked with a frown.

"I assume at the end of this, you two kill these psychos," she said.

"Kathleen kills their father, the head crazy, if I remember correctly," Dean sighed. "But yeah, we finish off most of them."

"_I _finish off most of them," Sam muttered. "You sit there, tied to a chair, while a little girl keeps you from getting free."

"Okay, you didn't know that kid. She was absolutely crazy. Kept threatening to cut my eyes out if I tried to talk, and she was just a _kid_!"

"Well, anyway, I kind of wish they weren't dead," Julie snapped. "I want to hunt down this main guy, the father, and make sure he dies a slow, painful death."

"Just for hurting me? Oh, you're sweet," Dean said sweetly, causing Sam and Julie to roll their eyes. But it was true. Reading about how that man had caused Dean pain, Julie wanted to tear him limb from limb.

"Guys, look," Sam said suddenly. The three hunters looked up to see that the two security guards had disappeared to watch a different part of the fence. The three of them silently slipped out of the Impala and hurried over the fence. Dean scaled the fence pretty easily, and Sam gave Julie a quick boost so she was right behind him. Finally, Sam climbed over the fence, and the three of them slipped into the shadows and crept silently through the abandoned amusement park on high alert for any guards. No one came near to discovering them, though, and they made it to the Whirlwind of Doom pretty easily.

They had been expecting to pick the lock to the ride, but they found the padlock already unlocked, chains piled on the ground instead of holding the door shut. Sam and Dean frowned and exchanged a look, uneasy, before pulling their guns out. Julie did the same, and they slipped inside of the dark ride, suspicious. The fact that the ride was unlocked probably meant that someone else was in here, maybe someone related to the mysterious deaths.

Dean was leading the way when he felt something crunch under his foot. He looked down and, in the eerie, spooky lighting from the ride, saw a skull crack under his boot.

"Ugh," he muttered. "Are you kidding me?"

"It's plastic, Dean," Sam sighed, rolling his eyes. "You're fine."

"I wasn't grossed out, Sam, I was just irritated. I mean, it's not even very real-looking. Don't they have any class-?"

"Guys," Julie hissed suddenly, and they both stopped talking when they heard what she had noticed first. Footsteps coming their way.

Without a word, they slipped into the shadows, guns loaded and ready, as the footsteps neared. Dean realized there were two sets of footsteps, and they were getting closer every second.

Two people rounded the corner, and immediately, Sam and Dean sprang forward and leveled their guns at the two men's heads. The two men cried out in surprise, and one of them dropped his handheld video camera, while the other tried to pull out his own pistol and ended up fumbling and dropping it on the ground.

Dean stared at the two familiar faces for a moment, and then groaned.

"Oh, my God," Sam muttered, lowering his gun.

"You've gotta be freaking kidding me!" Dean growled, throwing his hands up in the air. "You two? Really?"

"Well, well, well," a short, dark-haired man said smugly. "Look who it is, Ed."

"If it isn't 'the professionals,'" his buddy, a man with reddish hair and a scruffy beard smirked, pushing his nerdy glasses up on his nose. "You boys are a little late to the scene."

"The hell are you two doing here?" Dean growled at their old…well, he wouldn't call them friends. He really didn't even want to call them acquaintances.

"When there's a ghost causing trouble, then that's where the Ghostfacers will be!" Harry, the dark-haired "Ghostfacer" said proudly.

"That's not even a good catchphrase," Dean sighed, rubbing his eyes. Suddenly, he was very tired and frustrated. He did not have the patience for these two right now.

"Wait a second," Sam said, frowning. "What are the _two_ of you doing here?"

"We told you, we're hunting a ghost, or is it too hard to hear up there?" Ed smirked, proud of himself for that little quip.

"No, he's right," Dean frowned. "Last time we were with you two, you broke up."

"Oh, right," Harry muttered, looking down. "That."

"We, um…we did some soul-searching," Ed started.

"Ed did some work on his own, and I tried to have a normal life for a year," Harry explained. "But then I realized…normal life is boring. I missed the Ghostfacers, and Ed-"

"Ed is the only Ghostfacer left besides you," Dean muttered, which earned him dirty looks from the two of them.

Ed finished, "And we realized we work better as a team."

"Well, that's great," Dean said with false enthusiasm. "Now, why don't you two go work as a team somewhere else? Anywhere else. I don't care where as long as it's not here."

"Finders keepers, boys, and we were here first," Harry smirked cockily.

Ed suddenly elbowed his partner and hissed, "Harry, look. There's a chick with them."

Harry followed Ed's line of sight to Julie who was standing back and watching, amused. "A hot chick," Harry whispered back, grinning.

Sam noticed where they were staring, and turned to look at Julie. "Oh, right. Julie, this is Ed and Harry, the Ghostfacers," he said quickly, as way of introduction. "She's a hunter like us."

"I was wondering when you boys were going to stop the bickering and remember I was here," Julie said sweetly, stepping forward. "Nice to meet you, guys. You seem to know Sam and Dean pretty well."

The two Ghostfacers grinned stupidly as Julie gave them a charming smile. "Too well," Harry said.

"What's a nice girl like you doing hanging around a couple of dicks like them?" Ed asked in his best attempt at flirting.

"You boys don't even know if I'm nice!" Julie pointed out. "I could be a dick, too."

Both Ghostfacers laughed and then muttered, "Dibs," before bursting out into an argument over who got dibs on Julie.

"Hey. Hey! _Hey!_" Dean yelled over the top of them. The two of them turned to glare at him as he put an arm around Julie and pulled her close to him. "Pretty sure I get dibs, boys," he smirked, before turning to kiss her briefly.

Ed and Harry both groaned and Sam smirked. "Of course a guy like you would get her, chisel chest," Ed muttered.

Julie laughed pretty hard at that. "What?" Dean snapped.

"Chisel chest," she laughed. "That's funny."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Okay, well, this has been great, catching up, but I say it's about time to say goodbye and you two can run along home."

"Yeah, right," Harry smirked.

"Isn't it past your bedtimes?" Dean said coolly.

"Right back at you!" Ed snapped, and Dean rolled his eyes.

"Look, guys, why don't you just let us do our work?" Sam sighed. "This is pretty serious, and we don't need you guys getting caught up in the middle of it and getting hurt."

"If I remember correctly, we saved your asses last time we worked together, so…" Harry smirked.

"Yeah, right before he had to save both of yours," Dean shot back.

"Okay, everybody calm down!" Julie snapped. "Let's quit it with the pissing contest and actually think rationally. Would it kill any of you if we all worked together?"

"Yes," Dean muttered.

"No," she snapped, shooting him a look. "This way we've got strength in numbers."

"Jules, these guys aren't hunters," Dean protested. "They can't fight. Hell, they can barely walk sometimes."

"Hey!"

"We work with them, we're putting ourselves in danger," Dean finished, ignoring the protesting men.

"Like we'd want to work with you two," Harry snapped irritably. "But we would work with you," he added quickly with a glance in Julie's direction.

"Of course they would…" Dean sighed. "Look, I think it's best for everyone if you two let us fix this mess. We'll give you credit if that makes you happy-"

Suddenly the roller coaster tracks they were standing on started to tremble. "Get off the tracks!" Sam yelled, grabbing the backs of the Ghostfacers' jackets and throwing himself and the two of them out of the way. Julie barely tackled Dean in time and the two of them went sprawling while the roller coaster cars whizzed past at a sickening speed.

The five of them were speechless as they caught their breath. "That was close," Ed got out eventually.

"No kidding," Dean snapped as he sat up. He turned to Julie and brushed his fingers across a scrape on her forehead. "You alright?"

"I'm fine," she muttered, sitting up as well. "What do you think? Was that the ghost?"

"Probably," Sam said. "That coaster shouldn't be going on its own."

"So what? A killer coaster ghost wants to take us out because it knows we're a threat?" Harry asked. Then he turned to his friend. "Quick, write that down! That was good."

"Yeah, it was," Ed muttered excitedly, pulling out his phone to record that.

Even Julie had to roll her eyes at that. "Come on, guys," she sighed, getting up. "Let's look around for some clues as to how to stop the ghost. And try not to get killed by your 'killer coaster ghost.'"

Dean and Sam led the way through the dark ride, shining flashlights around on cheesy props. At one point, Dean got his hopes up when he saw some blood on the wall, thinking maybe this was where the man who had died had snapped his neck, but it turned out to just be more scary decorations.

For about thirty minutes they searched the ride, but found nothing that even looked helpful. And for thirty minutes, Dean had to listen to those two bumbling idiots babble about EMF and whether or not it was the whistling wind or a ghost speaking that they kept hearing. Of course there was EMF here. But they already knew that the ghost was here, so knowing that there was EMF was pretty unhelpful at this point.

"I'm going to kill them," Dean muttered to Sam and Julie when Ed began to comment on how a fake boulder looked like it was moving.

"I don't get why they're videoing all of this," Julie replied quietly. "I mean, nothing interesting has happened since the roller coaster almost killed us."

"They're videoing this?!" Dean snapped, turning to face the two Ghostfacers.

"What the hell, guys?" Dean snapped at them. "When did we give you permission to video us while we're working?"

"This is about the fans, smartass, not you," Harry said smugly, clearly proud to have fans.

Sam and Dean both rolled their eyes. Julie smirked. "Wait. This kind of stuff has fans?" she asked, amused.

"Thousands of them," Harry said cockily.

"You wouldn't believe how many girls we have throwing themselves at us," Ed said proudly.

Sam and Dean both snorted at that, and then put on innocent expressions when Ed and Harry shot dirty looks towards them.

It was as Dean tried to cover up for his laughter that Dean saw the flicker of movement behind Ed. The next second, a tall, broad-shouldered man with a gaunt face, pale skin, and a trail of dried blood running from him mouth down his chin appeared behind the oblivious man. Dean's eyes widened when he saw the twisted, jagged chunk of metal in the ghost's hand as he drew it back to drive into Ed's skull.

Without quite realizing what he was doing, Dean lunged forward and tackled Ed, knocking him out of the way just in time. Unfortunately, Dean didn't make it all the way to safety before the ghost brought the jagged piece of metal down.

"Dean!" Julie and Sam both cried as the hunk of metal sunk into his shoulder and he cried out in pain. Sam raised his shotgun and fired a round of salt into the ghost, causing it to vanish.

Ed and Harry stared at Dean in shock as Julie ran to his side and caught him before he fell to his knees. A second later, Sam was grabbing his good arm and hauling him upright while Julie tried to examine his shoulder wound.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean growled when Julie quickly pulled the metal out of his skin.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, feeling horrible. She studied the wound and saw a pretty jagged, bloody hole in Dean's shoulder. She started to pull her jacket off to press onto his shoulder to slow the bleeding, but Sam stopped her and pulled off his over-shirt to hand to her. She quickly balled it up and pressed it onto Dean's shoulder. "Can you hold it there?" she asked him gently.

In answer, he pressed down hard on his shoulder with his good hand, trying not to wince. "I got stabbed in the shoulder, not in the heart," he pointed out.

Julie ignored his tough guy attitude and told the others, "Okay, time to go. We're having no luck here, and we're just putting ourselves in danger. Besides, this guy needs to get to the motel so I can make sure he doesn't bleed out or get infected."

"I'm fine!" Dean protested.

"No, you're not, Dean," Sam sighed. "Come on, you two," he said to the two Ghostfacers who were standing there in shock, Harry still videotaping all of this.

The five of them left the ride quickly, Julie leading the way with her shotgun, almost wanting the ghost to appear so she could make him pay for stabbing the man she loved. But they were left alone as they left the ride, and no security guards were anywhere near them as they hurried to the fence. Sam had to help a wounded Dean over the fence, and it took the two Ghostfacers ridiculously long to climb the fence that Julie and Sam scaled almost effortlessly. But eventually, they all made it back to the parking lot.

Ed and Harry followed behind Sam as they drove back to the motel where both groups were staying. Ed and Harry were both concerned enough about Dean that they followed the three hunters into their motel room and watched wide-eyed as Julie went to work.

"Sam, go soak these towels for me, would you?" she barked, slipping into trained medical professional mode. "No, not you, Dean. You're going to sit on this bed and take your jacket off so I can get a good look at your shoulder. And you two, put that camera away!" she snapped, and Ed and Harry quickly obeyed.

Julie stood over Dean, whose face was really beginning to show the pain he was in. He removed his jacket and over-shirt and sat there in a black t-shirt and jeans. Julie pushed the left sleeve of his shirt up and began to use the wet towels to wipe away as much of the blood as she could. Sam hovered nearby with a sewing needle and thread and several bandages, ready to help. Harry stood there feeling useless, while Ed watched guiltily, knowing that very well could have been him. Or he could be dead.

"Could one of you grab something for the pain?" Julie asked the two Ghostfacers when Dean couldn't keep himself from making a short cry of pain through gritted teeth as Julie began stitching his shoulder up. She had already treated him for infection and now she wanted to stop the bleeding as much as she could.

Ed scrambled around, looking for pain medication while Dean snapped, "I'm fine. Really, I don't need anything!"

"Oh, shut up, Dean," Sam said shortly. "You're not fine."

"I can't find any medicine," Ed said desperately.

"That's because she meant whiskey," Dean snapped. "The best way to numb pain that I know."

"Oh," Ed said softly. Harry quickly found a bottle of whiskey in one of the bags nearby and handed it to Dean. He took a ridiculously deep, long drink of the very strong alcohol, and the two Ghostfacers watched, wide-eyed, amazed that anyone could drink that much alcohol and not pass out.

Dean quickly finished off the whiskey and shook his head. "Whoo! Okay, that definitely helped."

"Now you're going to be hungover tomorrow, aren't you?" Julie sighed as she finished off his shoulder.

"Quite possibly," he admitted. "One of you want to grab me another?"

"No," Julie snapped at Ed and Harry. "We're cutting him off from alcohol for the rest of the night. He needs to be able to work tomorrow."

"And here I thought you loved me," Dean said, sounding betrayed.

"Oh, I do," Julie said with the slightest of smiles. "Which is why I fixed up your shoulder instead of letting you bleed out."

"How kind," Dean said wryly.

Julie bent to kiss Dean for a moment, and Ed and Harry looked away, uncomfortable, while Sam smirked.

"So, uh…now that he's not bleeding anymore…do we have a plan?" Harry asked uncertainly.

Dean and Julie broke apart. "Yep," Dean said brightly. "You two are going to go in your room and get a good night's sleep so that tomorrow you can get up bright and early and drive back to wherever you came from."

"Look, dickwad-" Harry snapped, bristling.

"Really?" Dean asked dangerously, standing up so he could tower over the two of them. "That's what you want to go with? Remember this 'dickwad' just saved Ed's life."

"Okay, so that wasn't so bad, but that doesn't mean you're any better than-" Harry started.

"Look, let's just worry about this tomorrow," Sam sighed. "Right now, I think we all need sleep."

Dean and Harry both looked like they still wanted to argue, but Julie put a hand on Dean's arm to stop him, and Ed said, "Harry…he's right. We'll worry about this later."

The two of them went to their own motel room, and the three hunters changed into sleep clothes and passed out on their motel beds. They were going to need their rest for whatever was coming tomorrow.

* * *

"You sure you're okay, Dean?" Julie asked, fretting over him as he walked over to the dresser to pull out a clean shirt, trying not to wince whenever he moved his shoulder.

"No, actually, I think I'm going to sit home and cry and let one little stab wound keep me from doing my job," Dean said sarcastically.

Sam and Julie exchanged looks. All morning, Dean had been especially surly and irritable, probably because he was in more pain than he was letting on. That wasn't going to make working with him very fun…

Right as Dean stripped off his old t-shirt and pulled on a clean one, ignoring his shoulder wound as it flared up, someone knocked at the motel door. "I got it," he grumbled, storming over the door and grabbing his gun off of a nightstand before opening it.

"Awesome," he said coldly when the two men he'd been dreading seeing forced their way inside the room. "You know, guys, I'm really not feeling so hot today, and I don't have the patience or energy to put up with you two, so if you want to go ahead and keep on walking right out of here before I shoot you in the kneecap…"

"We thought you might be like that," Harry smirked. "Or say that you didn't need our help. But the jokes on you guys. When we were taking videos and you were making fun of us for it, we saw something that I think will explain everything _and _give us a way to stop the ghost."

The three hunters exchanged looks. "What did you find?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"Like we're going to tell you," Ed smirked.

"No, we're doing this one on our own. Just wanted to inform you boys who was winning this round." Harry smiled cockily.

Dean eyes narrowed. "So you two think you're going off on your own to stop this dangerous ghost who would have murdered you if I hadn't saved your sorry ass?"

"That's exactly what we're doing," Harry shot back, although Ed looked a little uncertain.

Dean opened his mouth to snap at them, but Julie put a hand on his chest and pushed him back slightly. "Look, guys," she said carefully. "I know that you two and Sam and Dean haven't always gotten along super well, but whatever you guys found, I think it's safer for all of us if we all just work together to stop this ghost before he hurts someone else."

"Not safer for us!" Dean snapped. "They could make some rookie mistake and get us all killed, or-"

"Dean," Sam and Julie said simultaneously, in identical warning tones.

Ed and Harry exchanged looks. "Fine," Ed conceded. "We'll tell you guys and work together. But you have to let us film."

Dean opened his mouth to protest, but Sam quickly said, "Deal. As long as you pixelate our faces or edit us out or something so no one knows who we are."

"Why don't you want people to know who you are?" Ed frowned.

"For one thing, we don't do this to get famous, we do it to save people," Dean said coldly. "And the last thing I need is to be spotted by a fed. I've been on the FBI's most wanted list frequently, and the only reason I'm not now is because they think I'm dead. I'd like to keep it that way."

Ed and Harry exchanged wide-eyed looks, completely overwhelmed by that statement, and then, to change the subject, quickly pulled out their laptop, which was hooked up to their camera. "We saw this because we kept rewatching the footage of Dean getting stabbed," Harry explained.

"Please tell me you're not one of those creeps that gets off seeing other people in pain," Dean grumbled, earning a kick in the shin from Julie.

"No, we're one of those creeps who notices strange symbols on ghosts' arms!" Harry said proudly.

"You do realize that made no sense," Dean pointed out.

"Dean, look at this," Sam said, intrigued, leaning forward to look at the picture. It showed the ghost's right forearm as he brought down the hunk of metal to stab Dean. Etched into the dead man's skin was what looked like a voodoo symbol, one that Sam recognized.

"Oh my God…" Sam whispered. "I know who's doing this."

* * *

The three hunters and two Ghostfacers got out of their respective cars and walked up to the home of Catherine Daniels. She was the wife of the ghost, Mike Daniels, and Sam had visited her yesterday before Dean and Julie arrived to see if she might be connected. She had seemed innocent enough, grief-stricken and a little angry with the amusement park as well. As Sam left, he had noticed a couple strange symbols carved into a fancy vase that reminded him of voodoo, but he hadn't thought much of it.

But now, after looking up the symbol, he wished he had. Because the symbol was very clearly an old voodoo symbol used to summon the spirits of the dead.

It had taken a while to do the research to find the symbol, and a while longer to get the ingredients needed for a spell that would break the one that was summoning Mike Daniels. Then, it had taken even longer to get the Ghostfacers ready and out of the motel. By the time the five of them were approaching the house, it was closing time for the amusement park. They had to act fast, because the ghost had killed the employees at about this time in the past, and they had to break the spell before someone else got hurt.

Dean knocked loudly on the door and yelled, "Mrs. Daniels?" For a long time, there was no reply, and then a dark-skinned, short, heavy-set woman timidly opened the door a crack.

"Yes?" she asked softly.

"I don't really have time to be polite about this, so I'll get to the point," Dean snapped. "Are you using voodoo to summon your dead husband's spirit and make him attack the people running the ride that killed him?"

For a moment, the woman stood there, shocked and scared, and then she tried to slam the door. Dean put his hand out and stopped the door, and the five of them forced their way inside.

Catherine Daniels backed away, terrified. "Stay away from me!" she cried, looking around for a weapon and seeing none.

"Mrs. Daniels, we need to stop the spell before your husband hurts someone else," Sam said as gently but firmly as he could.

Her eyes narrowed. "I know you!" she said accusingly. "You said you were a reporter who could help get that horrible place shut down for letting my husband die!"

"And you said that you didn't know anything about those deaths, so I guess we're both liars here," Sam said coldly.

Catherine's face crumpled. "I didn't mean for this to happen," she said, sounding near tears. "My grandma…when I was little, she told me these stories of magic…voodoo…being used for good. And when she died, she left me her old spell books and for some reason, I never threw them away. Then when Mike died…and they just covered it up and pretended it never happened…I was so upset that I tried to do a spell. It was just to get them shut down, so nothing like that ever happened to anyone else."

"But you didn't know what you were doing, and so you ended up summoning the vengeful spirit of your dead husband and now he's killing people," Dean finished coldly.

Catherine sobbed at that, and Julie shot Dean a look and gently said, "Mrs. Daniels…I'm sorry about what happened to your husband, I really am. I know how destroyed I would be if I lost the man I loved, how I would do anything to get him back. But we have to put him to rest so nobody else dies."

Catherine was shuddering with sobs, but she managed to nod. "Okay. I…okay."

"We need everything you used for the spells," Sam told her, and she disappeared and came back with a bowl full of burnt-up herbs, what looked like a couple bones, and a picture of Mike Daniels. Dean removed the picture, dumped everything else out, and started loading ingredients into the spell.

"We need to hurry," Julie said, concerned. "Both of the employees died at eight twelve, which is in two minutes."

Catherine watched through teary eyes as Sam and Dean prepared the spell and read the incantation, and Ed videotaped the whole thing. Once the spell was finished, the six of them were silent, waiting.

And then suddenly he was there, the gaunt ghost from the ride, standing just a couple inches away from Dean.

Acting on pure instinct, Julie grabbed Dean's good arm protectively and pulled him away from the ghost of Mike Daniels. But the dead man paid them no attention. He had eyes for one person only.

"Cathy…" Mike said in a hoarse, raw voice, his pale fingers reaching for her face.

Silent tears poured down Catherine's face. "Mike…" she whispered.

"Why did you do this to me?" he asked, his mood suddenly changing to angry and accusing. "You turned me into a murderer!"

"I didn't mean to, Mike!" she sobbed. "I didn't mean to, please believe me. I'm so sorry!"

But the ghost wasn't listening. He roared angrily and lunged at his wife, and she and Ed and Harry all screamed in fear.

Suddenly, the ghost went up in flames and vanished. Everyone turned to see Sam kneeling over the spell, having set the whole thing on fire, effectively putting the ghost to rest.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Dean turned to Ed, who was still videotaping, and said, "And…that's a wrap."

* * *

Ed stood nervously by and watched as Dean Winchester loaded a couple bags into the trunk of his car. "So…you're leaving then?" he asked the man.

"Well, the ghost is at rest, Mrs. Daniels doesn't seem like she ever wants to summon a ghost, and we took her voodoo books, so…" Dean shut the trunk and dusted his hands off. "Our work here is done."

Ed frowned. "Just like that?"

"It's what we normally do," Dean shrugged. "And we've got a lot of work we need to do, things to get back to." He frowned. "Why? Can you just not bear the thought of us leaving?"

"That's definitely not it," Ed said quickly, his eyes narrowing.

Dean smirked as he walked past Ed and back towards the motel. "Didn't think so. Well, Ed, whatever's bothering you, spit it out so we can get the hell out of here."

"I guess I just…thanks," Ed finally got out, looking down.

Dean frowned and stopped. "For what?"

"For…for saving my life," the Ghostfacer said, for some reason unable to meet Dean's eyes.

"Oh, that." Dean sighed. "I would have done it for anyone. It's kind of in my job description. You know, save people, hunt things. It's nothing personal."

"I know, but…still. Thanks."

For some reason, Dean found himself smiling a tiny bit. "Sure."

"You're not so bad, Dean," Ed admitted, finally looking up.

Dean studied the other man and sighed. "And I guess you're not a total dick yourself, Ed. But you should know that if your post any of those videos with me and Sam and Julie in them, I will have to hunt you and Harry down and shoot something a little worse than your kneecaps."

"That's enough of that, tough guy," a familiar voice said, and Dean looked up to Sam and Julie walking towards them, Julie having just spoken. Harry was a couple steps behind them.

When Julie reached Dean, she took his arm. Harry watched them jealously for a moment, wishing he had a girlfriend as hot as that. Well, he had a hot girlfriend once. But then this life got in the way. So maybe he just needed to find a girl who was interested in this lifestyle like Dean had…

"You two ready to go?" Dean asked his brother and girlfriend.

"Ready if you are," Sam said, shouldering his bag.

"Then let's get out of here," Dean said. "See you two…hopefully never," Dean said coolly to the Ghostfacers.

"Yeah, well…right back at you!" Harry yelled after them as the three hunters turned away. Julie turned and waved at them, smirking slightly, before she got into the backseat. The two brothers got into the front seat of the Impala, and Ed and Harry watched as the black, badass car sped out of the parking lot and out of view.

"They're good at their work, I'll give them that," Harry muttered after a moment. "But those guys are real jerks."

And to his surprise, Ed smiled. "I don't know," Ed shrugged. "They're not so bad."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry this chapter took so long. Life has been busy, and I got pretty serious writer's block trying to write this chapter. I knew I wanted a Ghostfacers encounter about now, but I didn't have a good idea for a hunt. Anyway, I apologize if my writing is not up to its normal caliber (or lack of, depending on what you think of this story). I've got some exciting stuff (_I_ think) coming up, though, so stick with me! As always, please continue to read and review! Thanks!


	63. Chapter 63

**Chapter Sixty-Three**

_"__Sam, _please…_" Julie sobbed as yet another hellhound raked its claws down her leg, shredding skin and causing her blood to pour onto the floor. She shrieked in agony and then screamed, "Make him stop! _Please_!"_

_Sam turned his face away, unable to watch anymore. "Just stop," he said quietly. "I know she's not real. There's no point."_

_"__No point?" Lucifer smirked as he watched the hellhound begin to lap at the blood from Julie's leg. "I don't know, Sam. It really seems to be getting to _you."

_"__Just stop," Sam repeated, hating the desperation that was coming into his voice._

_Over in the corner, the battered, bloody form of his brother stirred slightly and moaned. His green eyes opened and somehow, through all that blood on his face, he saw the hellhound now moving to sink its teeth into Julie's arm. "No…" Dean moaned. "Jules, no…stop…"_

_Sam couldn't stand the pain and fear in his brother's voice. He couldn't stand it when Julie screamed yet again, or when Dean cried out and tried to drag his body over to hers to shield her, but was so weak and broken he could barely move. He couldn't take this anymore._

_"_Stop!"_ Sam roared, burying his face in his hands. "Lucifer, stop it!"_

_"__What's the magic word?" Lucifer asked in a sing-song voice._

_"__Just make it stop," Sam growled. "Please. I'm begging you Lucifer, stop!"_

_To his surprise, the devil snapped his fingers and the hellhound vanished. Sam stared at Julie, shocked, as she realized she was no longer under attack and began the painstaking process of dragging herself over to Dean. One of her legs was horribly cut up by the hellhound, and her other ankle was twisted at a very wrong angle, but she still managed to drag her body over to Sam's brother._

_Dean's left arm was broken, as well as at least one of his legs, and judging by the way he was cradling his ribcage with his good arm, several ribs as well. His face was covered in blood and bruises, and Sam was sure he was bleeding severely internally. He had been forced to watch as Lucifer punched and kicked his brother, snapping bones when just punching him wasn't enough. Sam knew that blood-covered, broken man wasn't really his brother, but it was still horrible seeing even an imaginary Dean like this._

_Julie finally made it to Dean, and with a trembling hand, she reached out and touched his cheek gently, her hand coming away red. "Dean…" she choked out, the word almost a sob._

_"__Heart-breaking, isn't it?" Lucifer sighed, and Sam jumped. He had been so caught up in watching the two people he loved most that he had almost forgotten that the devil was standing right next to him. "She loves him so much, and yet, tragically, she can never be happy with him."_

_Sam wasn't going to give the monster next to him an answer. He didn't deserve one._

_"__She's something else, this Julie Carters," Lucifer commented, crossing his arms and studying this wounded, imaginary version of her. "I see a lot about her in your head, Sam. She's a very smart girl, and sweet, but she can hold her own in a fight next to you two. And she's not bad-looking, either," Lucifer smirked. "But you know that, don't you, Sammy? I hear you used to be in love with her."_

_Sam glared at the wall, refusing to acknowledge him._

_"__You must hate what's happening now," Lucifer continued knowingly. "Watching her time run out, watching her and your brother slowly going crazy trying to find a way to save her."_

_"__Shut up," Sam snapped, unable to bite his tongue anymore._

_Julie, who had been looking Dean over to see how serious his wounds were and if she could help, looked up at the sound of Sam's voice. "Sam," Julie got out, desperation in her voice and eyes. "Please, help me. He's dying. We've got to do something!"_

_"__Well, Sam?" Lucifer smirked, eyes amused and malicious. "Aren't you going to do something?"_

_Dean groaned on the floor, and Sam noticed for the first time that his brother was lying in a growing pool of blood. Sam noticed that Dean's shirt was soaked through with blood, and one of his ribs must have poked through his skin when it broke. Julie was there in an instant, soothing Dean and trying to prop him up so there was less blood filling his lungs._

_"__Sam, help!" Julie cried, panicking. "He can't hold out much longer."_

_"__Please," Sam choked out. "Lucifer, please, just stop."_

_"__As you wish, Sam," the devil said brightly. Sam blinked, surprised that he was actually complying with Sam's wishes._

_And then Lucifer flicked his wrist, and with a horrible snap, Dean's neck jerked at a horribly wrong angle._

_"__No!" Julie screamed, trying to feel for a pulse in Dean's neck and ignore how obviously broken it was. "No, Dean, please…come on, Dean…stay with me…I can't lose you, please…_Dean_…"_

_She was sobbing by now, stroking the side of Dean's bloodied face, tears pouring down her face. Even though Sam knew that wasn't really his brother lying there dead on the floor, there was still a lump in his throat, and his eyes stung._

_"__Why did you do that?" Sam got out in a cold, hard voice after a long moment of watching Julie crying over Dean. "You said you would stop."_

_"__I did," Lucifer shrugged. "I stopped his suffering. Isn't that what you meant?"_

_Sam glared at his brother's corpse, wishing more than anything that he could murder the monster next to him. "I'll stop hers, too," Lucifer offered._

_"__No!" Sam cried, but it was too late. Already, two hellhounds had appeared out of nowhere and leapt on Julie. Sam was held back by some invisible force, and he couldn't reach her or even try to help her. All he could do was look away as his best friend was slaughtered. But he couldn't block out her horrible screams or the sound of the hounds tearing at her, ripping her apart._

_Eventually, they were silent, and Sam knew Julie was dead. He didn't have to look to know that her bloody mess of a body would be lying there next to Dean's, and he didn't want to look. He didn't want that image burned into his brain for what was left of his miserable life._

_"__You…sick…bastard," he got out, arms literally shaking with anger._

_"__Now, now, let's be civil, Sam," Lucifer chided him._

_"__I'm going to kill you," Sam growled. "I hope Beelzebub can get you to rise, because when you do, I'll find a way to kill you."_

_"__No, you won't," Lucifer said almost fondly. "When Beelzebub is able to raise me from the pit, I will find you and your brother, and I will do everything you just watched me do and worse to him until you say yes to me. I would do the same to dear Juliet, but she'll already be dead."_

_Sam was still turned away, but suddenly Lucifer was right in front of him. "But I _will_ rise, and when I do, I will possess you. And then you and I are going to destroy this world and make a better one. _My_ world."_

_And then, finally, Lucifer lost his hold on Sam's mind, and that horrific nightmare ended._

* * *

_Dean opened his eyes, blinking a few times in the dim sunlight seeping through the curtains over the motel window. The sunlight was bright enough that he decided it was time to get up and face the day, so he pushed himself into a sitting position. Julie lay next to him on her side, her back to him. He watched her chest rise and fall for a moment before resting his hand on her arm and rubbing his thumb soothingly back and forth on her thin shoulder._

_All of the sudden, she looked so small and breakable to him, just a skinny girl who looked even younger when she slept. He had seen her fight demons to protect him, seen her kill monsters single-handedly, seen what a fierce warrior she was. But right now, looking at her and knowing what was coming in almost three months…she looked like someone who needed protection._

_Dean frowned, a little confused, when she didn't react at all to his touch. No matter how deep asleep she was, Julie usually gave some sort of subconscious reaction when he brushed up against her. But before he could worry too much about that, he heard a familiar voice._

_"__Who is that?"_

_Dean's eyes widened, and he looked up, shocked. A sandy-haired young man with a very familiar face stared at him from where he stood in the doorway. His expression was confused and curious, but there was something in his eyes, something cold and hard and dangerous, that told Dean what he already knew. This young man before him was more than just a kid._

_"__Ad…Michael?" Dean asked suspiciously, barely catching himself from blurting out his half-brother's name. The archangel was still possessing Adam Winchester, it seemed, although Adam's soul was probably in heaven at this point. Dean sure hoped he hadn't been trapped in the pit with Lucifer and Michael all this time._

_"__Hello, Dean," Michael said flatly. And then he repeated, "Who is that girl?"_

_Dean suddenly became hyper-aware of the fact that he was wearing nothing but sweatpants. "What the hell?!" he snapped, quickly getting out of bed and yanking on his t-shirt from last night. "What are you doing here? Wait. You're not…_actually _here?"_

_"__No," the archangel said flatly. "I am still in the cage with Lucifer. And do thank your brother for dragging me in here, by the way," he said sourly. "But Lucifer's servant, the Knight of Hell Beelzebub is breaking a set of seals to open the cage, and its defenses are weakening. Parts of my conscience can now slip through, so I thought I'd talk with you."_

_"__You're a bit slow, Mike," Dean snapped. "Lucifer's been pestering my brother for weeks."_

_"__Yes, well, he is able to navigate hell and human's minds a lot more easily than I," the archangel shrugged indifferently. "Now I gave you an answer, and I think you owe me one in return. Who is that girl in your bed? Another one of your sluts? I never did approve much of your…more sinful habits with women."_

_"__She's not just some one-night stand kind of girl," Dean snapped. "She's my…" Dean stopped. What even was Julie to him? She was more than a girlfriend, more serious and permanent than that word implied. But she wasn't a wife or fiancé either, thanks to her deal. She was…_

_"__I see," Michael said suddenly, and Dean snapped, "You see what?"_

_"__I can look around a bit in your head during these dreams," he replied. "I see what you think of her. You love her very deeply. That's funny. The last time we met, you did not seem interested in commitment."_

_"__Yeah, well, a lot's changed since you went in the cage, Mike," Dean snapped. "And, God willing, a lot more will, considering you and Lucifer will be spending the rest of eternity in there."_

_"__You seem quite confident about that," Michael said coldly. "But it's quite unlikely that you and your brother will be able to stop Beelzebub. You have to consider you options, Dean. When Lucifer gets free, he will try to destroy the earth, and he will start by murdering everyone you've ever cared about. The only way to stop him will be to say yes to me, and allow me to stop him through you before he ends the world."_

_"__You always did tend to leave out the part where the battle between you two kills millions, if not billions," Dean said icily. "We've been over this, or have you forgotten? I won't ever say yes to that."_

_"__But you almost did before," Michael pointed out with a knowing smile. "You had given up all hope and fallen into despair, and you were tired of trying to fight your destiny. And I see in your head that this girl you love, Julie…she is damned. When she dies and Lucifer possesses your brother, do you really think you'll still feel like fighting?"_

_"__That's not going to happen," Dean growled. "I won't let it."_

_"__I admire your fighting spirit, Dean," Michael said almost fondly. "We will need that to defeat my brother. But I doubt you will have the will to keep fighting when all the rest of them are dead."_

_"__You know, maybe you're right," Dean said coldly. "Maybe I wouldn't be able to continue to say no, if I lost Jules and Sammy and everyone else I cared about. But that will never happen. I'll die before I let anything happen to them."_

_"__You can always be resurrected," Michael pointed out._

_"__I know. Believe me, I know. Honestly, getting resurrected is getting a bit old. But even if you did resurrect me, you'd still have to get me to say yes. And if you don't have anyone you can threaten to get me to give in, if everyone I love is dead…you're never going to get that yes."_

_Michael's expression darkened with rage. "I don't understand you, Dean Winchester," he growled. "You pretend to be a hero, pretend that you care about saving people, but you would rather let the world be destroyed than kill your brother?"_

_Dean thought about it for a moment, and then shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much."_

_Michael glared at him for a moment, and then his eyes flicked to Julie's sleeping form for a moment. A slow, cold smile spread across Dean's half-brother's face. "You're strong and defiant now, Dean. But let's see what happens when she's dead and in hell. I bet you'd do anything to save her soul, maybe even say yes to me."_

_And before Dean could lie and say that he wouldn't say yes, Michael vanished and he woke up._

* * *

Julie walked into the kitchen with two mugs of coffee and stopped to shake her head when she saw that Dean had broken out the alcohol while she was gone and started pouring whiskey for himself and his brother.

"It's not even nine o'clock, and you're already getting wasted?" she sighed, setting down the coffees on the table and giving them both reproachful looks.

"I just watched you and Dean get murdered by the devil," Sam replied flatly.

"And I just had an archangel remind me that in three months, I could very well be left alone, with everyone I care about dead or possessed," Dean added dully.

Julie wanted to be frustrated with them, but she couldn't. The poor guys had just gone through their own personal hells; for Sam, it was being trapped with Lucifer and watching him murder the people he loved, and for Dean, it was the thought of everyone he loved dying and him being the only one left.

"I know, guys," Julie said softly, putting one hand on each brother's back and rubbing their backs soothingly. "It's awful, and I wish you two hadn't just gone through that. But we've got to work a case today, and I need you sober."

Dean stared longingly at his glass of whiskey, until Sam suddenly stood up and dumped both glasses. "You didn't have to dump it!" Dean protested.

"I was making a statement," Sam replied gravely. "Instead of getting drunk and letting those two get to us, we're going to actually be sober enough to help Julie save people."

"Yeah, but that stuff wasn't cheap," Dean grumbled. "We could make a statement _and_ not waste our hard-earned money…"

"Thanks, Sam," Julie said, ignoring Dean. "Now, what do we know so far?"

"Well, in the past two months, one young man and woman have been disappearing monthly in the next town over, and several people have been found dead in the past year in this town with their hearts missing," Sam recited.

"So, werewolves," Julie guessed.

"Sounds like it," Sam agreed.

"But why the monthly disappearances?" Dean pointed out. "That seems really methodical, like maybe it's spell work. And always one guy and one girl?"

"And from the looks of it, they're always relatively young, healthy people," Sam added.

"Huh," Julie said, and they were all silent for a moment, stumped. "Well, we can figure out what that's about later, once we find the werewolves and stop them. How long has it been since two people went missing?"

Sam disappeared for a moment to grab his laptop, and after a quick bit of surfing, he found the information he needed. He looked up at them gravely and said, "A month."

Dean and Julie blinked. "You're kidding."

"Sadly, no."

"Of course," Dean sighed. "So, looks like we've got a lot of work to do, and we've got to do it fast."

"It's weird, though," Julie pointed out. "The full moon isn't tonight. It starts tomorrow. But they always disappear at this time of month?"

"Or a little before," Sam read as he sifted through several articles on his laptop. "You're right, though. Never during a full moon."

"So…what? It's not werewolves?" Julie asked, confused.

"Sam, remember that case we worked a few year back, the one on that campus?" Dean said suddenly, his eyes lighting up

"Right, the pureblood werewolf that turned that one college guy so we would go after him," Sam said, remembering. "That didn't work out too well for him in the end, though, since we still found him."

"Didn't work out too well for those kids, either," Dean muttered, remembering the disturbing video that had been left behind at the home of the three college students. One of them had documented everything that had happened, and Dean had watched as three kids' lives were destroyed, and two young men ended up dead, while the girl, Kate, went on to try to be a werewolf that only ate animal hearts, her old life destroyed.

"What about that case?" Julie frowned.

"Well, apparently pureblood werewolves can turn all during the year, not just on full moons," Dean explained. "So, maybe it's a pureblood we're dealing with."

"Could be," Sam shrugged. "Problem is, we still need to find it."

"Where have the people disappeared from?" Julie asked, hoping there was a location where they could find the werewolves.

"Their homes…going on a run…a local bar…a grocery store…" Sam recited, reading through several different articles.

"Awesome," Dean said. "So it could be anyone, anywhere."

"Well, where have the people been found dead?" Julie asked.

Sam frowned, did a bit of searching, and found four different locations. "Outside a bar, behind a grocery store, in a park…"

Julie frowned. "Wait. The same bar and grocery store where others were kidnapped from?"

A spark appeared in Sam's eyes, and he began to search. "Yep," he said excitedly after a little bit of research. "Same park that a couple got kidnapped from as well."

"So, three locations where they've taken or killed people before?" Dean asked excitedly. "And how close are they to each other?"

"Within three miles of each other," Sam said, beginning to smile.

"Great," Julie said. "So, we've got a three mile radius we need to check out, looking for places a werewolf or even a pack of them might want to live. And if we can't find that-"

"Then we'll each go to one of those locations and wait and see if any wolves show," Dean finished.

"This is weird, though," Sam pointed out. "Normally, werewolves aren't this methodical, you know? I mean, they're animals. Sometimes, their human sides don't even know that they're werewolves."

"That's true," Dean conceded.

"Like Madison in _Heart_!" Julie said, and then instantly regretted it when guilt flashed across Sam's face. "I, uh…sorry. I shouldn't have-"

"Don't worry about it," Sam grumbled. "I did what I had to. What she asked me to. There's no cure that we know of for werewolves, and she didn't want to go on being a monster. I just wish you hadn't started reading those damn books."

"I'm with you there, Sammy," Dean said. "You know how awkward it is when you find out your girlfriend is sitting in the same room as you while reading about you having sex with another woman?"

"It's only awkward if you make it awkward," Julie teased him. "But in all seriousness, we should probably get to work. We've got a lot of ground to cover before nightfall, and it's a full moon tonight."

Dean stood up, walked over to the motel bed, where a couple of his guns were sitting, and loaded one full of silver bullets before cocking it and tucking it into the waistband of his jeans. "Well, what are you two waiting for?" he smirked. "Let's get to work."

* * *

Dean absently drummed his thumbs on the wheel of the Impala to the beat of the Journey song he was playing quietly through the car. He had to do something to keep himself entertained. Sam had been inside the morgue, pretending to be an FBI agent, for over an hour, and he was about ready to die of boredom. They'd scoured the three mile radius between the places where people had been taken from, and found nothing out of the normal. Just nice, suburban homes full of nice, suburban people. Now Sam was trying to see if the local cops had any clue what was going on (unlikely), but they were running out of time. It was nearing nightfall, and Dean wasn't letting any other innocent people die on his watch.

He just wished he could actually be doing something. He and Julie hadn't really wanted to pretend to be feds today, so they were waiting in the car. Julie was engrossed in her laptop, reading yet another _Supernatural _book. For the past week, whenever Sam and Dean were busy researching or doing something else, Julie was buried in those books. Last time Dean had checked, she had just gotten to the part where he sold his soul, but the girl read fast. He had no idea where she was now, and he didn't really feel like asking.

That was until he glanced over at her when he thought he heard sniffling, and saw Julie crying silently.

"Jules!" he said, surprised, before turning the radio off and moving in his seat to face her better.

Julie tried to turn her face away and hurriedly wiped the tears away. "Sorry," she said quickly. "I, uh…" She couldn't seem to think of anything to say.

Dean studied her, concerned. "What book are you on?" he asked slowly.

"_No Rest for the Wicked_," she got out eventually. "I just finished it."

"Oh, Jules…" he sighed, frustrated. "Why would you read _that _one? You knew what was going to happen!"

"I just…I don't know," she shrugged, and then sniffled. "I guess I hoped…it's stupid."

"What?" Dean asked gently.

"I guess I hoped it wouldn't end like I thought it was going to," she admitted. "I was hoping you and Sam and Bobby and even Ruby could find some way out of it."

"Yeah, I was, too." Dean studied her for a moment, taking in the haunted look in her eyes and the barely masked pain. "How does it end? With me dying?"

"I wish," she muttered. "No, it ends with you in hell. And it's…it's very descriptive."

"God, why would you read that?" Dean asked, his tone both reproachful and gentle. "You _know_ what it's like! Why the hell would you want to read about me getting tortured?"

"I didn't! I…I don't know. I couldn't stop." Julie looked down and wiped her eyes again. "I'm so sorry, Dean. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"You're sorry about _me_?" Dean asked, a little irritated. "Jules, I'm sorry about _you_! At least I chose hell. You didn't have a choice, Beelzebub just dragged you down there."

"Well, I chose it this time," Julie muttered.

Dean's jaw clenched. "Julie, I want you to listen to me," he said sharply, and she looked up, surprised. "Your story is not ending that way. You are not going to hell, you hear me? I won't let it happen. Somehow, we are going to find a way out of it."

"Dean, if Sam couldn't save you-" she started to protest.

"Sam didn't have an angel and a demon in his corner, and all of the knowledge we have now," Dean said firmly. He reached out and took Julie's hands. "I'm not letting what happened to me happen to you, Jules. I promise."

Julie stared into his eyes and saw what she already knew, that he'd die before he let the hellhounds take her. That thought was both comforting…and terrifying.

"Nothing's going to happen to you," he insisted. "Okay?"

"Okay," she whispered.

Dean helped Julie climb somewhat awkwardly over to him, and they sat nearly on top of each other in the driver's seat of the Impala, Julie nestled up against Dean's chest while he rested his cheek on the top of her head. Julie wrapped her arms around Dean's waist, feeling how solid and whole he felt and reminding herself that he _was_ whole now, at least. He wasn't the tortured, bloody, battered soul that Carver Edlund had just been describing in his book.

The two of them sat like that for a while until they were jolted out of their peaceful silence by the door to the backseat opening and Sam climbing in.

"You two okay?" he asked, frowning.

They pulled apart and Julie quickly scooted back over to her seat. "Yeah," Dean said, clearing his throat. "How did things go?"

"Well, the cops knew nothing," Sam said shortly.

"Well, isn't that shocking," Dean said sarcastically.

"So, what now?" Julie asked.

"I guess we split up, go to those three locations where people have disappeared or been found dead, and we wait," Sam sighed.

"Awesome," Dean groaned. "More waiting. My favorite."

* * *

For the first time in his life, Dean found himself wishing a werewolf would appear. Normally, he didn't sit around hoping a monster would come along, but at least it would give him something to do.

He'd been hanging out in his car at a spot where he could see most of the rather small park, trying not to look like he was about to do something perverted or illegal. But normal guys did not sit in their cars all night, creepily watching the people who went on night jogs through the park.

He wished Sam were here. Sam used to be always with him on stakeouts, and at least he would have someone to talk to or annoy to keep himself entertained. Sometimes, he missed those days of just living with his brother, the two of them depending on each other because they didn't really have anyone else.

But Dean wished Julie was here, too. He could talk to her, or make out with her in the car just to pass the time. Or he could just sit here and hold her hand, and her mere presence would be enough. Every second he wasn't with the woman he loved, he felt like he was missing out on vital time, especially now that their time together had a time limit.

_Just three more months_, he thought darkly. In a little more than three months, hellhounds would be coming for Julie, and despite everything he said, there wouldn't be much he could do to stop them besides die trying.

Dean was relieved when a couple appeared on the jogging trail, jolting him out of those dark thoughts. There was a very athletic-looking man, as tall as Dean, and even broader and more muscular, and a tall, thin, lithe woman jogging next to him with dark hair chopped short around her pretty face. The attractive, athletic couple jogged down the path, talking with each other, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

But Dean had a hunter's instincts. So he noticed the dark-haired, bearded man who seemed to appear out of a nearby patch of woods before the couple did.

Dean didn't stop to think. He took one look at the hungry way the new guy was eying the couple, grabbed his gun, which was loaded full of silver bullets, and quickly got out of the car.

The couple was several yards ahead of him when the man stepped into their path. They slowed to a walk and tried to go around him, but he moved to block the man's path. Dean heard the man's low voice ask him politely to move, and then snap at him when the dark-haired man still didn't move.

Dean was almost there when the dark-haired man suddenly shoved the jogger and he went sprawling, landing hard on his back. The woman screamed and tried to run to the male jogger, but the dark-haired man grabbed ahold of her, and in the moonlight, Dean saw his eyes go feral and wolf-like.

"Duck!" Dean roared at the woman, and she stared at him, wide-eyed, before processing what he said and bending down as much as she could.

Dean fired his gun, and a bullet went straight into the werewolf's brain. And not a moment too soon. If he had waited any longer, the werewolf would have bitten the girl and she would have been a monster like him.

Dean lowered his gun when he reached the woman and the crumpled werewolf next to her. She backed away from him, terrified. "Sorry about that," he said brightly. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you. I was just here to stop him from hurting you. And now it seems my work here is done."

The male jogger groaned and sat up groggily. The girl forgot all about Dean and rushed to his side. "Dave, are you alright?" she asked, panicking.

"I'm okay, Ann, really," he said, gently pushing her off of him. "You're smothering me."

Dean smiled slightly, suddenly reminded of himself and Julie. Every time he got wounded on a hunt, she would hover over him, worried and desperate to treat his wounds and ease his pain, even if he wasn't even badly wounded. It was annoying, and endearing, and Dean was sure this guy felt the same way about the woman who was now helping him up.

"What happened to that guy?" Dave asked, frowning.

Ann looked up at Dean and swallowed. "He, uh…he shot him and saved me."

The two of them stared at Dean and he tried a winning smile. "You're welcome."

Neither of them replied, and he sighed. "Okay. Here's what you two are going to do. You're going to go home and pretend this never happened, okay?"

They looked about ready to obey him, when another woman cried, "Oh my God! What happened?"

Dean turned around and saw three people dressed as joggers running towards them. "Son of a bitch," he muttered. Looks like he wasn't getting out of here as easily as he had hoped.

The three people, two tall, well-built guys like Dave and a pretty, toned, tan blond with her pale hair back in a braid reached the Dean, Dave, Ann, and the dead werewolf. "What happened to him?" the woman asked softly, staring at the dead man.

"This crazy guy attacked these two, and I had to shoot him to keep him from killing her," Dean explained shortly.

"Oh, he wasn't going to kill her," one of the men corrected Dean. "He was going to turn her into a werewolf. Him, too," he added, nodding at Dave.

Dean's blood ran cold, and then he raised his gun to shoot as many of the three of them as he could before they overwhelmed him. But somehow, the other guy had gotten behind him, and he grabbed Dean's arm. The two of them fought over the gun for a moment, but the werewolf had inhuman strength, and he was able to overpower Dean and pry the gun from his hand. He threw it far out of Dean's reach and then he and the other male werewolf wrestled Dean until they got him pinned. He managed to get a couple good hits in, and he was pretty sure one of those werewolves would have a pretty nasty shiner in a few minutes, but they got his arms pinned and he was practically powerless.

The terrified Ann and Dave turned and tried to make a run for it, but two more people emerged from the woods and closed in on them, the three werewolves not pinning Dean forming a loose circle around the poor, terrified joggers.

The blond werewolf picked Dean's gun up off the ground and looked inside of it. "Silver bullets," she mused. "So you're a hunter, then."

Dean smirked at her, trying to ignore how painfully tight the other two werewolves were pinning his arms and how majorly screwed he was right now. "Guilty as charged."

She walked closer to him, studying him. "Judging by your attitude and good looks and that ridiculously obvious car over there, I would say you're Dean Winchester."

"Sweetheart, you haven't even begun to see my attitude yet," Dean replied cockily, although on the inside, he was panicking.

Behind him, the girl, Ann, shrieked, as another werewolf growled and took a playful snap at her. Dean glowered at the werewolf in front of him. "Why don't you let those two go," he snapped, and it was more order than question.

"They're the ones we're here for, Winchester," she replied. "You're just an added bonus."

"Well, since you know who I am, you must know what happens to monsters who cross me," Dean said coldly. "And I'm warning you now if you don't let those two innocent people go, every single one of you is going to be dead, and soon."

"How are you going to manage that?" one of the werewolves pinning him smirked. "Considering we've got you pretty trapped."

"I usually seem to find a way," he shrugged cockily.

"Well, consider us warned," the female werewolf smirked. "But we've got big plans for those two."

"What kind of plans?" Dean growled.

"All in good time," she assured him. "But we should probably get going before some annoying little cops come along."

"What are we doing with him?" one of the werewolves pinning Dean asked.

"I could use a snack," the other one said eagerly, and another werewolf chuckled.

Dean's stomach flipped. He really did not want to get his heart ripped out of his chest and eaten, but he was pretty much helpless at the moment, and Sam and Julie were in different locations, waiting like he had been, clueless to the danger Dean was in.

"Wait," the blond werewolf said slowly, studying Dean again. A dangerous glint came into her eyes, and Dean was suddenly even more scared. "He's not bad, this one. We know he's strong, and he seems plenty young and healthy enough. And he's a fighter. He'd be a good addition, don't you think?"

The other werewolves murmured their approval. Dean's eyes narrowed. "A good addition to what?" he snapped defensively.

"Our pack!" she said brightly. "You're going to make one hell of a werewolf, Dean Winchester!" she cried, and before Dean could even try to fight, she leapt forward and sank her fangs into his shoulder.


	64. Chapter 64

**Chapter Sixty-Four**

Julie's knuckles were white as she gripped her phone tightly, listening intently to her phone ringing. She knew that no one would pick up, but she still had to try. She'd been calling his number every hour for…well, too many hours.

She could almost imagine hearing Dean's telltale classic rock ringtone and looking up to see him standing in the doorway, clothes a bit bloodied, smiling cockily, with some badass story about how he took down the werewolf by himself and an apology and a long, sweet kiss for Julie to make up for scaring her half to death.

Instead, the phone rang several times, and then sent her to voicemail.

Julie sat at the motel table, staring at her phone for a long time, trying not to think. She knew that if she let her imagination take over, it would give her pictures of Dean's body lying in some dark alley, bloody and torn up, his heart ripped out of his chest. She knew better than that. She knew that one measly werewolf couldn't take down Dean Winchester. But it was already noon the day after they had split up, and there was still no word from Dean.

She looked up as the motel door opened, but it was just Sam. He looked just as pale and worried and sleep-deprived as she was sure she did. She hadn't slept a wink last night. She had forgotten how to sleep on her own. Without Dean's solid warmth and comfort just a few inches away if she needed it, she didn't know how to fight off the nightmares and worries.

"No luck?" Sam sighed, seeing Julie's carefully blank face.

She shook her head and tugged her leather jacket a bit tighter around her. Julie wore the leather jacket Sam had given her as a birthday present almost every day, and normally it brought her some comfort. But right now, with Dean missing, possibly dead, nothing could bring her comfort except to see Dean whole again and hold him and then chew him out for putting her through this.

"Me neither," Sam sighed. He hesitated for a moment before grabbing a bottle of whiskey and pouring himself a glass. He drank more than he should, considering it was only noon, but he needed to numb the overwhelming panic and worry that was consuming him.

"Have you tried calling him anytime recently?" Sam asked, and Julie gave him a look that plainly said, _really?!_

"Of course you have," he muttered. "Well, I've officially looked at every sight anyone has ever disappeared or been killed at, and there's no sign of him anywhere. I haven't found the Impala anywhere, either."

"He'd die before he let something take his car," Julie muttered. "Probably not a good sign."

Sam took one look at the panic and fear and pain in her eyes that was threatening to overwhelm her and quickly pulled a chair up next to hers. "Hey," he said sharply. "Julie, look at me." She obeyed, a bit confused. "Dean is alive. I know that, and I need you to know that, too. No werewolf could take him down."

"What if it wasn't a werewolf, then?" she pointed out. "What if this was all a trap, and Beelzebub got him?"

"That didn't happen," Sam said firmly.

"How are you so sure?"

"Because the person he really wants is me, remember? If that son of a bitch was going to come after anyone, it would be me."

Julie opened her mouth to argue, but realized Sam had a point. "So, what do you think happened then?"

"Maybe there was more than one werewolf, and they caught him?" Sam guessed.

"If that happened, he's probably dead," Julie said darkly.

"Hey! I told you, he's not dead," Sam insisted.

"But how do you know that?!" Julie cried, partly angry, but mostly terrified. "What if we lost him, Sam? What if I have to spend my last three months without him?"

"Well, his car is gone, which is a good sign," he said logically. "Dean wouldn't leave the car unlocked, and I doubt a rabid werewolf could hotwire a car. It's quite possible that Dean is okay and he found the werewolves and is just following them and that's why he's not back."

"But why wouldn't he at least text us to say he was alright? Why let us suffer like this?!" Julie cried, and Sam had no answer to that. To be honest, he doubted Dean was not captured. His brother would never do this to them willingly. But he refused to believe that Dean was actually dead.

Suddenly, the sound of fluttering wings filled the silence between them as Sam scrambled for answers he didn't have, and the two hunters looked up to see a familiar angel standing in their motel room.

Julie leapt up and threw her arms around Cas. "Thank God," she whispered into his trench coat, and the angel wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back tightly, even though he was frowning in confusion.

"I apologize for not coming earlier," he said once she pulled away. "Hannah and I thought we might have a lead on what a possible seal could be, but it was nothing. I didn't hear your prayers until now. What is wrong?"

"Dean's missing," Sam said shortly when Julie couldn't speak.

"For how long?" Castiel asked sharply, his blue eyes darkening.

"Twelve hours? We're not sure exactly how long," Sam admitted. "But we were separated, hunting a werewolf of maybe more than one, and we're worried they may have captured him."

Cas closed his eyes for a moment and focused. Eventually, he opened his eyes and said shortly, "He isn't dead. I would feel if he was dead."

Julie sighed slightly, that fear sliding off her shoulders. Cas wouldn't say that if he didn't whole-heartedly believe it. He wouldn't give her that false hope.

"Can you find him?" she asked desperately.

"I…I cannot," the angel frowned. "There's something about him…I don't understand. Something is different about him…something is shielding me from locating him. I can't quite find his soul."

Sam and Julie frowned and exchanged nervous looks. "That can't be good," Sam said eventually.

"Do you have an idea of where he could be?" Julie asked hopefully.

"I think I could narrow it down to about a three mile radius," Castiel shrugged.

Sam and Julie exchanged looks again and rolled their eyes. "Great," Sam muttered bitterly.

"What?" Cas asked, a little hurt that they seemed frustrated with him.

"We've already narrowed down where we think the werewolf is to a three mile radius," Julie explained.

"Oh," he sighed, understanding now. "And nothing helpful?"

"Nope," Sam said. "But we're going to have to find something. Because we are finding my brother and we are getting him back."

* * *

When Dean woke up, he felt remarkably normal for the fact that he was a monster.

His head hurt a bit, but considering that big, beefy werewolf has smashed his head into Baby's trunk when he wouldn't quit fighting, that wasn't surprising. _That son of a bitch_, Dean thought darkly. _If he put a dent in my car…_

Dean remembered everything that had happened after that blond bitch had bit him. At first, it had been incredibly painful, feeling the werewolf venom seep through him. And then, when he recovered from that, he felt like he was on fire, and he thrashed around, got free for a moment, leapt on the werewolf that had bit him and almost snapped her neck before three of them pulled him off of her. That was when they dragged him, swearing and yelling and fighting, over to the cars, trying to push him into a dark van. He kept kicking at the werewolves and driving his shoulder into the big guy's face until he finally pissed him off so much that the werewolf just knocked him out cold.

Huh. Guess he was a werewolf too, now.

He didn't feel as drastically different from when he was human as he had when he had been a vampire. His shoulder didn't hurt, and when he sat up groggily and checked, his skin was smooth and fully healed, like he had expected. His senses felt a little sharper, his sense of smell picking up the sweat and blood in the room, as well as the musty, moldy, wet smell of a disused basement better than it had when he was human. And, even though the room was rather dimly lit, he could see quite well. But other than that…he felt pretty human. He doubted he would when the full moon came, though.

Dean picked himself up off the ground. He was in a rather small, dark room, probably a basement by the looks of it, which was completely bare. It was clearly meant to be a holding cell though, judging by the thick metal door he knew even with her werewolf strength he could not break down. As Dean checked out his fully healed shoulder, he noticed that the werewolves had stripped him of his jacket full of weapons and removed the knives he kept on his belt and in his boot. He was now weaponless, and stripped down to his jeans, his boots, and a grey Henley. Awesome.

The most unsettling thing about his situation, though, was the two people over in the corner, the two joggers from earlier. The ones he had almost saved. Ann and Dave, if he remembered correctly. Ann was holding out her arm in awe, and Dave was studying it, shocked.

"Please tell me they didn't bite you," Dean said, his voice a bit rusty from disuse, and they both jumped and turned to look at him.

"You're awake," Ann said softly.

"Unfortunately," Dean grumbled. He walked calmly over to them, and they both flinched away from him. "Oh, relax, I'm not going to hurt you. I tried to save you, remember?"

"You shot someone, though," Dave said suspiciously.

"I shot a monster, yes," Dean said, unapologetic. "Now, please tell me none of them bit you."

The couple exchanged worried looks. "I…I thought they did," Ann admitted after a moment. "One of them bit my arm, and one of them bit Dave's neck, and I worried he'd die, but…there's no mark on either of us, like it never happened."

"Man, I wish you hadn't said that," Dean groaned. "Well…congrats, guys. Looks like we're all werewolves now."

They both stared at him, and then cried, "What?!"

"Those things that bit us? Werewolves. And when one of them bites you, you become one," Dean said curtly.

"Werewolves aren't real," Dave growled. "You're crazy."

"And yet, you're both stronger and faster than humanly possible, and you have heightened senses, and on a full moon, you will turn into an uncontrollable monster that will murder a human on sight, just like those others." Dean swallowed. "Just like me."

"You're crazy," Ann echoed her boyfriend, but she didn't really sound like she believed it herself.

"Look, guys…I'm sorry this happened to you," Dean sighed sadly. "I tried to protect you, I really did. And I'm going to do everything in my power to find a way out of this curse for all three of us. But…I've been hunting these things for years, and I've never found any kind of cure."

"What the hell is going on?" Dave cried, angry and scared.

"I wish I knew," Dean muttered, walking over to the door and inspecting it. There was no handle or lock on their side, and it was securely locked in place. He pushed on it for a while, grunting with the effort, but he was getting nowhere.

"Who are you?" Ann asked softly as she watched this strange, scary man exerting a huge amount of effort trying to break down the door.

He gave up and turned to face her. "Dean Winchester," he said with a charming smile. "I'm a hunter."

"A what?" Dave frowned.

"I hunt and kill monsters like these werewolves for a living," this Dean guy explained.

"Why would you want to do that?" Ann asked, unable to understand.

"To save people," he replied shortly.

"Yeah, well, great job of that with us," Dave snapped. Ann shot him a reproachful look. The guy had at least tried to protect them, and was now trapped in this room with them, apparently a werewolf just like them.

"Not my best work, I'll admit that," Dean shrugged. "But I'll find a way out of this. My brother and girlfriend are around here somewhere, and they're hunters, too. They'll find us and break us out, and we'll find some cure."

"How?" Dave frowned skeptically.

"That is an excellent question, my friend," Dean muttered, turning back to the door and beginning to try to kick it down.

After a few minutes of futilely trying to escape, he gave up and flopped down on his back in a corner. Ann watched as he stared up at the ceiling, his chest rising and falling rapidly from all the effort he had just exerted trying to break down that solid door. Eventually, his breathing slowed, but he still looked troubled.

"Those sons of bitches took my phone," he grumbled to himself. "They've probably called a couple dozen times at least, driving themselves crazy with worry."

"Who?" Ann asked softly. "Your brother, right? And your girlfriend?"

"Yeah," Dean sighed. "They're not going to handle me disappearing well. Hope they can get ahold of Cas. Then we might stand a fighting chance of getting out of here and getting cured."

"Who's Cas?" Ann asked.

"An angel," Dean replied flatly. "But don't worry. He's not a pompous dick like the others. At least, not anymore. After a while, my charming personality wore him down, and a couple strip club visits later, I ended up with a halfway decent angel."

Ann stared at him, wide-eyed, and then said, "You _are_ crazy."

Dean just chuckled darkly. "Sweetheart, you don't know the half of it."

For a while, Ann and Dave were silent, sitting over on their side of the basement pressed together, trying to absorb everything Dean had told them. And Dean lay on his back and thought about Julie and Sam, and how much they must be panicking right now. He, Ann, and Dave had been stripped of all phones and watches, but he was pretty sure that he'd been missing long enough to make them crazy with worry.

Sammy would probably be pacing the motel room, or tearing the town apart in his search for his brother. And Julie…poor Jules. She only had three months left with Dean anyway, and if that time was cut short now…it would destroy her. He had to find his way out of here and back to the two of them.

After a while of trying and failing not to think about Sam and Julie, Dean wanted a distraction. "You two a couple, I assume?" Dean asked eventually, needing to do something besides worry.

Ann glanced over at Dave, and then nodded. "How long?" Dean asked.

"Two years," she said, taking Dave's hand. "We've been through a lot together. And we're not going to let this crazy mess be the thing that gets us."

"I sure hope you're right," the hunter replied. "You got any family that's probably freaking out about you going missing right now?"

"My parents live out of town," Ann said. "They won't notice I'm gone for a couple of days, probably."

"My dad was dead by the time I was born, and my mom passed three years ago," Dave said flatly. "Breast cancer. Only people who might notice are a couple friends."

"I'm sorry about your parents," Dean said honestly. "I lost both of my parents, too. It's not easy."

"Don't know what I'd do without Ann," Dave said flatly, and she squeezed his hand.

Dean shook his head. Damn, if this couple wasn't just like him and Julie!

But before Dean could reply, he heard a lock turning, and he scrambled to his feet just as the heavy, thick door swung open.

Four people Dean had to assume were werewolves walked into the room. He recognized two of them, the tall, burly werewolf that had smashed his head into Baby, and the blond werewolf who had turned him. Her blond hair was so light it was almost silver, and it was pulled back in a braid again. She was really quite pretty, but Dean could not get the vision of the monstrous version of her sinking her fangs into him out of his head.

The other two werewolves were a tall, curvy, beautiful black woman with wild dark curls, who was draped over a tall, broad-shouldered man with a handsome, weathered face, a thick, dark beard, and dark, cool eyes that seemed too old and wise for his body, which appeared to be in its late thirties.

The burly werewolf from last night glanced over at Ann and grinned nastily. Dave bristled and pushed his girlfriend behind him protectively. The werewolf groaned. "Great. Looks like that girl's already got a mate."

"Patience, Kyle," the dark-haired, bearded werewolf scolded him gently. "We'll find you a mate soon enough. There's got to be some pretty, young, fit girl somewhere in this town that you find suitable. Just find one for me, and I promise she shall be yours."

"I don't think so," Dean snapped. "You bastards aren't turning another soul."

"And here he is, the infamous Dean Winchester," the dark-haired man said, smiling warmly as he studied Dean. He shook off the beautiful black werewolf on his arm and turned to the thin blond. "You did well in finding this one, Diana. I will see you well-rewarded for this, my child."

"I wouldn't be rewarding her just yet," Dean growled. "You werewolves made a mistake when you turned me and brought me here. You brought the biggest threat to your kind to your home base and just made me stronger."

The werewolves just chuckled. The dark-haired werewolf circled Dean slowly, and he stood his ground, meeting the monster's gaze steadily. He wasn't scared of this werewolf, or any of them. There wasn't anything they could do to him that he hadn't already had to endure.

"Hmm," the werewolf said thoughtfully after studying him for a while. "I like you, Dean." The hunter blinked, a little surprised. "You're clearly very strong and brave, a fighter. I'm sure if you had your little gun, you'd clean out my house right now, wipe out all of my children and that would be a normal day for you."

"Well, you're not wrong," Dean muttered.

"But as promising as you seem, you've been causing me a lot of trouble these past few years, Dean Winchester," the werewolf continued, stepping uncomfortably close to him. And even though his words were harsh and seemingly angry, the werewolf's eyes weren't cold or angry. The lingered uncomfortably long on every inch of Dean. "You and your brother and other hunters like you have killed dozens of my children. Our numbers are dwindling like they haven't in centuries, and it's quite unacceptable. It's hunters like you that drive me to this."

"Hang on," Dean said slowly. "You keep saying 'your children.'"

"Yes, every werewolf is a son or daughter of mine," he said warmly. "I am Fenris-"

"The Alpha werewolf," Dean finished, and Fenris smiled.

"You've heard of me, my son," he said, amused.

"Well, I've encountered a couple of your kind before," Dean said icily. "And I'm not your son. My dad's name was John Winchester, and he raised me to hunt and kill murdering sons of bitches like yourself."

"I kill only who I need to," Fenris said airily. "I don't believe in wasting life. But, I'll admit, I'd rather see one less human on this earth than watch one of my children starve."

"See, that's where we disagree, Fen," Dean smirked. "Can I call you Fen? Well, I'm going to anyway. See, Fen, I'd rather see every single werewolf starve to death than let a single an innocent human die."

Suddenly, Dean's back was pressed up against the wall, and the beautiful, black, female werewolf was standing in front of him, eyes fiery and dangerous. "You should watch how you speak to your Alpha, newbie," she spat.

Fenris laid a hand on her shoulder. "Georgia, my dear, go easy on your brother," he reprimanded her fondly. "He's still adjusting to his new way of life."

"But, Fenris, he disrespected you-" she protested.

Fenris kissed her briefly and then gently pushed her away from Dean. "Don't worry, my dear. I can take care of myself."

Dean smirked. "So, if we're all supposedly your children, and you two are a couple…" he shook his head. "Wow. Fen, buddy, you've got some serious issues."

"Over the year, I have taken many of my more beautiful children as mates," Fenris shrugged. "A century or so ago, there was a lovely young man who looked not unlike yourself, Dean, that I loved dearly." Dean's eyebrows shot up higher than he thought they could. "I only had Jonathan for six years, though, before a hunter took him from me. But I can usually find someone young and strong and beautiful like Georgia, here, and take another mate when that happens."

"And you're okay with just being his replacement for a guy who looked like me?" Dean smirked at Georgia, and she growled a couple swear words at him.

"You should treat your sister kindly, Dean," Fenris reprimanded him in the same fatherly tone he used with these other werewolves.

That wasn't going to fly with Dean, though. "Oh, hell, no. That bitch isn't ever going to be my sister, just like you're never going to be my father. I've already got one sibling, and he's enough trouble on his own."

"Ah, yes, young Sam Winchester," Fenris sighed. "We should probably find him, too, and turn him just to be safe."

Apparently, werewolves were a little more volatile than humans. Because Dean leapt on the Alpha werewolf and pinned him to the wall before he even realized what he was doing. "If you or any of your 'children' lay so much as a finger on my little brother, I will tear each and every one of you apart."

The other three werewolves looked ready to jump on Dean and rip his throat out, but the werewolf he was pinning to the wall just laughed. "I am liking you more and more every second, Dean," Fenris grinned. "You've got a lot of fight to you, and you're fiercely loyal to family. Hell, you could be an Alpha yourself. Now you just need to refocus all those protective instincts on your new family."

"If you try to say that I'm one of you one more time, I will kill you, Alpha or not," Dean growled.

"Oh, but you are one of us, Dean. And you'll see that tonight. You and your two new siblings over there are going to be initiated into our pack tonight. We'll find you some easy prey, you'll eat a couple hearts, and then you'll be a 'monster' just like us."

"I'd rather die," Dean growled, still pinning the Alpha.

"There are worse ways to live," Fenris shrugged. "Now, please do get off me, son."

Dean just smiled coldly. "Make me."

"Gladly," Fenris said before suddenly throwing Dean off of him and halfway across the room. Dean had forgotten how strong Alphas were, and it took him several seconds to stagger to his feet. The second he was up, Kyle and Diana were there, grabbing his arms and slamming him into the wall next to Ann and Dave. Ann shrieked, and Dave drew her close to him and as far from Dean and the two other werewolves as he could. Meanwhile, Kyle started hitting Dean again and again in the stomach and the face until he was lying on the ground, bruised and bleeding and aching.

"Enough, Kyle," Fenris said flatly. "We don't want to damage a face like that too badly." Dean groaned from his position on the ground, that was more out of disgust for the werewolf hitting on him than the pain he was in. "We'll come back in a few hours, once Mr. Winchester here has thought about whether resisting his new life is worth dying for."

Fenris walked out of the room, the three other werewolves behind him. Kyle stopped to spit on Dean, and Georgia drove her boot into his gut one last time before leaving and locking the door behind her.

Ann was the first to move. She pulled away from Dave and rushed over to Dean, who was lying on his side, not really wanting to move and make everything hurt even more. "Are you alright?" she asked, scared and worried.

"I'll live," he groaned, forcing himself to sit up. He winced as he touched his bleeding split lip and probed his right eye, which had taken a couple good hits from Kyle. "I bet I'd have quite the shiner if I didn't heal inhumanly fast," he muttered.

Something tasted foul in his mouth, and judging by the pretty severe pain in his stomach, he would guess he was bleeding internally. Sure enough, when he tried to stand, he started coughing and ended up coughing up a bit of blood. Ann gasped in horror, but he waved her off.

"Trust me, this kind of stuff happens a lot," he groaned, wiping his mouth and forcing himself to stand. He wasn't going to be weak in front of these two innocent people depending on him. "My charming personality typically makes monsters like that want to smash my face in."

"Yeah, well, the way you were talking to that…that _werewolf_ was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid," Dave said, sounding a little awed.

"Can't it be both?" Dean smirked, and then regretted it when it made his split lip hurt even worse.

"At least I know who I'm dealing with now," he muttered. "Of course, there's no way to warn my brother and girlfriend, so that's great."

"Are they like you?" Ann asked softly.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"Brave and tough enough to make these things scared of them," she explained.

"You think they're scared of me? That's sweet," he muttered. "You're probably right. They all know if I had a gun and some silver bullets, they'd be kibble. But yeah, Sam and Julie…they're almost as badass as me, and I'm sure they'll get help." He looked at the scared, overwhelmed, innocent people in front of him and assured them, "We'll be fine. They can handle these guys."

"Really?" Ann asked, hardly daring to hope.

"Definitely," Dean said, and he really hoped he wasn't lying.

* * *

Fenris looked up from the oak dining table he was seated at as two young men walked into the dining room of the spacious home where he and his current pack were residing. It was the perfect place to hide, in plain sight, in a large, fancy home. Much better than living in an abandoned barn or rundown, haunted-looking house like many of his more foolish children had resided in. Houses like that were dead giveaways, and usually ended with a hunter coming along and killing you.

Two of his newer sons, a tall, thin, lithe man with a blond ponytail named Trevor and a shorter, stocky black man named Nathan entered the room and nodded respectfully at their Alpha. He dismissed Georgia, who had been running her hands through his hair and kissing his neck while Fenris looked through the papers on the table. She sighed and left, staring after him longingly. Georgia was a nice mate. She was quite beautiful, and always eager to please. Sure, she wasn't as spunky and fiery and entertaining like that Katherine from a couple decades ago, or his Jonathan, who had looked a lot like his newest son, Dean, or even as good-looking and fiery and tough as this infamous Dean Winchester, who had definitely piqued Fenris's interest. Still, she was good enough for the time being, and a good and loyal daughter and mate.

"Trevor, Nathan," Fenris greeted his sons. "Please, sit. Tell me what you've found."

"You were right, father," Trevor, the kiss-up, said. "Of course."

"So you found the girl and his brother?" Fenris asked, folding his hands on the table and leaning forward, interested to hear the answer.

"Not quite," Nathan admitted. "We went to the motel you saw in Dean Winchester's mind, but they weren't there. Probably out looking for him."

"Interesting," Fenris mused. "And Dean has had no contact with the two of them, and won't know where they are, so I can't just read his mind. But perhaps we can find them at one of the three sites that they were investigating last night."

"Good plan, sir," Trevor said quickly.

"Who should go?" Nathan asked eagerly. "I haven't eaten in a while, and there's nothing like food that actually fought back before you could kill it."

"We don't want to kill these ones," Fenris scolded his son. "I've heard a lot about this Sam Winchester, and he sounds like a very good candidate for our pack. And I've seen this girl, Julie, in Dean Winchester's mind, and she too is young and strong and beautiful. I would love to make them both my children, and then maybe Dean would quit resisting if he could be with the two of them."

"He's been causing quite a bit of trouble down there," one of his daughters, Diana, mused as she stood in the corner of the room, chewing gum and watching the action unfold. "Kyle went down there to feed them some steaks so they'd have their strength for tonight, and he was healed enough to beat Kyle down and almost make it out the door before the rest of us stepped in."

Fenris chuckled, amused. "Oh, I like this one! It's been a long time since I've found a child as fierce and strong as him."

"He killed one of your children," Nathan pointed out darkly.

"He killed Paul, and let's be honest, Paul was not the best and brightest of the pack," Fenris replied with a slight smirk. "This Dean is shaping up to be quite the alpha male. Give him a few months, and I could see him earning the right to go get himself his own pack."

"If only he quits trying to kill this one," Diana muttered.

"All we need to do is get him his brother and that little girlfriend of his," Fenris said soothingly. "Once he's with them again, I'm sure he'll quit resisting us."

At that moment, Georgia appeared with Kyle and a couple other werewolves. "Fenris, master," Georgia said lovingly, and he smiled slightly at her. "It's nightfall," she said slowly.

"Excellent," Fenris smiled, standing up. "Within the hour, my new children should be experiencing their first change. I would not want them to go through this alone. Bring them to me."

Georgia, Diana, Kyle, Nathan, and Trevor all went down to the basement and Fenris closed his eyes so he could better focus on listening. He heard the door open and a bit of scuffle that ended in Dean's low voice snarling out a few choice words at one of his other children. But soon enough, Dean Winchester and his two other children, the tall, strong Dave and the athletic, beautiful Ann were marched into the room. One werewolf had ahold of Ann, and another was holding onto Dave, but two werewolves were pinning Dean, and Georgia was hovering nearby, ready to attack if the former hunter managed to get free.

Dean looked around the classy dining room he was in and smirked. "This is a little classier than the last place I killed a werewolf," he said smugly.

"I must admit, I enjoy the finer things in life," Fenris shrugged. "I disagree with this belief that monsters must live in the dark and scavenge for food. I say we live well, and if we find someone or something we want, we take it."

"See, that's not really how life works," Dean said.

"Well, it has for me for many centuries," Fenris replied cockily.

"But someday, as you're taking whatever you want, you're going to cross the wrong person and end up dead," Dean replied coldly.

"And I suppose that person is you, my son?" the Alpha werewolf replied, amused. He liked this new werewolf's cocky, badass style. It was definitely a turn-on.

"Oh, no," Dean said quickly. "As you can tell, you've got me good and trapped, and I can't do much good right now. No, it's the others you should be worried about. The people who were with me, people like my brother, who defeated the devil, or my girlfriend, who went through ten years of hell and came out even tougher than before. They're the ones you should be worried about."

Before Fenris could reply, two more werewolves walked into the room. They were one of the two groups he had sent out to search for the brother and girlfriend Dean Winchester was speaking of, two daughters of his who were excellent trackers. And the redheaded girl, Trudy, was smiling to herself.

"Trudy, dear, what has you so happy?" he asked warmly, reading the answer in her mind, but wanting Dean to hear it.

"We found them," she replied proudly, eyes on Dean. "Sam Winchester and a pretty blonde, and there's another man with them. They're back at the park, looking for some sign of us that they may have missed before."

Fenris turned back to Dean, who was barely concealing his concern for the people he loved most. "Well, Dean, here's a chance to test out your theory. Let's see if this brother and girlfriend of yours are really enough to stop my pack."

* * *

It wasn't until Dean had been missing for twenty-four hours that Julie finally started crying.

She, Cas, and Sam were back in the park where he had gone missing, and she had paused in her searching the park for some sign of a werewolf to check the time. That's when she saw that it had been over a day since the last time she had contact with him. For a whole day, Dean had either been dead or captured by the monster they were hunting, and even if he was still alive, he was surely in terrible condition. The likelihood of him still being alive was very slim, since no one had called for a ransom for him. Whatever monster had taken him had probably killed him, and slowly to make up for all of the monsters he had killed.

She had thought dark thoughts like that many times since discovering Dean was gone. But for some reason, as she stood in the dark in this seemingly innocent park, that thought finally sent her over the edge, and the tears began to fall.

It was nothing like the loud, heart-wrenching sobs that had racked her body when Dean died, or when she sold her soul, or when Dean found out what she had done to save him and stormed out, furious and hurting. They were just silent tears slowly trickling down her face, and as hard as she tried, she couldn't stop them.

After a while, someone touched her shoulder, and she jumped before turning to face him. She had figured it would be Sam, but it was actually Cas who had noticed Julie crying first. "We will find him," the angel said, and there was such determination in his voice that she almost believed him.

"What if there's no one left to find?" she choked out, her darkest fear rising up and bursting out of her.

"Don't say that," Sam said, and she realized he had come up next to her. His large hand squeezed her shoulder. "We're gonna find him, and he's gonna be okay. Come on. It's Dean, remember? He wouldn't let anything take himself away from you."

"I used to think that about Jasper," she whispered, and both Castiel and Sam looked down, ashamed. It had been a few weeks since Jasper Carters had died, and no one talked about it, but it was still there. They all still remembered, and it still hurt, although it didn't hurt anyone as much as it hurt Julie.

"I just lost him a few weeks ago," Julie choked out after a moment of silence. "I can't lose Dean, too. I just can't."

"I know," Sam whispered, pulling his best friend into a tight hug until she could compose herself. He wanted to tell her that she wouldn't have to, but he had no guarantee of that, and unless he did, the words meant nothing.

Eventually, Julie composed herself, and then her face returned to its steely, determined expression. "Come on," she said, her voice steady once more. "Enough worrying about Dean. We're going to find him."

Sam opened his mouth to agree with her, but then Cas suddenly hissed, "They're here."

Julie and Sam both turned to stare at him. "Who?"

"Werewolves," Castiel snapped. "I can sense at least three."

"Where?" Sam growled, pulling out his gun full of silver bullets.

"There," the angel said darkly as he and Julie armed themselves. Julie looked up just in time to see three people emerge from the trees in front of them. There were two men and one woman, but before she could make out their features, one of the men growled savagely at them and started towards them inhumanly fast, the other two right behind him.

Sam raised his gun to fire at the werewolf, but just before he pulled the trigger, Cas and Julie suddenly shouted, "No!" and Julie grabbed his arm and pulled it down.

"What the hell?" Sam cried, confused and irritated. But then he finally understood as the werewolf stopped to study them. Because he recognized the werewolf, even with his slightly twisted features and his canine teeth and inhuman eyes.

The werewolf before him was unmistakably his brother.


	65. Chapter 65

**Chapter Sixty-Five**

Julie's heart was pounding incredibly hard as she, Sam, and Cas faced off against the three werewolves before them. In theory, this shouldn't be much of a battle. They were loaded with silver weapons, and Castiel was a powerful angel. But she recognized the three werewolves as the two people who had gone missing as well as Dean yesterday, and then of course…him.

They were all silent as they stared at each other. Julie had hoped Dean might recognize them, but all three of the werewolves had no hint of human intelligence in their animal eyes. The other man and woman seemed to be following Dean's lead, and he seemed to be sizing up his enemies, seeing if they were too strong to fight.

"Dean…?" Julie asked hesitantly, hoping her voice could wake up the human part of him.

Well, it didn't. What it did do was make him lunge towards Sam and tackle his brother to the ground.

Both of the other werewolves lunged towards Julie, fangs bared, but then Cas was there, and he caught them both by the throats and held them back. The girl screeched while the man shredded Cas's arm with his claws, but the angel still stood firm, keeping them back from Julie.

"Don't hurt them!" Julie said desperately. "They're innocent people! They just got turned yesterday at the earliest, so they haven't had time to hurt anyone yet."

The angel nodded and threw them backwards into a tree. The girl collapsed, dazed, but the man began to pick himself up. However, Castiel had already turned away and was headed towards the wrestling, scuffling mess that was Sam and Dean Winchester.

Sam cried out in pain, and the angel leapt forward and grabbed the werewolf's right arm. He hauled the werewolf that was his best friend off of Sam and threw him several yards away. When Cas looked down, he saw that Sam's left arm had several pretty nasty cuts on it, but there no wounds in danger of killing him. Assured that Sam was for the most part alright, Castiel turned towards Dean.

If a werewolf could look pissed, this one did. Dean picked himself up and growled angrily at Cas before running at him. The angel disappeared at the last second and appeared again behind Dean. The werewolf cocked its head in confusion before growling again, realizing he may have bitten off more than he could chew with this enemy.

"Dean, listen to me," Cas said firmly. "I know you're not yourself right now, but we're going to help you. I just need you to quit fighting."

In answer, the werewolf lunged towards him, and he caught the angel by surprise enough that the two of them went down, wrestling.

Meanwhile, Sam was picking himself up and grabbing his gun with his good arm. He cradled his wounded arm to his chest and turned to Julie to make sure she was alright. He had figured he would see her hurrying over to help him, but instead he looked over just in time to see the other male werewolf tackling her.

Julie shrieked as she tried to fight him off without wounding him. After a few seconds of trying to keep him from sinking his fangs into her arm, she had to cut his arm with a silver knife. The wound stung enough that he stopped attacking her for a moment, and she scrambled away. She turned away from the werewolf and started to get up, but he saw her running away and leapt forward. Julie screamed in pain as his claws sank into her back and his weight took her down.

Sam watched as he grabbed her head and yanked it far to the side. Julie shrieked again, unable to fight back as he opened his mouth wide to sink his fangs into her neck and tear her throat out. And he couldn't let that happen.

It wasn't even a conscious decision. Sam just raised his gun and fired a silver bullet into the werewolf's brain without even a second of hesitation. He didn't even stop to consider the fact that just a day ago that monster had been an innocent human they were trying to save.

Julie stared in shock as the werewolf about to kill her suddenly fell to the side. It took her a moment to notice the bloody hole in his forehead and put that and the sound of a gun firing together. Then she turned to stare at Sam, unable to speak. Besides, what would she say to him? "Thanks for saving me"? "How could you kill that innocent man"?

She was jolted out of her shock by the sound of Cas crying out in pain. She looked up to see his right arm hanging limp and bloody as his side, one of the bones severely broken. Dean scrambled back from the angel he had just wounded, his mouth covered in blood. He lunged towards Castiel again, hungry for more blood, but the angel had gotten tired of this.

"Alright, enough!" Cas snapped angrily, and he disappeared again and reappeared behind the werewolf once more. Dean whirled around to try again, but Cas was done fighting. He raised his left hand and pressed his palm to the werewolf's head, and there was a sudden flash of white light. When the light faded, Dean crumpled to the ground.

"Dean!" Julie screamed, running towards him. "Cas, what-?"

"He's not dead," the angel informed her. "I just knocked him unconscious for a few hours. He was really beginning to irritate me," he muttered, gesturing to his bloody, broken, torn-up arm.

Sam walked over to check on the female werewolf and found her still unconscious. "What do we do with her?" he called to the others.

"We'll take care of her and try to find a cure for her like we will for Dean," Cas decided. "She was an innocent person just a day ago."

Sam couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt as he realized the same was true for the werewolf he had just shot and killed. But if had hesitated for even a second, the monster would have murdered Julie. And, as horrible as he felt admitting it, he'd kill a hundred werewolves who had once been innocent people if it meant saving her.

Julie was ignoring all of them and even the blood seeping out of the cuts on her back as she knelt next to Dean and checked his pulse, and then checked him over for wounds. There were a few mostly-faded cuts and bruises on his face, but that couldn't be from this fight. For the most part he was okay. And right now, with his eyes closed, she could almost pretend he was just her human Dean, if it weren't for the claws on his hand.

Sam and Castiel slowly approached Dean and Julie. Cas watched sadly as the girl stroked Dean's hair and stared at his unconscious form, trying very hard to keep calm. "Are you alright, Julie?" he asked her gently after a moment.

She turned to give him a look. "Okay, that was a foolish question," he admitted. "But I meant physically."

"My back is pretty cut up," she admitted.

Cas knelt next to her and put a hand on her back, a moment later, when he pulled away, her skin was smooth and healed. He turned and did the same with Sam's arm, and then healed his own mangled mess of an arm.

"Come on, guys," Sam said after a moment of silence as they all stared at Dean. "We should get them back to the motel or somewhere we can contain them if they wake up."

The other nodded in agreement, and Sam went and picked up the unconscious female werewolf and brought her over to lay down next to Dean. He walked guiltily over the dead werewolf and carried him over to the others as well. The least he could do after killing the guy was give him a proper burial.

As the two hunters and the angel prepared to transport the werewolves back to the motel, six werewolves watched from the cover of the trees. "Are we really going to let them take those two, Fenris?" one of his sons, Nathan hissed angrily. "What about the Winchester? I thought you wanted him!"

"I do, my son, and I want that girl and his brother as well," Fenris said softly in a remarkably calm voice for the fact that one of his newest three children had just been killed, and the other two were being taken.

"So, let's go stop them!" Nathan hissed eagerly.

"Do you want to die, son?" Fenris hissed coldly, and his five children all turned to look at him, confused. "That's an _angel _they have with them! Did you not see him overpower all of my newest children and heal those humans' wounds like it was nothing? My guess is he's not just any angel, he's a warrior angel. If we attack while they have that angel with them, we will all die."

"So, when he leaves…" his daughter Diana said slowly, understanding.

"We find them," Fenris finished, smiling. "And then we'll take what we want."

* * *

When Ann woke up, she felt surprisingly good. She couldn't really remember what had happened last night, but she had a couple flashes of memory that felt more like dreams. She remembered a man in a trench coat and she remembered the jolting feeling of her head colliding with something hard, and very little else. She thought her head would hurt a lot more considering how hard she'd hit it, but apparently she healed fast now that she was…what was it Dean kept calling them? Oh, yeah. A werewolf.

Ann still hadn't opened her eyes, because she was afraid she'd be back in that dirty basement cell. But the room didn't smell like the basement. It smelled of a cheap cleaning supply, and under that a musty, moldy sort of smell. But she could also smell the rusty tang of blood in the air, and if she listened hard enough, she heard at least three people breathing in the otherwise silent room.

Three people? And that was not including herself. So wherever she was, there was someone besides just her and Dave and Dean there. She was sitting in a chair and not a very comfortable one either, and when she tried to move her arms and legs, she found them securely tied. Great. Now she was probably somewhere even worse than that basement. They hadn't tied her and Dave and Dean up in the basement, so now someone even more monstrous and psychotic had her and the others.

Ann risked opening her eyes, because not knowing was killing her. She seemed to be in some sort of motel room. There were two beds in the room, a desk and a chair, a TV, which was off, and a bathroom over in the corner. A man was sitting at the desk, staring blankly at the wall. She recognized him as the man in the trench coat who had thrown her into the tree, her only real memory from last night. Thankfully, he hadn't noticed she was awake yet.

She glanced over and saw sunlight creeping through the shades over the windows. So it was day now. That was good. Dean had said that werewolves only turned at night. And speaking of Dean…

There were three people on the beds next to the chair she was tied to. One bed was occupied by a tall, broad-shouldered man with shaggy hair who was looking at something on a laptop he had on the bed next to him. But on the bed nearest to her was Dean.

He was still wearing his grey Henley from yesterday, and when she looked down, she was still in her jogging clothes. His shirt had a few tears in it, and was covered in dirt and blood. His face was now fully healed, even after that pretty severe beating he'd taken from one of the werewolves who had been holding them captive. Well, now they were being held captive by new people, it looked like. Or at least, she was. Dave was nowhere to be seen, and Dean didn't exactly look like he was being held captive…

He was lying on his side, stretched out across the bed. Someone had removed his shoes and washed his face a bit. Probably the girl who was holding his head in her lap. She was very pretty, a slender, curvy, pale woman with blond curls and big, concerned blue eyes. Dean's head was resting in her lap, and she was resting one hand on his shoulder and stroking his hair with her other hand. That wasn't typically how you treated people you were holding captive. And you definitely didn't look at them with that much concern and love in your eyes.

All of the sudden, Ann remembered the girlfriend and brother Dean kept mentioning. If she had to guess who that girl was just by the fact that she was holding him so tenderly and lovingly, she would guess a very serious girlfriend, and one of these other two men could be Dean's brother. She would guess the one on the computer, because he looked closer in age to Dean than the man in the trench coat. But just because they were close to Dean apparently didn't mean that she was safe from them.

But none of the things she had noticed were as concerning as the one person who was missing from the room. Ann finally decided to just ask the question burning inside of her: "Where's Dave?"

All three of them looked at her, surprised. "We didn't realize you were awake," the tallest man said, closing his laptop.

"Where is he?" she repeated, refusing to talk about anything else until they gave her an answer.

"Who?" the woman asked gently.

"He was with Dean and me," Ann said. "He's tall and buff and he's my boyfriend and I just…I just want to know where he is."

The blond girl and the shaggy-haired guy exchanged concerned looks. "Where is he?!" Ann repeated in a voice that was louder and shriller than she had meant it to be.

In fact, it was so loud that it jolted Dean awake. He stirred in the girl's lap, and she turned all of her attention to him. She gently helped him sit up as he looked around, confused and overwhelmed.

"Jules…" Dean said after trying to get his bearings.

"I'm right here, Dean," she said quickly, touching his arm. "It's okay, honey. You're okay."

Suddenly, he laughed bitterly and pulled away from her touch. "No, I'm not. I got bit, Jules. I'm not even human!"

"I know," she said softly. "We all know. You kind of attacked Sam and Cas last night."

"Dammit," he growled, trying to get up, but his head was spinning enough that he fell back on his bed. "I'm sorry, guys," he said.

"We're all fine, Dean," the shaggy-haired, tall man said. "Cas managed to knock you out before anybody got really hurt."

Dean nodded at the man in the trench coat. "Thanks, Cas. I owe you one."

"Just don't blame yourself for what has happened, and we'll be even," he replied coolly.

"Right, because that's gonna happen," Dean muttered.

"Where's Dave?" Ann cried again, because everyone seemed to have forgotten she was there.

"Ann?!" Dean frowned, finally noticing her. "What the hell? Why are you tied up?"

"You tell me!" she snapped.

"We didn't know what she'd be like when she woke up," the tallest man explained. "We wanted to be safe just in case."

"Well, she's obviously just a normal person at the moment, so help me cut her free, Sam!" Dean snapped, getting to his feet and walking over to her.

The tall guy, Sam, pulled a knife out of his boot and handed it to his brother. As Dean reached Ann and started cutting her wrists free, he introduced her to the group. "Ann, that really tall guy who needs a haircut is my brother I was telling you about, Sam. And that hot blond chick over there is Julie, my girlfriend." Julie smiled a bit despite herself. "And that socially awkward guy in a trench coat is an angel, Cas. Guys, this is Ann. The werewolves turned her and her boyfriend, Dave when they turned me. And it wasn't enough to make us monsters. Then they had to take my knife," he grumbled. "They took all my knives, my guns, even my jacket. Hell, those sons of bitches took my car! I'm not going to rest until I hunt them down and make those kleptos pay!"

"Who are they?" Sam asked, frowning.

"Oh, you guys are going to love this," Dean grumbled as he finally cut Ann free. "We got captured by the Alpha werewolf. And, call me crazy, but I think he might have been into me. Right, Ann?"

"He was definitely interested in you on a creepy level," she muttered, moving her newly freed limbs. "But no one has told me where Dave is!"

"Yeah, where is the big guy? Sammy, I finally found someone who's almost as tall and buff as you," Dean smirked. But then his smirk faded as he saw the guilty look on Sam's face.

"No," Dean said slowly. "You didn't."

"I didn't know who he was, Dean," Sam said softly. "And he was wolfed out and about to tear Julie's throat out. I had to save her…"

"What?" Ann asked softly. "What are you…what are you saying?"

Everyone was silent for a long moment, and then Sam said guiltily, "I'm so sorry, Ann. I didn't-"

She didn't even hear the rest of what he said. There was a dull sort of roar in her ears, and her vision was blurring over with tears. She saw back down in the chair she had been tied to, buried her heads in her arms, and began to sob, too grief-stricken to be ashamed to cry in front of them. All that mattered was that her Dave was dead.

A large yet gentle hand squeezed her shoulder, and she didn't have to look to know it was Dean. She appreciated the comfort, but she still shook his hand off. The guy had never been anything but nice to her, but he had also promised he would get the two of them out of that mess safely. And, while he had gotten her out of there… Dave was dead.

Dean backed off to give Ann some space as she tried to get her emotions under control. Cas watched her sadly while Sam looked away guiltily. Dean sat down next to Julie and she moved closer to him, taking his hand and squeezing it a comforting gesture. She really felt for this poor girl. She knew what it was like to lose the man you loved, and she was extremely grateful that she wasn't in the same boat Ann was in.

After a while, Ann wiped away her tears and lifted her head. Dean opened his mouth to say something comforting, but suddenly she was up and headed towards the door.

"Ann, where are you going?" he called, standing up.

"I'm getting out of here," she said coldly, still headed for the door.

"Ann, wait," he said.

"Dave is dead," she snapped, whirling on him. "Dave is dead, and you said you would protect us."

"I know," Dean said guiltily. "I know, and I'm sorry. I let the both of you down, but you can't just go out there on your own! There are dangerous werewolves after you, and you're a werewolf yourself. If you're not safely contained tonight, you'll wolf out and you may end up killing innocent people."

She stared at him for a long moment, her hazel eyes hard and angry. But all of the sudden, the fight seemed to go out of her. "So, what?" she asked. "We just sit here in this motel room until those werewolves either find us, or we get out and kill people? If this is the rest of my life, I don't want it."

"It doesn't have to be like that," Sam said gently. "There have been other werewolves who have managed to survive off of animal hearts to avoid hurting people."

Ann didn't look convinced. "And hopefully you two won't have to do that long. We'll find a cure, and we'll make sure you two become human again."

"How are we going to find a cure if we haven't managed to find one in all our years of hunting?" Dean pointed out skeptically.

"We haven't needed one yet," Julie pointed out. "But now that we do, we'll find it, okay?" She touched Dean's arm reassuringly, but her eyes were on Ann. "I promise."

"No offense or anything, but so far, you three haven't given me a lot of reasons to trust your promises," Ann said coldly, and without another word she walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

The three hunters and the angel left behind exchanged looks. "Well, at least she's staying," Sam pointed out.

"Poor girl," Julie murmured.

"God, I wish I hadn't shot him," Sam muttered.

"Sammy, you didn't know," Dean sighed. "Besides, he was about to kill Julie. You had to save her."

"But I still wish he wasn't dead," his younger brother replied, and Dean had no reply to that.

Silently, Julie stepped closer to Dean and wrapped her arms around his waist. He put his arm around her and held her close, knowing she must be thinking how grateful she was that the man she loved was still in one piece. Of course, he wasn't human, but she would take what she could get…

"Cas, there wouldn't happen to be some cure only angels know about that could solve all of this?" Julie asked after a moment.

"I'm sorry, Julie," the angel sighed. "Not that I know of."

"Didn't think so," she muttered, her grip on Dean tightening slightly.

"I can return to heaven and see if any angels may have some idea of where to find one," Cas offered, wanting to help his friend.

"That would be great, Cas," Sam said, "And you don't mind?"

"Of course not. Anything to help Dean and that poor girl."

"We'll find a way to fix this, okay, Dean?" Julie said gently, pulling away so she could turn to face her boyfriend.

"You promise?" he asked bitterly, guilt clear in his eyes.

The four of them were silent for a moment. "I'm going to get some clean clothes on," Dean muttered.

"I'll begin to search for a cure," Castiel said, and when no one moved to stop him, he disappeared with the flapping sound of his wings.

Dean went into the corner and changed into a clean pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. Then he sat down on his and Julie's motel bed next to his girlfriend. He took one look at the glazed, shell-shocked look in her eyes and gestured for her to move closer. She sat back against him, leaning into his chest. She took his large hand and pulled it into her lap, interlacing her fingers with his and absently tracing the muscles in his forearm. Even though he'd only been missing for a day, it had felt like much longer, and now that she had Dean back, she desperately needed to always be near him.

She lost track of how long they sat like that, with Sam sitting on the other bed, ceaselessly searching for some hint of a cure. But eventually, she began to worry about Ann, who had been in the bathroom for quite a while. Julie decided to go check on Ann, and she got up off the bed. She turned back to Dean, who was watching her go with an expression that clearly showed how badly he wanted her to stay. She stopped for a moment to lean in and kiss him briefly, wanting to stay with him as well, but she owed it to this poor woman to make sure she was alright.

Julie knocked softly on the bathroom door and called, "Ann?"

There was a brief moment of silence, and then Ann answered gruffly, "What?"

"It's Julie," she said carefully. "You know, Dean's-"

"Yeah, I know who you are."

"Right. Well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Well, I'm not," Ann replied shortly. "My boyfriend is dead, and I'm a werewolf. I'm about as far from okay as humanly possible."

"You've got a point," Julie conceded. "I guess I just wanted to let you know that if you need someone to talk to…I'm here for you."

There was a moment of silence, and then the bathroom door opened. Ann's expression was cross. "I'm not inviting you in or anything, I just got tired of talking through the door," she said coolly, and Julie heard Dean snort with laughter.

"Why would you care about being there for me?" Ann asked suspiciously. "You don't even know me."

"True," Julie shrugged. "But I know what it's like to lose people I love, and no one should be alone for that."

Ann studied her for a long moment, and then opened the door wider without another word. Julie smiled very slightly at her and stepped into the bathroom. Ann shut the door and settled down on the closed toilet. Julie sat on the edge of the motel bathtub, facing her.

"Do you want to talk about anything?" the hunter asked gently after a moment of silence.

"Yeah," Ann said. "Who the hell are you people? I mean, Dean said you're 'hunters' or whatever, but like…do you just do this for a living? Stay in crappy motels and kill monsters?"

"And save people, in theory," Julie shrugged. "But pretty much, yeah."

"_Why?_"

"Well, somebody's got to do it." The hunter thought about it a bit. "Sam and Dean were raised into the life by their dad, and he got into hunting when his wife was killed by a demon. Oh, yeah, and she was a hunter, too." Ann blinked, but accepted that. "As for me…my dad hunted down the monsters who killed his parents, but he stopped hunting and settled down with my mom and had me, at least until she got killed by a monster. Then he became a hunter again, but he wouldn't let me hunt. But when he died when I was fifteen…well, I followed in his footsteps."

"That seems to be a recurring pattern," Ann muttered. "And I'm sorry. It sounds like you've lost a lot of people."

"You've no idea," Julie replied bitterly. "Just a few weeks ago, I lost my uncle who raised me when my dad died. And I know what it's like to lose the man you love as well, and I just want you to know that you're not alone."

Ann nodded slowly. "Did you lose your old boyfriend?" she guessed.

"Well, I lost my current boyfriend," she replied.

Ann frowned. "Wait…Dean? Dean died?!"

"Several times," Julie said nonchalantly. "And Sam and I have died as well. The last time Dean died was eight months ago, and that was absolutely horrible. I probably wouldn't have made it through that time without Sam."

"Wait…so, you can die and come back?" Ann asked slowly. Julie nodded, and then regretted it when Ann's eyes lit up. "So, is there a way that I can bring Dave back?!"

"Not one that should ever be used," Julie muttered. When Ann frowned, she explained, "When Dean died, he came back as a demon." Ann's eyes widened. "That's a very long story, but anyway, it ended in him trying to kill me and Sam and Cas. I couldn't bear being without the old Dean, the one I loved, any longer so…I sold my soul."

"Hang on. You what?!" Ann cried. "I don't know anything about hunting, but I know that sounds like a terrible idea, and you don't strike me as an idiot."

"Well, thanks," Julie smirked bitterly. "But I did. I sold my soul, and I got six months to live."

"How long do you have now?" Ann asked softly.

"Three."

"Wow."

"Yeah, I know," Julie muttered. "It was stupid. But I don't regret it. Sure, it was stupid, but love makes you do some real stupid things."

"Don't I know it," Ann murmured. "You know, after hearing your story, mine doesn't sound so bad."

"Yeah, well, our lives suck," Julie said. "That doesn't mean yours should have to, though. Which is why you're going to be cured, and we're going to do everything we can to make sure you get back to as normal of a life as you can."

"You know, you remind me a lot of Dean," Ann said after a moment. "He's a good person like you, and he cares about people he doesn't even know. And he makes promises he can't keep, too."

"Oh, I'm keeping this promise," Julie said confidently, and her eyes held such conviction that Ann almost believed her.

Ann opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, there was suddenly a loud thud in the motel room. Ann frowned in confusion, but Julie was up in an instant, grabbing her gun full of silver bullets and motioning for the werewolf to remain silent.

Julie reached the bathroom door and leaned close to it to listen, every muscle in her body coiled tense and ready to spring into action. At first, she couldn't hear anything, but then she made out a low voice saying something. The voice that answered was clearly Dean, and he sounded pissed. Whatever was going on out there, she doubted was good.

Julie and Ann stayed put, waiting for some kind of signal that they should reveal themselves. But after just a few seconds of them waiting in the bathroom, Sam suddenly cried out in pain, and without a second thought, Julie opened the door and threw herself into the fight outside.


	66. Chapter 66

**Chapter Sixty-Six**

"You think she'll be okay?" Sam asked his brother uncertainly, staring at the closed bathroom door that Julie had gone into a couple minutes ago.

"Ann?" Dean asked. "Oh, she'll be okay. I haven't known her for very long, but she seems like a pretty tough girl. But losing Dave…that's going to be hard to bounce back from."

"I wish to God I hadn't shot him," Sam muttered guiltily.

"Sammy, you didn't know," Dean sighed. "And you saved my girlfriend's life."

"But he was an innocent man," his little brother said, the same expression of self-loathing on his face that Dean knew he wore almost constantly.

"Don't be a me, Sammy," Dean said sharply. "You did what you had to do. I wish that Dave was still alive, too, but you can't hate yourself for what happened."

"Oh, but you can hate yourself for your mistakes?" Sam snapped.

"Yeah, I can."

"How does that make any sense?"

"Because I'm older," Dean said smugly.

"That's not a valid excuse now, nor has it even been," Sam sighed, but the slightest of smiles tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Dean started to smile back at him, about to reply, but suddenly there was a loud thud and the motel door came crashing down. Sam and Dean both leapt up off of their beds, on high alert, and Sam grabbed two guns full of silver bullets off the nightstand and tossed one to his brother.

The two of them stood shoulder-to-shoulder, guns raised, as three men and one woman walked calmly into the motel room. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Dean groaned as he recognized them.

"It's good to see you again, Dean," Fenris said brightly.

"Just couldn't stay away, huh, Fen?" Dean smirked, his gun trained on the Alpha werewolf. Georgia was there too, as well as short, stocky Nathan and that asshole Kyle who had smashed Dean's head into Baby back when he first got turned.

"The twelve hours we've been apart were far too long," Fenris said, almost flirtatiously. Sam raised his eyebrows and stood ready to fire, waiting for his brother to give the signal to attack. "How've you been, Dean?"

"A hell of a lot better than when I was with you monsters," Dean shot back.

"You keep forgetting you're one of us now, Winchester," Georgia smirked.

"Hopefully not for long," Dean shot back. But before they could continue their banter, Kyle, who had slowly been creeping sideways towards Sam, suddenly leapt forward and grabbed Sam's gun arm, twisting the gun out of his hand and probably dislocating his arm as well. Sam cried out pain, and Dean's vision went red with anger. Before he could attack, though, the bathroom door burst open and Julie was there next to him. She fired her gun before he could, and Kyle fell to the ground, dead, a bullet in his neck.

Nathan roared angrily and dove at Julie, but Dean fired his gun at Nathan. The werewolf was moving fast enough that the bullet caught him in his arm instead of his chest, but it was enough to slow the werewolf down.

But before Dean could fire again, suddenly Fenris was there, grabbing his arms and wrestling the gun out of his grip. Dean fought hard, but the Alpha was significantly stronger than him, and he ripped Dean's gun out of his hands. Then he threw Dean several feet backwards, where he fell hard next to his wounded brother.

"Dean!" Julie shrieked, before turning to face the werewolf that had just somehow overpowered her boyfriend. Without thinking, she shot a silver bullet into his stomach, but to her surprise and horror, he didn't crumple to the ground like she had been expecting. He groaned and looked down at his bleeding stomach in annoyance, but he was still on his feet.

"What…how…?" Julie spluttered, staring at him in shock. No werewolf should be able to survive that.

He moved towards her inhumanly fast and caught her wrist in his powerful grip. She tried to fight him, but he ripped her gun away from her easily and threw it aside like he had with Dean's. He still kept his grip on her wrist, though, and she could not pull free no matter how hard she struggled.

"Let her go," Dean growled as he picked himself up off of the ground, helping Sam to his feet as well.

The insanely strong, apparently invincible werewolf studied Julie with curious,

wise, dark eyes. "I suppose this is your girlfriend, then?" he asked Dean sadly. When Dean didn't reply, Fenris sighed wistfully, "Why are the good ones always taken?"

Still gripping her wrist, he stepped closer to her, and she backed away as far as she could from him until she ran into the wall. He kept walking towards her until he was far too close, and Julie suppressed a shudder as he brought his mouth to her neck. Dean started to move forward, but Georgia and a wounded Nathan both appeared and forced him back. Fenris inhaled deeply before pulling away slightly from Julie.

"She smells delicious, Dean," he said. "I can see why you like her."

"She'd make a great meal," Nathan chuckled darkly, earning him a death glare from Dean.

"She'd make an even better werewolf," Fenris commented, raising the hand that wasn't gripping her wrist to stroke the side of her face.

"And I make an even better hunter," Julie snarled as she pulled a small silver knife off of her belt and sliced Fenris's hand open. He pulled his bleeding hand away from her face, and she sliced his other forearm open and he cried out in pain and released her.

Georgia lunged towards Julie to attack her, but Dean leapt on the woman from behind and the two of them started swinging and kicking at each other. In the chaos that followed, Julie managed to get away from Fenris and get over to Sam, and she used her silver knife to keep Nathan back from the two of them.

Dean finally overpowered Georgia and threw her to the ground before moving to stand protectively in front of Julie and Sam. Dean, Julie, and Sam faced off against the three wounded werewolves, each side waiting for the other to strike first.

"She's surprisingly strong," Fenris growled, glaring at Julie. But then he regained his composure. "That will only make her a better werewolf, though. I cannot wait for the day I add you two to my pack."

"That's never happening," Dean growled.

"It's happening now," Georgia smirked. "The three of you are coming with us now, and Ann, too. We know you're in there, sweetie!" she yelled, looking at the bathroom door Ann was still hiding behind.

"Actually, she decided she wanted to leave when she found out we killed her boyfriend," Sam said coldly.

"Did you really think that would work?" Fenris smirked. "I'm the Alpha werewolf, Sam. Not only can I smell the fear reeking off of her, but I can read her mind as well."

Dean frowned. "What?"

"I can read the mind of any of my children," Fenris explained. "One of the perks of being the father of all werewolves. That's how I knew where you were, Dean, and that the little angel protecting you was out of the picture so we could attack."

"Oh, you think he's gone?" Julie smirked cockily. "Sure, he stepped out for a moment, but one word from any of us and he's back, and he'll smite all of you with a touch."

Georgia and Nathan exchanged worried looks, but Fenris stood his ground and simply smiled at Julie. "Then say the word and bring him here, if it's so easy."

Julie kept her eyes locked on Fenris, refusing to back down. "Hey, Cas?" she prayed sweetly. "We're having a little trouble back here. A little wolf trouble. Would you mind popping back real quick to help us out?"

Her voice and expression were confident, but then nothing happened. The six of them stood tense, waiting, but after several seconds passed and nothing happened, the werewolves begin to grin and chuckle.

"You almost had us," Nathan laughed, taking a threatening step towards Julie. "But now you're going to-"

And suddenly there was a fluttering noise, and before Nathan could finish his threat, a silver knife appeared at his neck and slit his throat.

"To what?" Cas asked smoothly, smirking very slightly, but his eyes were deadly.

For a moment, Fenris stood his ground, his dark eyes burning into Cas's blue ones. Georgia stood nervously nearby, clearly wanting to bolt, but awaiting orders from her Alpha.

"I will give you one chance to leave this place and these people alone, and never return," Castiel said coldly, glaring at the Alpha.

"And if we don't?" Fenris asked in the same cold, firm voice.

Cas smiled very slightly, a cold, terrifying smile that chilled Julie to the bone, and his eyes flicked to Nathan's dead body.

Fenris nodded slowly, but there was dark rage in his eyes. He backed out of the room, Georgia at his side, and after a few seconds, Cas relaxed.

"They're leaving," he stated. "Probably not for good, but for the moment at least."

"Why didn't you kill them?" Dean snapped angrily.

"Because we may need that Alpha still," Cas explained. The hunters frowned in confusion, so he elaborated. "He is the first werewolf. He knows more about that species than any other living creature. If anyone was to know about a cure, wouldn't it be him?"

Sam and Julie nodded in agreement, but Dean still looked pissed. "You've got a point," Dean muttered. "But I still want him dead."

"And hopefully, we'll get there," Julie assured him. "But for now, we need to get out of here and find somewhere safe to hole up until we can find a cure."

"I'll get Ann," Sam said.

"Actually, I'll get her," Julie said quickly, and Sam backed off, remembering how much the werewolf must hate him. She wouldn't want him to come get her, that's for sure.

"Thanks for saving us, Cas," Sam said after a moment, while Julie got Ann from the bathroom.

"Not like we needed it," Dean muttered. "I was just about to take them all out single-handedly."

Cas and Sam rolled their eyes, but smirked a little at Dean's bravado. A moment later, Ann and Julie both came out of the bathroom.

Dean noticed Ann staring wide-eyed at the two corpses on the floor and swallowed. "Oh, yeah. We should probably take care of these guys," he pointed out.

"I can dispose of the werewolves," Castiel said indifferently.

"No!" Julie said quickly. "They're afraid of you, Cas. As soon as you leave, they'll come back and attack again."

"How will they know?" Ann pointed out.

"Fenris, the Alpha, he can read the mind of any of his 'children'," Dean muttered sullenly.

"Wait, that creep can read my mind?" Ann cried, horrified.

"Guess so," Dean sighed. "Which makes our jobs pretty hard, considering wherever we go, he'll just find us."

"So, we just don't let you two know," Julie said slowly.

"How are you going to manage that?" Dean asked skeptically.

Sam and Julie exchanged looks and they turned back towards Dean and slowly began to smile…

* * *

"I hate this," Dean muttered, pulling at the blindfold over his eyes.

"Stop it!" Julie snapped, smacking his hand away from the blindfold.

"Hey!"

"If you take that off and figure out where we are, so will that Alpha, moron," Julie scolded him.

"You're the moron," Dean grumbled, but he quit pulling at his blindfold.

Julie softened. They'd been in the car for at least half an hour, and it couldn't be fun being blind for that long. And Dean hated not driving. Sam was currently driving the Impala, with a blindfolded Ann in the passenger seat, since she was trustworthy, while Julie sat in the back and kept an eye on Dean.

Julie reached out and slipped her hand into Dean's. They laced their fingers together, and for a while they sat in silence, holding hands.

"How much longer?" Dean asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Can't tell you," Sam said mischievously. "Everything I tell you, I'm telling the Alpha."

Dean muttered a string of swear words under his breath and was silent for a minute. Then he announced, "God, this is boring. Sammy, could you at least play music?"

"I like driving in a quiet car," Sam said, and Julie looked up to see him grinning to himself, enjoying torturing his brother like this.

"Oh my God…" Dean groaned.

To distract Dean, Julie reached up and turned his face towards her gently. She leaned in and kissed him for a moment. Immediately, his mood changed, and Dean began kissing Julie passionately, glad to have something he could do without needing to see.

After about a minute of that, Ann asked, "What's that noise?"

Sam checked in the rearview mirror and saw that Dean and Julie were unbuckled and had their arms wrapped around each other, making out. He groaned and said, "They're making out in the backseat like a couple of teenagers."

Dean and Julie pulled apart, and she shot back, "Hey, it keeps him from complaining anymore!"

Sam had to agree with that, but he was still a bit uncomfortable, and very glad when, five minutes later, he pulled up to the home of a family who was on vacation that Cas had quickly found for them. It wasn't the first time that Sam and Dean had been squatters, and the place was actually pretty nice. Besides, Sam had bigger things to worry about than being a law-abiding citizen.

He helped guide Ann inside of the house, although she clearly didn't want to be anywhere near him. He couldn't blame her. Meanwhile, Julie helped Dean out of the car and into the house. He was really enjoying this blind thing now, because it gave him an excuse to always be touching her, and if his hand slipped…

Sam turned around as Dean and Julie entered the house, and saw her slapping Dean's hand away from her ass. "Come on, Dean, you're a grown man," she scolded him. "At least try to act professional."

"How was I supposed to know? I can't see!" he said innocently.

Julie shut the door behind Dean and then undid his blindfold. "Well, now you can," she said shortly. Dean grinned at her, and she softened a bit, unable to stay mad at him.

Ann pulled off her blindfold and looked around. "Is this your guys' house?" she asked, frowning.

"Nope," Julie said brightly.

"Oh my God," Ann breathed. "Are we squatting?"

"Yep," Julie answered brightly.

"Don't worry, it's pretty typical for us," Dean shrugged, grabbing one of the two duffel bags they had brought in and taking it into the living room.

"Yes, because that makes me _less _likely to worry," Ann muttered, but she followed the three of them anyway.

The three hunters quickly explored the layout of their new home. There were three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a sizable basement. The most important part of the house was the basement, and the three of them spent half an hour making sure it was properly sealed and couldn't be escaped.

"Why does it matter if the basement is properly sealed?" Ann asked skeptically, watching them inspect the walls and floors.

"Because you and I are going to get locked up in here tonight, and there can't be any chance of us getting free," Dean explained, and Ann suppressed a shudder at the thought of what was coming tonight.

An hour later, Julie drove to go get some food from a nearby diner. Ann went with her, blindfolded again, rather than spend another hour in this house with the man who had killed her boyfriend, leaving Dean and Sam alone. At first, they just sat and watched TV in silence, drinking beers that they had brought in from the Impala. But finally, Sam couldn't stand it anymore, and he turned to his brother and asked, "Dean, how are you feeling?"

"Well, not quite drunk considering I've only had a couple beers, but if I keep it up, pretty soon I'll start feeling fuzzy-"

"You know what I mean," Sam snapped, and Dean dropped the joking attitude.

"I don't know, Sam," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "What do you want to hear? I feel like a monster? I'm just waiting to explode and kill all of you?"

"No, I want the truth," his little brother said softly.

"I feel…I feel normal, Sammy," Dean admitted. "And that's the scary part. I mean, my senses are a little stronger than normal, but other than that…I feel like me. I feel human, at least up until I suddenly turn into an uncontrollable, murderous animal."

It was painful for Sam, seeing the pain in Dean's eyes when he talked about what he was now. That was the heartbreaking thing about werewolves. They could be truly good people in the day, but at night, they were monsters, and it wasn't even their fault. But they had to be stopped.

"We'll find a way to save you, Dean," Sam said firmly.

"What if you can't?" Dean pointed out. "What if this is the rest of my life, getting locked up every night so I don't murder the people I love?"

"Well, it's only a few nights out of the month," Sam pointed out. "And some werewolves seem to be able to control themselves. You could learn how to control yourself, and you could eat animal hearts. We could make it work, Dean."

There was so much hope in Sam's eyes, and Dean didn't want to crush it. But he had to say it.

"And what happens if I get out before then?" Dean asked darkly. "What if I can't control myself, and I murder you and Julie and however many other innocent people are nearby?"

"That won't happen," Sam snapped.

"But what if it does?"

"Then Julie and I know how to stop a werewolf, Dean," Sam said coldly.

Dean smirked bitterly. "But you won't. You two would rather die than hurt me, even if I'm a monster at the time."

They were silent for a moment, glaring at each other. "Well, Dean, what do you want me to say?" Sam snapped. "That you're wrong? You're not. We both know you're not."

To Sam's surprise, Dean suddenly grabbed his gun off the couch next to him and pushed it into Sam's hand. "No, Sam, what I want is for you to stop me now, before someone gets hurt."

"Dean, you've got to be joking!" Sam cried angrily, dropping the gun like it was on fire. "I won't do that!"

"Then at least get far away from here," Dean snapped. "I need to know you and Jules are going to be safe from me if I get out."

"You won't," Sam said firmly.

"You don't know that, Sammy, and until you know for sure that you two will be safe, your best bet is just to take out the threat now!"

"Are you even listening to yourself?" Sam cried, standing up angrily. "No, I won't kill you! Dean, you're my brother!"

"And a werewolf that will try to kill or turn you in just a few hours," Dean said coldly, standing as well.

Sam shook his head. "No. Dean, there's another way. We'll find a cure, or we'll just keep locking you up until you learn to control it."

"I don't want that life, dammit!" Dean snapped. "And there's no cure, at least not that we've found. And don't you think, in all those years of hunting, we'd have found one if there is one?"

"I won't do it," was all Sam said.

"You wasted Madison," Dean snapped, not wanting to bring that painful memory up, but knowing it was his only option to convince Sam. Sam winced at the thought, but Dean steamrolled ahead. "You killed her when she asked, but you won't kill me?"

"Low blow," Sam said coldly. "And she was murdering people."

"Would you really rather wait until after I've killed innocent people to take out the threat?"

Sam took a slow, deep breath, trying to control his anger. "Dean, we have more resources than we did nine years ago," Sam said slowly. "We've got an angel out there right now, looking for a cure, and if we have to, we can get a demon's help as well. We will find a cure."

"You had better be right," Dean said coldly. "And you had better find it before I hurt someone. Because if I do, you're going to wish you had killed me now."

* * *

The sun was setting. Julie was trying to ignore the fact, but it was inescapable. The sun was setting, and once it was dark and the moon came out, the man next to her was not going to be human.

Dean and Sam had clearly fought while she and Ann were out getting food. They were both cold and distant towards each other, making these tense hours of waiting even more miserable than they normally would have been. Dean had barely eaten, which is how Julie knew that things were really bad with him. Now he was sitting, stiff and silent next to her on the couch, watching the sun set with a stony expression.

Julie reached out and touched his arm, trying to soothe him, but Dean didn't even seem to notice. Finally, she just reached out and took his hand, pulling it into her lap and clutching it tightly. Dean turned his head to look at her sadly, and Julie pressed her forehead against his and whispered, "It's gonna be okay, Dean. You're gonna be okay."

He said nothing, and so they sat there in silence like that for a couple of minutes, until they heard the telltale sound of wings.

They both got to their feet as Cas appeared in the room, his arms full of chains. A moment later, Sam and Ann rushed into the room from different parts of the house. For a long moment, the four of them stared at the chains the angel was holding, and then Dean nodded grimly.

The five of them went down to the basement in silence and went to work chaining the two werewolves securely in place. Ann was chained to a thick pipe by her wrists and ankles, while the same was done to Dean on the other side of the room. He tugged on the tight, sturdy chains holding him in place, and then snapped, "More."

Cas ended up chaining his torso tightly to the pipe, because Sam and Julie couldn't do it. The angel made sure his best friend was securely locked in place before stepping back and nodding sadly at Dean.

Dean struggled against the chains for a moment, and then nodded. "Will it be enough, Cas?" he asked shortly.

"Hard to imagine how it couldn't be," the angel replied.

"Take them away from here," Dean said suddenly, and Sam and Julie frowned. "Take them someplace safe, please," he begged the angel.

"No!" Julie snapped. "Somebody's got to stay here and make sure you two don't get out, and it can't be Cas, because he's got to find a cure."

Dean opened his mouth to start to argue, but one look at their stony faces and he knew there was no way he was convincing the three of them that he was too dangerous to be kept alive. Finally, he sighed, "Fine. Just…you two had better be ready to shoot me if I get out, then."

"You won't get out," Castiel said confidently. "Those chains are nearly impossible to break, and you are very tightly bound."

"Good," Dean said shortly. Then it seemed there was nothing left to say, and Cas and Sam both left with promises to see Dean in the morning.

Only Julie stayed behind. "Jules, you've got to get out of here," Dean snapped. "I could turn any minute."

She didn't reply, just knelt down in front of him and looked him in the eyes. "You're going to be okay, Dean," she said softly. "Both of you are. You've just got to make it through tonight."

"You and Sam are in a lot more danger of not making it through tonight than I am," Dean pointed out darkly.

"We can take care of ourselves, Dean," she sighed. "I think you forget how many werewolves we both have taken out."

"But you won't shoot me," he said, and it wasn't a question.

"You're right, we won't," Julie shrugged. "But it's not going to come to that. Now, quit worrying about us and-"

"Worry about myself?" he guessed drily.

"That's what I'm doing," she said softly.

Dean softened, seeing the clear fear and concern for him in her eyes. "Hey. I'll be okay. You're right. I'm going to make it through tonight. We all are."

"And we'll find a way to save you, I promise," she whispered. "I don't care if it takes the rest of my three months, we will find a cure."

Julie's three months. In all of the chaos going on right now, he had nearly forgotten. No, that was a lie. Dean never forgot—not even for a second. It was always there in the back of his mind, driving his thoughts and actions and tearing him apart from the inside. He only had three months left with the woman he loved, and then he lost her forever, unless something changed. That was reason enough to keep fighting despite being a monster. Continuing to search for a way to save Julie was enough of a reason to keep going on with life, even life as a werewolf.

"You need to go," Dean said after a long moment. "I won't let you get hurt, but in a few minutes, I won't be able to stop myself from hurting you."

But instead of leaving like she should, Julie leaned in and kissed him for a long moment, and he kissed her back. When they pulled apart, Dean kept his eyes closed, wanting to cling to that moment, wanting to cling to his humanity, but knowing he was about to lose it.

"I love you," Julie whispered, before leaning in and kissing him one more time. Ann, who had been trying and failing not to listen in on their conversation, looked away as they kissed again, hating herself for wanting to cry as she remembered how, only a couple of days ago, she and Dave had been like that.

When Julie and Dean pulled apart a second time, he said, "Go!" sharply, and this time she got to her feet and started to obey. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, turned, and promised, "I'll see you in the morning."

Dean nodded once at her, confused on why he suddenly felt the urge to cry, and then watched her turn and run up the stairs. She locked the basement door behind her, and then Ann and Dean sat in silence, waiting, until he felt himself begin to change…

Julie and Sam sat outside the door, guns full of silver bullets in their laps, leaning back against the wall and waiting in silence. They sat in silence for maybe ten minutes, and then Julie silently began to cry as horrible, pain-filled howls echoed up from the basement. One of them was clearly female, and the other howl, the more agonized one, was horribly obviously Dean.

It was going to be a very long night.


	67. Chapter 67

**Chapter Sixty-Seven**

Dean was sitting there with his eyes closed, lost somewhere between sleep and consciousness, when he felt something brushing up against his skin. His eyes flew open and he began to struggle wildly against whatever had ahold of him, when-

"Dean! Dean, calm down, it's just me! You're okay, it's just me, honey."

Dean stopped struggling at the sound of her soothing voice. After a moment, his vision came into focus and he saw Julie crouched in front of him, her eyes worried and heartbreakingly sad.

He was vaguely aware that his chest was heaving, and his fists were clenched painfully tight. Clearly, he was not fully recovered from the ordeal he'd gone through last night. Thank God he couldn't remember anything from it besides a few flashes of darkness and the sound of Ann howling and screaming, and pain, horrible, overwhelming pain-

Dean cut off that train of thought and just focused on Julie's face. She looked like she hadn't slept a wink last night, and she was in the same clothes from yesterday. Dean couldn't figure out why she was staring at him so sadly until he tried to move, and suddenly every part of him was aching.

"What the-?" Dean growled, trying to move to look down at his wounded body, but Julie snapped, "Don't move! You'll just make it worse."

"Make what worse?" he groaned.

"Yourself," she answered, and her voice cracked on that one word.

At that moment, Sam and Ann joined Julie, Ann rubbing her arms, and Dean noticed the bruises on her wrists that must be from the chains that had held her down last night. She was trembling slightly, and her short, dark hair and eyes were wild. Poor girl. Still, judging by how shitty his entire body felt, he was worse off than she was.

Dean and Julie went to work unchaining Dean, which took quite a while. When he was finally free, Dean looked down and finally understood the pain he was feeling.

His arms were covered in huge, dark bruises from him struggling against the chains, and he was sure that under his shirt, his torso looked much the same. In several places, he had clearly struggled so hard that it had broken skin, and his wrists had bloody circles around them. When Dean looked up from his damaged body, he saw Julie looking near tears.

"Damn," Dean breathed as he realized how much he must have struggled to get free last night to do this to himself. Then he noticed how horrified and concerned his brother and girlfriend looked, and he quickly added, "But don't worry. It'll heal soon."

"Just in time for you to do the same thing to yourself tonight," Sam said darkly, and Dean had no answer to that.

Julie tried to help Dean up the stairs, but he was determined to walk on his own no matter how hurt he was. He followed Julie into one of the bathrooms, and she locked the door before gently but firmly forcing Dean to take his shirt off so she could get a better look at his wounds. When he looked in the mirror, he saw that his entire torso was a bruised, bloody mess. He wasn't surprised, but it sure wasn't pleasant to look at.

Julie forced Dean to sit down on the edge of the bathtub and let her wash the blood off of him. Most of the wounds had healed now, and he was just covered in dried blood and bruises, but his wrists were still bleeding. Julie sat down and bandaged them tightly before gently sponging down Dean's torso. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the side of the tub, grateful for her gentle touch after that night of agony he was trying very hard not to remember.

Once Julie had washed all the blood off of Dean, she almost wished she hadn't. It just made it even more apparent how badly bruised his entire top half was. She could see several places where the chains had dug so deeply into Dean's skin that they had left a clear outline in his skin, and it broke her heart.

Dean opened his eyes and saw the look on Julie's face. Immediately, he lifted one of his damaged hands and brushed it across her cheek. "Hey, it's okay," he whispered. "It'll all heal. In a few hours, I'll be as good as new."

"Sam's right, though," Julie said darkly. "Unless Cas gets back with a cure, you'll have to go through the same thing tonight."

Dean didn't have an answer to that, so he just sank down onto the ground next to Julie and took her face in his hands. "Hey," he said in that same gentle yet determined voice. "We made it through the night, though. If we did it once, we can do it again."

Julie nodded a couple of times, mostly to make Dean happy, but also trying to convince herself that things would be okay. He was alive, wasn't he? Which was better than what she had thought two days ago. They would be okay.

Dean leaned in and gently pressed his lips to Julie's for a moment. For now, that was all his battered body could manage. But in a few hours, when he was feeling back to normal, he was going to do whatever it took to make this woman happy and distract her from what was going on with him. She deserved it. How many women would stick with him through this and all of his other crap? How many women would stick by him as the Mark of Cain destroyed his humanity, as he tormented her as a demon, and now, as he had to learn to live as a werewolf?

Julie tangled her fingers in Dean's rather short hair and kissed him back, careful not to be too rough or do anything that might damage him even more. What she wanted more than anything was for him to wrap her in his big, solid arms and block out everything else that was going on. She wanted him to drag her into one of the bedrooms and distract her from everything that was going on, from her deal, from the fact that he never may even be human again, and that several nights out of the month, this hell could be their life.

But right now, that wasn't an option, so for now she was content just to kiss him softly and then pull away and study his face. In this moment, at least, he looked like _him_. The same tall, handsome, brave, damaged, kind-hearted dork she had met about two years ago. The same man she had sold her soul for. And at least now, seeing his human self, Julie could pretend that everything was okay, and that tonight he wouldn't be turning into a monster that could very well kill her if it wasn't contained.

* * *

Sam looked up, surprised, when Ann walked over to where he was seated on the couch. She had been avoiding him since Julie and Dean had disappeared into the bathroom to do God knows what (but Sam knew Dean was probably too banged up to do anything as dirty as he would probably like to). But now Ann was standing just a couple feet away from him, staring at him with big dark eyes from under her wild, unruly, short, dark hair.

"Uh…hey," Sam said as he scrambled to his feet, surprised to see her actually looking at him. "Is something wrong?"

"I've been wearing the same dirty, bloody pair of clothes for over forty-eight hours," Ann said shortly. "Do you guys have _any _other clothes?"

Despite himself, Sam smiled slightly. "Yeah, I'm sure Julie's got a pair of extra clothes that'll fit you."

He led the way into one of the bedrooms, where their clothes and supplies were sitting in a corner. He unpacked the bag that held their clothes and found a black V-neck t-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans that would fit Ann. She thanked him quietly, and then asked if they had any shampoo or soap. He found some pretty quickly, and she disappeared for fifteen or twenty minutes to wash herself clean from the trauma of the past two days and change into clean clothes.

Sam was surprised when Ann walked back into the room he had returned to, hair still wet from the shower, and sat down on the couch a few inches away from him. She turned in her seat to face him, and he did the same.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked slowly, and he could tell she'd put a lot of thought into this.

"Of course," Sam said gently.

"Why…why did you kill Dave?" she asked. "I just…I feel like if I know why, it would help me…trust you more."

"That's a nice way to say 'hate me less'," Sam smirked, and Ann smirked very slightly as well. "It's okay. I had a girlfriend back in college, a girlfriend I loved, and she got murdered. I hated the demon that killed her more than anything. Of course, it was the same demon that killed my mom, and ended up getting my brother and then my dad killed, and eventually me-"

"I feel like the more I learn about your family, the less I want to know," Ann said, putting up her hands to stop Sam, and he smirked, but his eyes were sad.

"Yeah, well…I guess, I want you to know that I didn't mean to kill Dave," Sam admitted after a moment. "I just…I've been hunting so long that when I see a werewolf, I automatically want to kill it. I used to hesitate, used to think of them as people, but lately…I just see monsters. And I saw a monster about to tear my best friend's throat out and…I stopped it. I didn't even think about the innocent man I was killing."

The two of them were silent for a long, awkward, tense moment. "I'm sorry," Sam got out eventually. "I wish I could take it back."

"I know you're sorry," Ann said after a long silence. "But I can't forgive you."

Sam nodded slowly, his throat tight. He understood. Imagine if he had shot Dean before Julie and Cas stopped him! Julie would never be able to forgive him, and he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

After that, Ann got up and went into one of the bedrooms and locked the door behind her. Poor girl.

Thankfully, before Sam could be left alone with his thoughts for too much longer, Dean and Julie emerged from the bathroom. At some point, Julie must have grabbed a change of clothes for the both of them, because Dean was now wearing a loose-fitting, old, grey hoodie that actually belonged to Sam and a new pair of jeans, and Julie was wearing a blue tank top and black skinny jeans.

"Hey, guys," Sam said quickly, standing up as the two of them walked over. Dean was walking a bit stiffly, but he looked much better than he had when they had found him earlier that morning. Of course, Sam's massive hoodie was hiding his bruises, but Sam knew they were already healing.

"What's up with wearing my sweatshirt?" Sam asked, smiling a little at the sight of his older brother getting swallowed up by his hoodie.

"She's insisting on babying me, Sammy, like I haven't gone through a lot worse than this," Dean sighed, rolling his eyes. "She thinks loose-fitting clothes will be less irritating to my skin."

"She's probably right," Sam had to admit.

"Besides, you look adorable, swimming around in Sam's sweatshirt," Julie teased him with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"He's really not that much bigger than me," Dean grumbled moodily.

"Whatever you say, Dean," Julie smirked, but she brushed a quick kiss on his stubbly cheek, so he didn't protest.

"Where's Ann?" Dean asked, looking around.

"She took a shower, and now she's in the master bedroom," Sam answered.

"She okay?" Julie asked gently.

Sam shrugged. "As okay as someone could be in these circumstances."

Dean and Julie both nodded. "Once you've healed some more, _you_ should take a shower," Julie told Dean in a motherly tone.

"I just got a sponge bath, was that not enough?"

"And you should shave while you're at it," she added as if he hadn't spoken.

Dean scratched at his now-scruffy jaw. He didn't mind a little stubble, but he had been planning to shave over forty-eight hours ago, when he got taken by those werewolves, and she was probably right about him needing a shave. But he obviously wasn't going to admit that.

"Maybe I'm trying to grow out a beard," Dean shrugged.

"Are you really, or are you just too lazy to shave?" Julie asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Do you have a problem with it?"

"It's all scratchy when I kiss you now," she complained, but he could see that she was just joking by the twinkle in her eye.

"You know you love it," Dean grinned before grabbing her waist and kissing her.

Sam looked away, still a little uncomfortable watching them make out, even after over a year of this, but he was smiling a little. At least Dean was still able to act like himself despite everything that was going on.

Dean tangled his fingers in Julie's curls and kissed her deeply, surprising himself. He had only meant to give her a quick, teasing kiss, but this whole werewolf mess they were in made him long for her warmth and comfort and the welcome distraction she offered from his messed-up world. And so Dean kissed Julie, and kissed her, and kissed her until-

"Hello, Dean," a low, flat voice said from only a couple inches away.

Dean and Julie jumped apart, at the familiar voice. "Jesus!" Dean spluttered, heart pounding from the scare his angelic best friend had just given him.

Behind him, Sam was roaring with laughter, and Cas just watched him, bemused. "Castiel," he corrected.

"Dammit, Cas, I wasn't calling you…never mind," Dean said irritably, still recovering. "What the hell, man? You can't just scare me like that."

"I had been standing there for several seconds," the angel shrugged. "I didn't think it would surprise you if I spoke."

"Well, in case you couldn't tell, I was a little busy," Dean started to snap, but Julie rolled her eyes at him and said, "Hey, Cas. It's good to see you."

He smiled warmly at her. "I'm glad to see you all survived the night," Cas said.

"Surprisingly," Dean grumbled.

"Did you find a cure?" Sam asked eagerly.

Cas's face fell, and so did Julie's hopes. "I've searched all of heaven, spoken to every one of my angels," he admitted. "If there is a cure, it is not from heaven."

"Awesome," Dean grumbled.

"So, what do we do now?" Julie asked, concerned.

"We could try to capture the Alpha and get an answer out of him, but I doubt we would make much headway with him," Castiel admitted.

"Wait," Sam said slowly. "You said if there is a cure, it's not from heaven, right?"

"I did say that," the angel agreed.

"So…what if there's one from hell?" Sam asked slowly, looking around at the others.

Julie nodded, obviously having been thinking the same thing. Castiel's expression darkened as he understood. And Dean…Dean groaned as he realized what his brother was saying and yelled, "You have _got _to be kidding me!"

* * *

"I'm offended no one came to me sooner," Crowley sniffed.

"He's only been a werewolf for two days," Julie said, her hand resting on Dean's arm protectively. She liked Crowley more than anyone else in the room, but even she struggled with trusting him after him running off with demon Dean and dragging them into that disastrous attempt to stop Beelzebub from breaking a seal that ended in angels dying and Leah leaving.

"And it could have just been one if you'd come to me in the first place, darling," Crowley smirked cockily.

"So you've got a cure then?" Sam asked hopefully.

"No," the demon replied. "But I know someone who does."

The three hunters and the angel watched as he sank into one of the cheap chairs at the dining room table like it was a throne. He smirked at them and said, "There's a witch I know who has served me before. She's centuries old, and a bit of a bitch, but very powerful. I could pull in a few favors and have wolf boy over there human again in no time."

"There'd have to be enough for at least two people," Julie said quickly.

Crowley frowned. "Oh, Juliet darling, please tell me he didn't bite you during sex or some equally embarrassing story."

"No!" Dean and Julie both cried quickly, and Julie hated herself for blushing slightly. "No, another girl got turned when Dean did," she added. "She's here, we just thought it would be best for everyone if she didn't have to meet a demon, on top of everything else she's gone through these past two days."

"This girl…" Crowley said thoughtfully. "Is she hot?"

"Just get us the cure, Crowley," Sam snapped.

"It won't be that easy," the demon admitted. "I don't know every ingredient needed for the spell, but I know there's a lot, and they're complicated and rare."

"Of course they are," Dean grumbled.

"And there's one that will be damn near impossible to get," Crowley said grimly. "The blood of the Alpha werewolf. I never found him, not even back when I had you boys and that annoying grandpa of yours hunting down monsters for me."

Sam, Dean, Julie, and Cas exchanged looks. "Crowley, you won't believe who was responsible for turning me," Dean said slowly.

"You're joking," the demon said, realizing what he was implying. "You found the Alpha?"

"Found him, got kidnapped and turned by him, same difference," Dean muttered. "And not only that, but the guy's definitely got a weird wolf-mate kind of crush on me."

"Ooh, are you jealous, Juliet darling?" Crowley chuckled.

"Right, because that's the biggest problem we have going on right now," she snapped. "The point is, we know pretty much where he is, and he's not going to quit until he gets us, so it shouldn't be too hard to find him again. So we can get the blood of an Alpha if you can handle the rest."

"I'll need some help," Crowley admitted. "The spell is going to need some items from heaven. So, Cassie…you ready for a road trip?"

The angel turned to the three hunters and begged them with his big blue eyes not to make him do this. "Sorry, Cas," Julie mouthed.

The angel sighed and turned back to the former knight of hell. "Fine," he said stoically. "I will help you."

"Don't sound too excited about it," Crowley smirked. He stood up and reached into his jacket. "One more thing," he remembered, before pulling out a couple of hex bags. "When you said Dean was a werewolf over the phone, Moose, I figured he'd be wanting one of these."

"What are they?" Dean frowned.

"They cut off your connection from your kind," Crowley said grandly. Dean still looked lost, so he sighed, "They keep other werewolves from connecting telepathically with you. Meaning, that Alpha of yours won't be able to read your mind anymore."

"Oh, thank God," Dean cried before lunging forward and grabbing one and tucking it into the pocket of his sweatshirt. He grabbed the other one to give to Ann as well.

"Alright," Crowley smirked as Castiel sighed and walked over to stand next to him. "We'll be seeing you three soon."

"How long do you think it will take?" Julie asked, concerned. "Could we cure them by tonight?"

But Crowley just laughed, crushing her hopes. "Oh, no, darling. I'm afraid there's no way we'll be able to do the spell that quickly. Dean's going to have to become a wolf again tonight."

And with that, Cas and Crowley were gone.

* * *

Julie sat on some stranger's bed, braiding her wet hair and watching as Dean got dressed. After Crowley and Cas had left, Julie and Dean had gone out to get food, and the four people camped out in the house had eaten lunch, trying to act like normal people. Then Julie had finally convinced Dean to take a shower by agreeing to take one with him. But now she was just sitting here, studying him.

"You look a lot better," she called softly, and she wasn't lying. The more distinct bruises had faded to pale, yellowish colors, and the other, less severe bruises had faded away altogether. He had taken off the bandages on his wrists to find his skin smooth and whole once again.

Dean didn't reply as he pulled a shirt on. His movements were no longer stiff and pained. He really had healed, but that didn't make him as relieved as it should, since he knew he was just going to go through the same thing again tonight.

Julie finished braiding her hair and got up. She walked over to Dean and put a hand on his chest. "Hey," she said gently. "We've got a cure. Things are going to be okay. Cas and Crowley are out there getting it together, and with any luck, you've only got to do this one more time."

Dean nodded, but he couldn't quite seem to raise his eyes to meet hers. "You okay?" Julie asked gently.

Dean swallowed and then all of the sudden he was back to his normal tough, wise-cracking self. Whatever moment of doubt or pain he had been going through passed, and he met her gaze. "Yeah, of course," he smirked. "I'm Dean Winchester!"

Julie rolled her eyes at him. "That _is_ your name," she muttered, pulling away.

Dean followed her out into the living room of the house they were squatting in. The room was empty, and Dean frowned. "Where do you think Sammy is?"

"Researching?" Julie guessed, and Dean had to admit, she was probably right.

"And Ann?"

"Avoiding Sam," Julie said, but this time it wasn't a guess.

Dean sprawled across the large, comfortable couch, and Julie rolled her eyes at him again. "C'mon," he said, patting the edge of the couch that he wasn't quite taking up.

"I should probably find Sam, help him if he needs it," Julie protested weakly.

"No, what you should do is sleep," Dean said firmly. "You didn't sleep for a minute last night, did you?"

Julie looked down, which was answer enough. "Come on," he sighed. "You're going to be going through the same thing tonight. Might as well rest up before it."

Julie gave in, knowing he was right, and curled up on the couch next to him. She protested about being about to fall off the couch until he pulled her very close so her head rested on his chest. And then she had nothing to complain about.

Julie sniffed. "You smell nice," she commented. "It's a good thing you showered, because you smelled like wet dog."

Dean gave her a playful shove off the couch, but he had his arm wrapped around her and kept her from falling all the way off. "Keep it up and I'll move," Julie warned him once she had righted herself, and he stopped at once.

Pretty soon, Julie was warm and comfortable and getting sleepy. "What'd you do last night?" Dean asked absently as she began to drift off.

"Talked with Sam," she replied. "Read some more of that Carver Edlund stuff. Tried to ignore what was going on downstairs."

Dean chose to ignore that last one. "What book are you on now?" he sighed.

"Can't remember the title," she said, eyes closed. "The one where you sleep with that angel chick, Anna, in the Impala. I thought Impala sex was our thing," she added, mock-hurt.

Dean winced, and Julie laughed as she felt him recoil underneath her. "Relax," she smirked as she patted his chest. "I'm kidding. At least she wasn't a demon."

"I have to agree with you there," Dean muttered darkly, thinking back to the time when his little brother slept with a demon and eventually chose her over him.

"I can see why Sam ended up with Ruby, though," Julie said absently, eyes still closed.

"What?" Dean asked, surprised.

"Well, you were dead. He was alone, and she was there to help him and save him and care about him, or at least pretend to. I can't tell if it's all just crap, her pretending to care so she can control him, or if she really does, in her own twisted way. Either way, she's obviously using him, but I can understand why he would allow himself to be used."

Dean stared at her. She was clearly about to fall asleep, yet she was pointing out things that he had never realized even when he was there.

"I…I guess," Dean finally admitted. "I never really thought of it like that."

He waited for Julie to reply, but then realized she had fallen asleep on his chest. Dean smiled slightly at her sleeping face and lay there for a while, thinking, unable to sleep himself.

After a while, Ann walked through the room. She froze when she saw Julie asleep on Dean's chest. "Sorry," she whispered, trying to sneak out of the room without waking her.

"Don't worry about it," Dean smirked. "She's out cold." To demonstrate, he pushed her shoulder gently and, while she rolled over a bit, she didn't wake.

Ann smiled slightly and sat down in the chair next to the couch. She studied the two of them for a moment before saying almost sadly, "You two are cute."

"Hey!" Dean barked, and Julie stirred a little in her sleep. Dean smiled sheepishly and finished in a softer voice, "No one calls Dean Winchester 'cute' and lives."

Ann rolled her eyes. "I really hope this cure works," she said. "And not just for my sake. She really needs you, doesn't you?"

"She's strong and tough and fierce and smart," Dean said flatly. "She doesn't need anyone."

Ann just raised her eyebrows, and he sighed. "Except me. And Sammy. And probably Cas a little, too. And her family…" His voice trailed off, but she was sure there was more to that list.

"That seems to be how it goes," Ann muttered. "Everybody's got somebody they need, no matter how tough they are. Like you, Dean. When I first met you, you seemed like some unstoppable badass, but when you're around her and your brother…"

"I'm even more of an unstoppable badass?" Dean guessed with a smirk.

Ann smirked slightly, but said nothing. Dean studied her for a moment. "You're pretty sharp, you know," he commented. "You're picking up on things around here pretty quick."

"Well, it's pretty clear you two are crazy about each other," she shrugged. "And when Julie told me she sold her soul for you…well, that told me how dangerously codependent things are around here."

Dean's eyebrows shot up. "She told you about that?"

"Yeah."

"Wow. See, when I sold my soul, I wouldn't tell anyone. Hell, it took me a few months to even admit I didn't want to die."

"You sold _your _soul, too?" Ann asked in disbelief. "Man, what is with you guys?"

"Technically, I did it first, so Jules was just copying me," Dean said.

"What for?" Ann asked gently.

"Sammy," Dean said flatly. "Some bastard stabbed him in the back, quite literally, and murdered the poor kid. He was…what? Twenty-three at the time? And I'd just lost my dad not too long ago, and he was all I had, and my whole life, I'd just tried to protect him and when I failed…well, I had to make up for it."

Ann studied Dean sadly, seeing the pain in his eyes. "How'd you get out of it?" she asked after a moment. "Couldn't you just do the same thing for Julie?"

"Well, we could," Dean said bitterly. "If we wanted to let her die."

Ann frowned, confused, and he elaborated. "I didn't get out of my deal." Her eyes widened. "I went to hell for forty years before Cas could get me out of there. And I'll be damned if I let that happen to Julie."

They were silent for a moment, and then Ann whispered, "Damn. I'm not ready for this life."

"And you don't have to be," Dean said sharply. "We'll get this cure, and then you can go back to being human and having a semi-normal life."

Ann smirked bitterly. "How am I ever going to have a normal life again?"

"Honestly? I don't know," Dean admitted. "I've never been so great at it myself. But you can move to a new town, get a new job, start a new life if you want. Find a new guy and have a family, or don't. But that's the point. When this is over, you get to have a life. You get to choose what you want in life, and actually have a decent shot at getting it. And I'm going to make sure you get that or die trying."

Ann stared at him for a moment. "I hope you're right," she said softly after a moment. "And either way, thanks for all you've done for me already."

"I owe you as much help as I can give you," Dean said. "After all, I'm the one who couldn't protect you and Dave to begin with."

"But at least you tried," Ann said. She stood up and started to leave, but she turned back and said with a sad smile, "You're a good person, Dean. She's lucky to have you."

And before he could argue with her and list all the people he'd murdered and the mistakes he had made, before he could tell her what he'd done those last ten years in hell, before he could tell horror stories from his time as a demon…she was gone.

* * *

Julie finished tying the thick cloths around Dean's wrists and stepped aside so Sam could close handcuffs over them. Dean tugged experimentally on them and nodded. "Yeah, that hurts a hell of a lot less," he said.

"Great," Sam said. "With any luck, you'll get through tonight without getting hurt, then."

"Yeah, right, Sammy," Dean smirked bitterly, but caught himself when he saw Julie's concerned, sad expression.

Julie went to help Ann get chained up in a more comfortable position while Sam chained Dean's feet. When he was done, he sat back and studied his brother. "I'd say that's enough," he said, more hopefully than truthfully.

"Are you kidding me?" Dean snapped. "I nearly broke through those chains last night, and that was triple this. You leave me like this and I'll get out and tear you and Julie's hearts out. You might as well just shoot me now."

"We're not shooting you," Sam snapped. "Fine. I'll chain you up tighter. But I hate this."

"You think this is _fun _for me, Sammy?" Dean asked drily.

His brother didn't reply, just chained his chest pretty tightly to the pipe. They had made Dean wear several layers of thick clothing in the hopes of preventing as much bruising and bleeding during his struggling, but it was making him hot and irritable.

Once Dean was securely chained, Sam stepped back and Julie joined him. They frowned at Dean's pained expression. "Is it too tight?" Julie asked, concerned.

"No," Dean growled through gritted teeth. "It's coming."

"What?" Sam and Julie frowned.

"The change!" he growled. "Get out." Neither of them moved so he snarled, "Get out! Now!"

Behind them, Ann screamed through gritted teeth, and Julie was filled with horror as she saw Dean's pupils dilate back and forth between animal and human.

"Come on," Sam said, grabbing Julie's arm. The two of them ran out of the basement and locked the door behind them. They stood there in silence for a minute, until the howling and screaming began.

Julie squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block it out, but she couldn't. Sam watched her with pity, before wrapping his arms around her. The two of them pressed tightly together and tried to block out Dean's screams and howls.

And then they heard a door somewhere in the house open.

Instantly, they had pulled apart and silently grabbed their guns full of silver bullets. They crept silently along the wall, about to round the corner and shoot whatever had gotten in.

Julie reached the corner first and jumped around it, ready to shoot. But the room was empty and quiet. She frowned, but before she could even turn around, Sam cried out in pain and surprise, and she whirled around to see two women with animalistic eyes pinning his arms. She saw the dazed look in Sam's eyes and noticed a bloody welt on his forehead and suddenly she was filled with rage.

She raised her gun and trained it on one of the women, a redhead, and snarled, "Get your hands off of him right now or I'll shoot you both full of silver."

"We'll rip his throat out first," the redheaded woman laughed. "Or better yet, we'll turn him."

Julie glared at her, and then met Sam's eyes. He had recovered from his blow to the head enough to give her a pointed look and then glance towards the redhead. Julie understood, and an instant later, when Sam suddenly struggled until he could get the silver knife gripped in his hand pressed against the other werewolf's arm. She shrieked and pulled away, and Julie tried to shoot the redhead. She moved, so the bullet nicked her side instead of going straight into her heart. But she had let go of Sam, and in an instant, Sam and Julie were back-to-back, armed and ready to fight.

"Quite impressive, you two," a familiar voice said, and Julie's heart sank as she turned to face the familiar, dark-haired werewolf. His eyes weren't animalistic like his other children's. He could probably turn at will, and he didn't have to be a werewolf just because it was a full moon.

"I have half a mind to shoot you right now, Alpha or no," Julie growled, glaring at Fenris as he walked calmly towards the two of them. That pretty, black werewolf from before and a tall, slender, pale male werewolf flanked him, eyes yellow and wolf-like.

"Now, why would you do that?" he asked, mock-hurt.

"You turned my boyfriend into a monster, and an innocent girl," she shot back darkly. "And you've killed who knows how many other innocent people. We've got more than enough reason to want to kill you, and you should be a little worried, since we really could do it."

"How? I don't see your little angel anywhere," Fenris pointed out.

"You think we need an angel to kill a werewolf?" Sam smirked scornfully. "We've killed dozens of werewolves. Hell, I took down the devil and stopped the apocalypse. You really think we need an angel to kill every single one of you evil sons of bitches?"

Fenris and Sam stared coldly at each other for a long moment, and then the werewolf suddenly smiled. "I must admit, you are quite impressive, Sam Winchester. And so is this pretty little thing," he added with a smirk towards Julie. "But I'm afraid that it's not just me you're going to have to kill if you want to survive this night and still be human."

Sam frowned, but Julie's eyes widened. She turned towards him and whispered desperately, "We have to keep them out of the basement."

Sam's eyes widened and he nodded. But before they could even start to move, the black female werewolf next to the Alpha cackled, "Too late!"

And Sam and Julie turned around just in time to see Dean and Ann burst into the room. Except it wasn't really Ann and Dean. Their eyes were yellow and animalistic, and their faces were twisted in a way that couldn't be described as anything but wolfish.

"No," Julie gasped as Dean lunged forward and tackled one of the female werewolves that had been pinning Sam. The two of them fell to the ground in a wild mess of limbs and claws and fangs. The other werewolves watched and laughed and cheered the female werewolf on while Sam and Julie watched in horror. But after a few seconds, they stopped fighting, and the werewolves fell silent.

Slowly, Dean stood up. However, the other werewolf stayed where she lay. Judging by the terrible claw marks on her stomach and the growing pool of blood she was lying in, she was already dead.

The other werewolves stared at Dean in shock, as did Sam and Julie. His arms and face were smeared with blood, but it wasn't his. He had come out of that fight untouched.

"Impressive," Fenris said softly. "But also problematic. Georgia, Tyler take him down before he hurts another one of my children. And Trudy, take care of her," he added with a nod towards Ann.

"Get away from him!" Julie yelled as Georgia and the other male werewolf, Tyler, lunged towards Dean. She couldn't get a good shot at them without endangering Dean, though.

"Help him," Sam barked at her, taking off towards Ann and the female werewolf she was struggling to fight off.

Julie moved forward to help Dean, but it turned out he didn't need it. He threw Georgia off of him and she crashed into the wall, dazed. He struggled against Tyler for a moment, but it wasn't long before he managed to dig his fangs into the werewolf's throat and tear it out.

Tyler fell, dead, and Julie stared in shock and horror at Dean. She didn't even recognize him. His face was covered in blood, and his clawed hands were as well. And his eyes…they weren't the green eyes she knew so well. They were yellow and dark and monstrous.

And now they were focused on his next target: her.

"Dean," Julie choked out as he slowly started to prowl towards her. "Dean, please. Listen to me. I know you're in there, honey. You can control it. They all control this side of them, and I know you can do it, too. Please, Dean…"

He stopped advancing towards her and just stared at her. She relaxed slightly when he didn't move to attack her. "Dean, I-" she started gently.

And then without warning, he leapt forward and sank his teeth into her neck.


	68. Chapter 68

**Chapter Sixty-Eight**

Sam had just shot the werewolf trying to knock Ann out in the back when he heard her scream.

Rarely had he heard such fear and pain in Julie's voice. Without a second thought, he whirled around, ready to defend her from Fenris or whatever werewolf had gotten ahold of her.

He just hadn't expected it to be Dean.

"No!" Sam roared when he saw his brother tearing into Julie's neck. He blew right past Fenris, who had just been standing there, watching all of this unfold, and ran towards his brother. "Dean, no! Let her go!"

To his surprise, the werewolf listened. Dean dropped Julie and she crumpled to the ground, unconscious. God, he hoped she was just unconscious…

Dean turned to face Sam and growled, baring his fangs, which were red with Julie's blood. Sam's stomach flipped. Normally, he'd shoot this monster in front of him without a second thought…but it was Dean.

But he forgot all about it being his brother when it lunged towards him to kill him.

Sam barely dodged the werewolf as it lunged towards him. Dean picked himself up and turned to try to attack him again, but Sam was ready. He slammed his gun into Dean's temple as hard as he possibly could, and the werewolf went crashing to ground, out cold.

Sam didn't even have time to catch his breath, though. He looked up to see where Ann had gone, and couldn't find her anywhere. Fenris and that Georgia werewolf had vanished as well. That couldn't be good.

"Ann?" Sam yelled desperately, hoping she had just fled to a different part of the house. "Ann, are you still here?"

There was no answer, not that he had really expected one. If Dean was unable to control his werewolf self, how would she be able to? He knew he should go after her and try to find her before she got too far and came across an unsuspecting human, or before Fenris and his pack got ahold of her.

But there was a girl bleeding out at his feet. And he knew if he had to choose between making sure that innocent victim Ann stayed safe and saving his best friend's life…well, he'd choose Julie.

Sam dropped to his knees next to her, trying to ignore the quickly growing pool of blood she was lying in. But there was just too much blood. He knew before he even tried to take her pulse or stop the bleeding that it was too much.

"No," Sam gasped. "Oh, god, no." He pulled his knife off and hacked a square of his over shirt off before balling it up and pressing it to the awful wound in the side of her neck. But he knew it wouldn't work. She was too pale, and there was way too much blood…

"Julie, no," Sam whispered, blinking back the tears that were stinging his eyes. "You can't do this. Please, you've got to hang on. If you die now…if you die because of him…Julie, _please_!"

But she was still lying there, unresponsive. Her skin was pale and there was so much blood…

"Oh, god…Julie," Sam whispered, heartbroken. Tears had filled his eyes and they were threatening to spill over. He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed her body tightly against his chest, wanting to hold her one last time before she went cold and stiff.

That's when he felt her ragged, gasping breaths against his ear.

Sam frowned and pulled away from Julie slightly. She was breathing. How was she still breathing? There was just too damn much blood for her to still be breathing.

And then Sam realized what had happened.

"Oh my god…" he whispered, shocked, as he slowly peeled his makeshift bandage back and watched in awe as the horrible bite marks on her neck slowly healed before his eyes.

* * *

_Julie was running for her life down a deserted street. It was dark out, and she wasn't quite sure what she was running from, but she knew if she stopped she would die. She ran hard, her heart pounding painfully, feet slapping the ground hard, trying desperately to get one good breath in as she sprinted as fast as she could._

_Suddenly, she realized there was another pair of footsteps right behind her. And they were closing in quickly. She poured on more speed, as much as she could muster, but whoever was behind her was faster still. Panic was overwhelming her as they closed in. Now they were just a foot behind her, six inches, three…_

_Someone grabbed her arm and dragged her behind the cover of a wall. She sucked one good breath in to scream as loud as she could, but whoever had ahold of clamped a large hand over her mouth._

_She struggled wildly, trying to get free and scream or fight. But then he spoke._

_"__Hey! Jules, calm down, it's just me!"_

_She stopped struggling and stared, wide-eyed, at Dean. They stood there, staring at each other for a long time, both breathing heavily, until Dean smiled slightly and took his hand away from her mouth._

_"__Dean," Julie gasped, relieved, before leaping forward and throwing her arms around him._

_He caught her and held her, laughing slightly. "You're okay, sweetheart," he assured her. "I'm not gonna let them get you."_

_"__What are they?" she whispered._

_He pulled away to look her in the eyes. "The hellhounds."_

_Julie's eyes widened. "Already?"_

_Dean nodded and took her hand. "Come on, Jules. We've got to keep going."_

_She nodded and without another word, they took off running. But no matter how fast they seemed to run, the mind-numbing panic that Julie associated with hellhounds still overwhelmed her. She knew they were just a few feet behind her, ready to rip her heart out and drag her soul to hell. As terrifying as that thought was, the thought that the man next to her would fight them off die trying before that ever happened was scarier still._

_Julie wanted to cry when suddenly the street they were running down stopped. They were in a dead end alley._

_"__No," she gasped, fighting back tears._

_"__It's okay, honey," Dean said firmly, moving to plant himself in-between her and the incoming danger. "I won't let them get you."_

_The two of them stood there, waiting, but nothing ever came. Julie frowned. "Dean, where are they?" she asked in a scared, timid voice._

_In answer, he turned around, and his face was twisted horribly like a hellhound's, and before she could even scream, he lunged forward and sank his fangs into her neck._

* * *

Julie sat straight up, eyes wide, breathing heavily. It took her a long moment to realize she wasn't in that dark, dead end alley anymore, and even when she did, that panic and fear wouldn't leave her. She waited for Dean to wrap his arms around her and whisper soothing words like he always dead when she had nightmares, but Dean was nowhere to be found.

Instead, she heard Sam's voice next to her. "Julie, hey, it's okay," her best friend said gently, and she turned to see him sitting in a chair next to the bed she was stretched out on. He was watching her with concern, and she realized he had a large, steady hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.

Julie looked around. She was in a strange motel room she didn't recognize. A bit of sunlight was creeping through the cheap curtains over the window, but it felt early to her. Julie frowned as she breathed in and was overwhelmed by smells.

"Ugh," she moaned.

"What? What's wrong? Are you okay? Can I help?" Sam asked quickly, getting up and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Nothing's wrong, I just…god, why does this motel room smell like blood so much? Sure, sweat and cigarette smoke and cheap cleaner I get, but what smells like blood?"

Sam frowned, concerned. "You…you can smell blood?"

"Yeah, it reeks! Can't you smell that?"

Sam slowly shook his head, and she frowned. "Sam, what…what happened? The last thing I remember is…is…"

"Dean ripping into your throat?" he asked flatly. She blinked at his bluntness. "Well, that's what the blood smell is. It's you."

"Me?" she asked slowly, looking down and seeing that her clothes were stained red, and her neck was dark with dried blood. "Oh, god…" she whispered, touching the dried blood where Dean had bit her neck. But there was no wound, despite the horrifying amount of dried blood.

"What happened?" Julie asked softly. "Did…did Cas make it back in time to save me?"

"No, Cas and Crowley are out looking for a cure still."

"Then…how am I still alive?"

Sam's expression only confirmed what she already knew. "He bit you, Julie," he said flatly.

Julie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she started to laugh bitterly. "I was having a nightmare," she said, eyes still closed. "I dreamed Dean turned on me and tore into my neck." Her eyes opened, and she looked near tears. "I thought it was just a nightmare…"

"Hey," Sam said gently, pulling her into a comforting hug. "You'll be okay. Cas and Crowley are out there getting a cure, remember? And then you'll be back to normal again. With any luck you won't ever have to turn."

Julie nodded into his jacket. Sam smelled of blood and sweat and worry. It was odd, but she could swear that she could _smell _the fear and concern rolling off of him.

Suddenly, Julie pulled away and said, "Dean."

"Yeah?" Sam frowned. "What about him?"

"Is he okay?" she asked, wide-eyed and clearly terrified he'd say no.

"He's fine," Sam assured her. "I knocked him out before he could hurt anyone else."

"Where is he? And for that matter, where are _we_?" she asked.

"We're back at the motel we were staying at when we first came into town," Sam said. "Different room, though. The werewolves found us at our little squatter house, and I didn't know where else to go. And Dean's here. He's okay, Julie, I promise."

"Where?" she asked skeptically, looking around the room, which contained only two people.

Sam looked down, slightly ashamed. "Handcuffed to a pipe in the bathroom," he muttered.

Julie blinked. "Okay. That, uh…okay. Makes sense. In case he wakes up and is still wolfing out or something?"

"Yeah," Sam muttered. "Julie you didn't see him. Well, actually, I guess you did, but…after you two were out cold and the others had fled, I cleaned up as much as I could, burned the werewolves' bodies, tried to cover up the fact that a bunch of monsters got murdered in there. And he, uh…well, besides the two that we saw him kill, there were two more werewolves that went down to the basement to get him and Ann free, and he ripped them both to shreds."

Julie had nothing to say to that. They were both silent for a moment, and then she suddenly gasped, "Ann! Where is she? Is she in the bathroom, too?"

Sam looked down, ashamed. "Uh…no. She, uh…well, while I was taking Dean out, she and Fenris and that Georgia chick all disappeared. I've got no idea what happened to Ann."

"Poor Ann," Julie murmured. "We've got to find her before something bad happens to her."

Before Sam could reply, he heard a muffled clanking sound coming from the bathroom. A moment later, he heard Dean's muffled voice through the door. "Really, Sammy? You chained me up in a motel bathroom?!"

"Sorry, Dean!" Sam yelled back. "Had to make sure you were human when you woke up."

"Well, I'm human, so let me out!"

Sam turned to look at Julie, who was wide-eyed. "I'm gonna go talk to him," he said slowly.

"I want to come with you," she said urgently. "I want to see him."

"You will, I promise," he said gently. "But…he needs to know what happened. Chances are he doesn't really remember what he did, and I don't want you there when I have to tell him."

"If I'm not there, he'll think I hate him," she pointed out.

"And if you are there, and he sees what he did to you, he'll hate himself even more than you or anyone else could ever hate him," Sam said coldly, and she had no answer to that.

Dean looked up as Sam finally unlocked and opened the bathroom door. "Took you long enough," he grumbled, pulling at his handcuffs again. "Let me out of these, would you?"

Sam nodded and shut the door behind him. He knelt down next to his brother and freed him from the handcuffs. Dean rubbed his wrists and nodded gratefully at his little brother. "Thanks, Sammy," he grumbled, getting to his feet. "Now, let's get out of this crappy bathroom."

Sam stood up as well and blocked Dean's path out of the small bathroom. Dean frowned. "Sam, what are you doing?"

"I think it's best if we don't go out there just yet," he said carefully.

"Why?" Dean frowned.

Sam didn't reply, and a terrifying though hit Dean. "Oh, no. God, no," he whispered. "Sammy, tell me Julie's dead body isn't lying out there!" he cried, terrified that his brother would be unable to tell him that.

"No!" Sam said quickly. "No, she's not dead."

Dean sighed, a huge weight lifted off of his shoulders. "Then why can't I see her?" he frowned.

"She, um…last night, you…" Sam stopped to clear his throat. "Dean, last night some of Fenris's pack showed up at the house." Dean frowned, but didn't interrupt him. "They freed you and Ann. And you…you killed a bunch of them, but by then you were in killing mode and you, uh…you turned on Julie…"

"Oh, god," Dean whispered. "I hurt her, didn't I?" Sam looked down, and Dean slammed his fist into the wall, putting a hole in it and startling his brother.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean growled pulling his fist free of the wall and shaking his hand. He studied his knuckles, which had split open, and watched as they healed before his eyes.

"I hurt her," he repeated after a long, heavy silence. "Dammit, Sammy! This is why I wanted you to put a bullet in my head two days ago!"

"That would be idiotic, Dean," Sam snapped. "The cure is coming-"

"Is it?" Dean shot back.

"It sure as hell better be, because now you and Julie both need it!" his little brother cried.

They were both silent as that sunk in. "No," Dean said after a long moment. "I didn't."

"Dean…I didn't mean to tell you like that," Sam said apologetically.

Dean's eyes were dark and dangerous, so Sam plowed ahead. "It's actually a good thing you turned her, though. You bit her neck, and there was so much blood…if you had scratched her neck instead of biting it, she'd be dead right now, Dean."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?!" Dean cried angrily. "I nearly killed her, Sam! And instead, I just turned her into a monster like me."

"Dean, you're not a monster," Sam insisted.

"Oh, really?" he asked in disbelief, turning away.

"No, you're not," a different voice said firmly, and Dean turned to see the bathroom door open and Julie standing in it.

The three of them were silent for a long moment, and then Julie forced a smile. "Sorry, but it was a little hard to not overhear, what with my super werewolf hearing and the fact that you're both shouting."

"Jules…" Dean started apologetically, but she shook her head.

"Don't you dare apologize, Dean," she said firmly. "You had no control over what you were doing. It's not your fault. And I know you're going to want to argue with me about that, and that it's probably going to take several hours to convince you not to hate yourself, so…" She smiled more genuinely at them now, but it was still a sad smile. "If we're going to do this, can it at least not be in some crappy motel bathroom?"

* * *

Julie had no idea how long she'd stood in the shower, letting the water pound down on her and relieve some of the stress she was going through. It had been long enough that the water was getting cold, though, and she knew she should get out. She'd scrubbed every bit of dried blood off of her body and covered herself in sweet-smelling body wash to cover up that hint of blood that wouldn't seem to go away. She'd washed her hair, used conditioner, shaved, and every other possible reason she could find to stay in the shower. But now there was simply nothing to do but get out.

There was a part of her that wanted to stay in here forever. Getting out meant facing Dean. And she wasn't afraid of him, or angry with him, like he expected her to be. But she didn't want to have to go out there and spend hours trying to convince him not to hate himself for what he'd done to her. She and Sam had already spent twenty minutes doing that before she had gotten so fed up she decided to go take a shower just to get a break.

Wishing she didn't have to, Julie turned off the shower and grabbed a towel. She dried herself off and then wrapped the towel around herself. She suddenly regretted not picking out clothes before she stormed in here. She didn't feel self-conscious or anything in front of Dean in nothing but a towel, considering he'd seen her naked more times than she could count. But, despite the fact that Sam and Julie's relationship was now very healthy and platonic there had still been a time where he had been in love with her, and, to a certain extent, she had been in love with him. So Julie didn't really want to go parading around in front of Sam practically naked and make everything even harder than it had to be.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock at the door. "Julie, you out of the shower?" Dean's voice asked softly.

"Yeah," she replied carefully, not sure what to expect.

"I, uh…I thought you might want some clothes," he said uncertainly.

A moment later, the door opened. Dean tried to hand the clean clothes to Julie, but to his surprise, she grabbed his arm and dragged him inside the bathroom. Dean opened his mouth to protest as she shut the door behind him, but then she was kissing him in nothing but a towel, and he had absolutely nothing to complain about.

When she finally pulled away, Dean smirked slightly. "Well, that was not the reaction I expected," he admitted.

"I just don't understand you," Julie said thoughtfully, staring him in the eye. "I don't understand how you can be such a kind, caring, thoughtful guy and still believe you're some monster."

"Well, I _am _a monster, and so are you because of me-"

"And…we're done," she snapped. "We're so not doing this. No using the 'm' word anymore, about me or you or anyone but that bastard Alpha that did this to you."

Dean sighed. "Okay."

"So you're gonna stop thinking of yourself as a monster?" Julie asked, eyebrows raised.

"I thought we weren't allowed to use that word anymore," Dean replied smugly.

"Smartass," Julie grumbled with a roll of her eyes.

Dean gave her a tiny smile and he started to leave the bathroom. "Hey," Julie called softly, and he turned to face her. She smiled gently at him and said, "Thanks for the clothes."

Dean's mouth twitched like he wanted to smile, but couldn't. Instead, he nodded at her and quickly left the bathroom before looking at his beautiful, kind, sweet, wonderful girlfriend was just too painful. They had better get this cure before dark, because he was never going to let her go through the pain of turning into a werewolf because of him.

Dean shut the bathroom door behind him as he stepped back into the motel room, not looking up yet. So he was startled to hear Crowley's voice. "Now, what were you and Juliet up to in there, I wonder?"

Dean looked up, surprised, and then irritated as his eyes landed on the demon with his suggestive little smirk. "Nothing, actually," Dean snapped. "And even if we were, it'd be none of your damn business."

"Dean," Sam interrupted, knowing the two of them could go on for hours. Dean looked over and saw matching, hopeful expressions on Sam and Castiel's faces. "They've got the spell."

"Took you long enough," Dean said gruffly, but Cas knew his best friend well enough to see the pure relief in his eyes. "Hang on," he added before turning and rapping his knuckles on the door. "Julie?"

"It's still me, Dean," her voice came through the door, somehow both warm and exasperated at the same time.

"Cas and Crowley just got back and they think they've got a cure," he called through the door.

"Wait, really?" Julie cried and he heard her trying to turn the doorknob.

"Calm down! They'll still be here by the time you get some clothes on," he smirked, and a moment later he could hear her scrambling to get dressed and get outside to participate in the conversation.

"You're welcome to come out here now," Crowley called. "Clothes aren't required for this conversation."

"Go screw yourself, Crowley," Julie hollered back before Dean could protest, and Sam couldn't resist a grin.

Crowley smirked. "I see that you turning into a werewolf hasn't made her lose any of that fire of hers," the demon said to Dean.

"Yeah, and turning into a werewolf herself didn't do it, either," Julie added, causing the demon and angel to blink, surprised.

"She…she was turned?" Cas asked slowly, and Dean looked down at the ground. Sam nodded when it was clear his brother wasn't going to answer. "I'm so sorry," Cas said guiltily. "I should have been here to protect her…"

"You needed to be out finding a cure, not babysitting us," Sam said firmly. "It's not your fault."

"Was it the Alpha?" Castiel asked darkly, and Sam lowered his gaze as well, unable to answer that question.

"It was Dean," Julie said calmly, and the four men looked up as she opened the bathroom and walked into the room, dragging a comb through her wet hair, wearing jeans and a grey sweater. The demon and angel stared at her in surprise, while the two hunters winced at her blunt words. "He had turned, and Fenris and a few other werewolves attacked. They let him and Ann loose, and Dean went a little crazy. Killed a bunch of werewolves and nearly killed me." Dean stared at the ground guiltily, each word causing him pain, while Sam stared at Julie, shocked at how blunt she was being.

"Of course, none of that was his fault," Julie added gently, stepping up next to Dean. "He couldn't control himself."

"And that's why I said you two should have put a bullet in my brain days ago," Dean muttered darkly.

"Oh, don't be overdramatic, Dean," Crowley sighed. "We've got a spell that'll fix you and your lovely girlfriend right up. And we've got every ingredient but one."

"The blood of an Alpha," Julie guessed.

"That's where you three come in," Crowley said. "I highly doubt that this werewolf who has survived for centuries will be stupid enough to take on an angel or a demon, but he wants all three of you in his pack. So you three will get close enough to him to get a vial full of his blood, and then we can cure Dean and Julie and that other girl right up."

"One problem," Sam admitted. "We, uh…Ann got away. We've got no idea where she is, and we can't cure her if we've lost her."

"Excellent work," Crowley said irritably. "Is there anything you three _didn't _screw up while we were out there being helpful?"

"Well, Dean managed to take out quite a few of those werewolves," Julie pointed out. "And we're all still alive and in one piece."

"You know, I regret not living a life where being alive and in one piece was an accomplishment and not a given," Dean grumbled.

Before anyone could reply, Sam's phone started ringing. He frowned as he pulled it out of his pocket and read the name on the screen.

"Who is it?" Julie frowned.

"Dean," Sam said slowly, clearly understanding what that meant.

Dean's eyes narrowed in understanding and anger. Sam took a deep breath to try to control his anger before accepting the call. "This had better not be who I think it is," Sam said coldly.

"Is that you, Sam?" Fenris asked lightly, amused. "This number was under Sam and was easily the most called number in your brother's phone, so I assumed…"

"I don't think you understand quite how much I hate you for what you've done to my brother, and my best friend, for that matter," Sam growled. "So I suggest you stop talking now, unless you have something actually useful to say."

"How's this for useful? I know where your little friend Ann is."

Sam froze, horrified. "What's wrong?" Julie mouthed at him, concerned, while a murderous-looking Dean stood behind her, fists clenched.

"If you hurt her, Fenris, I swear to God-" Sam growled.

"I would never pointlessly harm any of my children," the Alpha said offhandedly. "However, if you, your brother, and that pretty little girlfriend of his don't arrive at the address I'm about to send to you, I will have more than enough reason to harm her."

"Listen, you sick bastard-"

"Now, now, Sam, there's no need for language like that. You should honor your father, even if he's not your father just yet." Fenris chuckled to himself, and then said in that same smug, awful tone, "I'll be sending you my home address, and a picture of Ann as proof that I do indeed have her. And if you and that girl and that handsome brother of yours aren't here in an hour, I will have her corpse."

And with that, the line clicked dead.


	69. Chapter 69

**Chapter Sixty-Nine**

Even though Fenris had known that threatening the girl's life would be more than enough to get Dean Winchester and his friends to come running, he was still the tiniest bit surprised when he heard a knock at the door, only six minutes before their time was up.

Georgia and two of his other children leapt up to answer the door, but he shook his head and waved them back. If this really was Dean Winchester, he wanted to see the man surrender with his own eyes.

Fenris walked calmly to the front door, a smug look on his face as he unlocked it and opened it wide. And sure enough, before him stood three people, two tall, handsome, formidable-looking men and a pretty blond woman. Sam Winchester looked dangerous, tall and strong, dressed in jeans and a red plaid shirt and a dark jacket, but Fenris found the other two much more intimidating. He could sense instantly what he already knew, that they were something more than human. The woman, Julie, wore a low-cut grey sweater and jeans and a badass leather jacket over that, and he could see a dangerous spark in her blue eyes that thrilled him. And then there was Dean, wearing a dark jacket over a button-down grey shirt, with ripped black jeans that fit him very well. All three of them glared at him with stony expressions, arms crossed, not looking very much like they were about to surrender. But Fenris grinned anyway.

"Just in time," he said warmly. "Dean, good to see you," he added with a nod towards his handsome new son.

"I'm going to end you, you sick son of a bitch," was his snarled reply.

"Well, that's just uncalled for!" Fenris said, mock-hurt. "And here I was, about to invite you three into my home-"

"Look, asshole, we're here, so just let Ann go," Julie snapped. Clearly, she had no patience for Fenris's theatrics.

"Charming, isn't she?" Fenris smirked, his eyes on Dean. He was impressed with the amount of hatred and rage and contempt that man was able to pack into one stare.

"Where are my manners? Do come in!" he said gallantly, stepping aside to let them in.

"Oh, why thank you!" Julie said sarcastically as she passed him and walked in, and Dean smirked very slightly. Fenris watched as Dean lightly rested his hand on the small of Julie's back as he walked into the house behind her, observed the protective stance he had assumed behind her and the way his eyes darted around, looking for any threat to this woman that he clearly cared so deeply for.

For a moment, Fenris found himself almost jealous.

Fenris followed Sam into the house and carefully shut the door behind him. The moment the door latched, suddenly six werewolves burst into the room and stormed the three of them all at once. They all tried to fight, and Julie took down one of her attackers before the other one got her trapped in a headlock from behind. Sam fought off his attackers as best he could, but he was only human, and they managed to overpower him after he got only a couple blows in. However, Dean did exceptionally well against Georgia and the other werewolf attacking him, giving the male werewolf a bloody nose and throwing Georgia back into the wall before Fenris finally stepped him and struck him from behind, stunning him for long enough for his two children to get the elder Winchester pinned.

"Impressive as always, Dean," he said warmly as his new favorite child slowly recovered from that impossibly powerful blow to the head.

In response, Dean spat a mouthful of blood on Fenris's polished black shoes.

Fenris sighed and gestured for the other three remaining wolves in his pack to enter the room. They wore thick gloves and carried a pair of silver handcuffs each.

Julie's eyes widened as she saw the silver chains coming towards her. "We already surrendered, Fenris!" she snapped. "What is all this?"

"A guarantee you won't try to trick me or escape," he said calmly as one werewolf forced a pair of silver handcuffs onto Dean's wrists. He groaned through gritted teeth as the silver burned his skin.

Sam struggled wildly as he saw his brother in pain, and only fought harder to get free when another pair was clamped onto Julie and she couldn't stop a short cry of pain from escaping her as the metal burned into her skin. "Stop it!" Sam yelled. "Can't you see you're hurting them?" he cried angrily.

"That's kind of the whole point," Fenris smirked as the last pair was forced onto Sam. They didn't burn him, of course, but seeing his brother and best friend in pain hurt him more than any weapon or physical pain ever could.

Dean and Julie tried their best not to move, knowing even the slightest movement could cause the silver handcuffs to burn into their skin even more. "Alright, you've got us," Dean spat through gritted teeth. "Now let Ann go."

"Of course," the Alpha werewolf said warmly, and he waved his hand lazily. Georgia and another werewolf took off and returned several seconds later, dragging Ann between them. There was pain in her eyes, and Dean saw that she was wearing silver handcuffs as well.

"What are you guys doing here?" Ann cried desperately when she saw the three of them in chains.

"Saving you," Dean smirked bitterly.

"Let her go," Fenris ordered, and Georgia took off her handcuffs. Ann sighed in relief as the pain was lifted off of her, and Julie felt a flash of anger when she saw the burnt, raw skin on Ann's wrists.

"You're free to go, child," the Alpha told her.

"But…what about…?" she started, staring at Dean and Julie and Sam.

"Get out of here," Dean said firmly. "Go to the park where you got turned. Cas will be there to get you some place safe until we can figure things out. And if any of these guys try to follow you or stop you, he'll take care of them," he added with a pointed look at all the werewolves around him.

"We wouldn't dream of it," Fenris assured him, smiling.

Ann hesitated, looking guiltily at the three people who wouldn't quit saving her. "Go!" Julie ordered her, more hasrshly than she meant to because of the pain she was in. But it worked. Ann turned and fled out the front door, hopefully to Cas and safety.

Fenris watched her go, a small part of him wanting to stop her. He had chosen her, a smart, strong, fit young woman, to join his pack. But now he had another smart, strong, fit woman who was even braver and fiercer, and the world's two most infamous hunters as well. Losing her was worth gaining the three of them.

The Alpha turned to face the three hunters and grinned a wolf's grin. "Looks like it's just you three now," he chuckled. "We're going to have so much fun…"

* * *

Dean sighed in relief as his brother was finally able to slip bits of cloth under the silver handcuffs around his wrists, finally relieving the burning agony he'd been in for the past fifteen minutes. It had taken a while for Fenris to finally get bored with teasing and flirting with Dean. Worse than that had been a couple of the male werewolves and the hungry way they had eyed the woman he loved, or how that Georgia bitch kept threatening to bite his little brother. Of course, none of them could bite and turn him until nightfall, the last night of the full moon, when they would all turn and Sam would be in a ton of danger.

But eventually, the werewolves had finally locked them back in the familiar basement, and Sam was able to rip a few strips of cloth from his shirt to tuck under the silver handcuffs and ease the pain of his brother and best friend. Dean has insisted Sam make sure Julie was taken care of first, but he was grateful when the relief finally came for himself.

"What kind of sick bastard puts silver handcuffs on a werewolf when he's the friggin' _father _of werewolves?!" Dean grumbled darkly, his hatred of Fenris growing when he saw the angry red welts on his wrists and knew there must be matching ones on Julie.

Sam and Julie didn't reply. Sam was looking around the basement for some kind of escape, but Julie was just standing there, brow furrowed as she thought hard.

"You're not gonna find an exit, Sammy, not if I couldn't find one," Dean warned his brother, but Sam ignored him and kept searching.

"Did you see the sigils on the inside of the house?" Julie said softly. "They're anti-angel. These wolves did their homework."

"So I guess we're getting no Cas backup," Dean grumbled.

"I didn't see any devil's traps, though," Sam pointed out.

"They're not counting on us having a demon ally," Dean smirked. "What with us being demon hunters and all. And they're definitely not expecting the king of hell."

"Former king," Sam corrected automatically.

"Right, who could forget the current king and the deal he's got with my damned girlfriend," Dean said cheerily.

Julie shot him a look. "Can we not do that right now? Don't we have enough problems already?"

"Touché," Dean grumbled.

"At least they let Ann go," Sam sighed, finally giving up on escaping and coming to join the others. "I wasn't sure they would."

"And they got cocky," Dean smirked. "They didn't search us for weapons, besides taking the obvious guns we brought along."

Julie's hand slipped to the inside of her leather jacket, where a large, empty syringe was tucked away. Feeling the needle against her skin soothed her a little, which was odd. She'd always hated needles, but this one could mean the difference between her and Dean and Ann becoming human again, or being doomed to be werewolves for the remainder of their lives.

The three of them were silent for a long moment, and then Julie asked, "What time is it?"

Dean checked his watch. "Twelve sixteen."

The three of them were silent. "So…now what?" Dean asked gruffly.

Sam and Julie exchanged a look and sighed, already preparing for endless hours of whining. "Now…we wait," Sam said flatly.

* * *

Try as she might, Julie couldn't stop the fear running through her. At first, it had nothing but an unnerving passing thought, but as time passed, as nightfall drew nearer, she couldn't ignore the feeling slowly beginning to build in her. She couldn't quite describe it, but she knew what it meant. Every minute she was closer to turning.

And she was scared.

For over five hours she and Sam and Dean had sat in this cell of a basement, waiting for Fenris to reappear so they could try to take him down and escape. But he had left them to suffer, hungry and bored and terrified at the thought of what was coming, at least in Julie's case. She had seen how much pain Dean had been in, seen the monster he became at night. And the thought that she would soon be going through the same ordeal and becoming the same thing was hell to her.

So when the door finally opened and Fenris walked in, she was surprisingly glad to see him. The Alpha stood in the doorway for a moment, observing them. The three of them were sitting along the back wall, leaning back into the cold wall and staring back at him. Sam and Dean sat next to each other, tall and stiff, while Julie leaned back into Dean's chest. Fenris smiled mockingly, seeing the couple curled up together.

After a moment, Fenris stepped all the way into the cell and shut the door behind him. He smiled at the three of them and asked, "Well, are you going to get up or not?"

"I'm actually pretty comfortable down here," Dean shrugged.

"Let me rephrase that," Fenris said brightly, before pulling a pistol out of his jacket. Julie's eyes widened a little as he pointed it straight at her. "Are you going to get up or not?"

"You won't shoot her," Dean said confidently, but she could feel his muscles tense up underneath her, ready to move to protect her. "You don't kill your kids, remember?"

"No, but a silver bullet in the leg won't kill her, especially with her quick healing," the Alpha replied calmly, his irritatingly calm smile that he always seemed to wear on his lips. "But it sure will hurt."

Dean hesitated for half a second, and then snapped, "Alright, put the gun down, Fenris. We're getting up, see? Just…don't shoot anybody."

The three hunters stood warily and, Fenris smiled and put the gun away. "Now, was that so hard?"

None of them replied, their expressions cold and hard.

"To business, then," he sighed. "I'm here for Sam."

"Not a chance," Dean snapped, stepping in front of his brother.

"I'm trying to protect him, my son," Fenris said with a roll of his eyes. "Once you and your lovely girlfriend turn, you'll rip him to shreds if I don't get him to safety."

"But you'll just turn me anyway, won't you?" Sam pointed out coldly, and the werewolf shrugged.

"You know, I think I'll take my chances," Sam smirked.

Suddenly, Fenris lunged forward with inhuman speed and tried to grab ahold of Sam. But Dean wasn't having that. He intercepted Fenris and the two of them launched into a wild fight, kicking and hitting each other. Dean did his best, but he was severely hindered by the chains on his wrists, and he took a couple hits that he could have avoided because he refused to dodge and leave Fenris with an open path straight to his brother. But those hits really cost him. The Alpha was stronger than him, and the second time that his fist came crashing into Dean's head, he stumbled and fell.

When Dean's vision cleared a little, he saw Fenris standing over him, eyes murderous and wolf-like, teeth bared in a snarl. For half a second, he worried he was about to die.

And then the werewolf was howling in pain, as a syringe sank needle-deep into his neck, filling full of his blood.

Julie managed to pull the now-full syringe out of Fenris's neck just before he whirled around. For a moment, she was really truly scared of this monster as he loomed over her, breathing heavily, a trail of blood running down his neck and murder in his wolf-like eyes.

He glared at the syringe in her hand and smirked, "So, you found out about the cure. My blood can cure a werewolf. And I bet you want to use it on your pretty boy boyfriend, don't you?"

Julie just glared back at him defiantly, waiting for their backup to arrive. Sam had just sent up a prayer as a signal, and any second here, help should arrive…

But no help had appeared yet, and they needed it _now_. Because Fenris was grinning and saying, "Well, can't cure him if he's dead, can you?"

And before Julie could even scream, "No!" the Alpha turned around the snap Dean's neck.

But Fenris had forgotten one very important thing. The man he was trying to kill was _Dean Winchester_.

Fenris turned around just in time to get head-butted in the nose. Dean allowed himself a small grin as he heard the werewolf's nose break with a loud crunch. As Fenris howled in pain, Sam rushed forward and he and Dean each grabbed one of the werewolf's arms and pinned him, trying to avoid the blood gushing from his nose.

"You haven't won," Fenris snarled as he struggled to get free. "You're still trapped in here, and I don't have a key. My children will only let me out of here, and you can't kill me, either. Not without silver."

"I'm sure we'll think of something," Dean smirked.

The three hunters were just starting to relax a little, thinking that they had subdued him. But suddenly, Fenris drove his elbow hard into Sam's chest, knocking him to the ground, and turned and threw Dean off of him. Julie watched in horror, realizing that the Alpha had only been tricking them into thinking they could pin him. He was significantly stronger than even the strongest werewolf.

Fenris hit Dean across the face and the new werewolf stumbled. Then Fenris socked him in the gut, smirking when Dean grunted and collapsed to his knees. Fenris reached into his jacket and pulled his gun back out, cocking it. "And to think I would have made you my mate," he sighed, shaking his head. "But clearly you're not smart enough to be mine. Taking on the Alpha werewolf without any silver?"

Fenris raised the gun and pointed it straight at Dean's forehead. Sam, who had just picked himself up off of the ground, saw the position his brother was in and roared, "Dean!" But he knew he'd never get over there in time to stop the Alpha from killing his brother.

Just as Fenris was about to pull the trigger, though, a silver chain wrapped around his neck, burning into his skin. He screamed in agony as his skin smoked, and he fell to his knees, his gun falling forgotten to the ground as he clawed at the short chain that was digging into his skin.

"Well, I wouldn't say no silver," Julie smirked darkly as she dug the silver chain trapping her wrists together even further into his neck. The Alpha had quit fighting and was now just moaning pitifully. She unwrapped her handcuffs from around his neck and kicked him in the back, sending him sprawling across the floor.

Sam helped Dean to his feet, and the two brothers stared at her in awe as she picked up Fenris's gun. "Jules?" Dean said. "That was freaking hot!"

"Uh…thanks, I guess," she smirked uncertainly. "I'm mostly just glad you're not dead."

Fenris moaned again from his position on the ground and pushed himself into a sitting position. The three hunters exchanged a look, and then Julie asked, "Dean, I would say you deserve to do the honors, but after everything this son of a bitch has done to you, I would really like to waste him myself."

Dean smirked, but his eyes were deadly. "He's all yours," he said coldly.

Fenris stared up at Julie wide-eyed as she aimed the gun at him. "Wait, I-" he started to protest.

But they would never hear the rest of his pathetic excuse. Because Julie had already pulled the trigger. And she did it again and again, emptying every silver bullet in the gun into his body.

"Just to be safe," she smirked as she turned away from the dead werewolf and tossed the now-empty gun next to him.

Dean and Sam were both wide-eyed, but then quickly hid their surprise at how Julie had just killed him in cold blood. Sure, any of the three of them would have gladly wasted him. But that was dark for Julie, who they had always considered the most compassionate of the three of them. She must have really hated him for everything he put Dean through.

Before either brother had to come up with something to say, though, the door to the basement swung open. Instantly, Julie found herself regretting using all of those bullets on one werewolf, when there were several others still in the house. But before they could even move into defensive positions, a familiar man stepped into the room, wielding a bloody silver knife.

"Hello, boys," Crowley said smoothly. "Juliet," he added, with a nod towards her. His eyes widened as they landed on the dead werewolf. "I see you took care of the Alpha."

"Yeah, with no help from you," Sam grumbled.

"No help?" the demon spluttered. "I just killed ten werewolves at least! You should be thanking me, Moose."

"No, what I should be doing is getting out of here and watching my brother and best friend get cured," Sam snapped.

"Do you have the blood?" Crowley asked. Julie held up the syringe, and he grinned. "Then by all means, let's get out of here."

* * *

"Oh, thank God," Ann sighed in relief as the motel door opened and four people walked in. Dean was still rubbing at his wrists, which were almost healed, and there was some blood and bruising on his face, but the three hunters who had surrendered to save her were all still alive.

"Actually, my name is Crowley," the short, dark-haired demon smirked as he sauntered in.

"Thank _you_? You did nothing! We were the ones who took down Fenris and got his blood," Sam snapped.

"Actually, that was just Jules," Dean pointed out. "We just got our asses kicked."

"I did take out ten werewolves to save you, as you seem to love to forget, Moose," Crowley shot back. "I don't see how you were going to take out all of them with no weapons."

"Can we please quit bickering and just get that cure?" Julie interjected, and everyone stopped talking and turned to look at her when they heard the fear in her voice. "I'm about to change, and I'd really rather not," she explained, and Sam noticed her hands were balled into fists.

"Do it now," Dean growled, turning to face Crowley, and for once he had no snarky comeback. He just nodded and hurried over to the bowl that the rest of the cure was contained in. He brushed Castiel aside and emptied the syringe full of Fenris's blood into the bowl. The five others watched as he muttered something in an ancient language, and suddenly the bowl was filled with blue flames. Sam watched the flames dancing, fascinated, until they vanished as suddenly as they had appeared.

"Is that it?" Dean frowned after a long moment of silence.

Crowley rolled his eyes. "No, you idiot. You have to drink it."

He lifted the bowl to reveal that it was full of what looked horribly like blood. Which, when Sam thought about it, it was mostly, with other equally disgusting ingredients mixed in.

"Ugh," Dean groaned. "I'm not drinking that!"

"Would you rather turn into a werewolf and kill or turn your brother instead?" the demon asked coldly, and Dean gave in.

"Fine. But Julie takes it first," Dean snapped protectively. He had noticed how Julie's hands had started to tremble. It was dark out, and she was a new werewolf. She had even less control over when she turned than Dean and Ann, and he wasn't letting her go through that agony.

"No," she growled. "Ann first."

Even Dean had to admit that Julie was right. The innocent bystander got saved first. That was their job, who they were. He sighed and nodded. "She's right. Have at it, Ann."

"I'm going to be sick," the girl moaned as Crowley handed her the foul-smelling blood cure, but after taking a deep breath and steeling herself, she took a drink from the bowl.

Immediately after swallowing, she began to convulse. Crowley leapt forward and saved the cure from spilling, while Sam rushed forward and caught her as she suddenly collapsed. The werewolf's eyes rolled back in her head, and Julie screamed, "Ann!"

But the girl was unresponsive. Everyone in the room stared at her in shock and horror as she lay there in Sam's arms. And then, just as Sam began to fear that they had killed her, Ann began to cough.

Her eyes opened as she coughed and gasped for breath. "It's okay, I've got you," he murmured soothingly, helping her sit up. When Ann finally calmed down, she held her hands up in front of her to study them.

"Did it work?" she asked. "I mean, I feel different. I can't smell everything, but-"

"It worked," Cas said firmly, smiling. "She has a soul again."

Sam and Julie grinned, and even Ann allowed herself a small smile. "Thank God," Sam sighed. Then he looked at Crowley and said, "Julie next."

The demon turned and started to hand Julie the bowl, but suddenly Dean put an arm out to stop her and said, "Wait."

"What?" Sam cried. "Dean, look at her! She could turn any minute!"

"I know," Dean said, giving his brother a heartbreaking look. Then he turned towards Castiel. "Cas…you said Ann had a soul again when she got cured?"

"Well, yes," the angel said, confused. "Werewolves don't really have souls. If they die, they go to purgatory. You should know that better than anyone, Dean."

"So if a werewolf were to die, there's no way they could go to hell?" Dean asked slowly, and it finally clicked with everyone else in the room.

"No," Julie snapped. "Dean, no!"

"Why not, Jules?" Dean cried. "It would only be for a few months, and we'd make sure you never got out or hurt anyone when you turned. And then you wouldn't have to go to hell! Julie, this could fix everything!"

"_No_, Dean!" Julie cried, and she suddenly looked near tears. "Don't you get it? You sold your soul once! You know that if I try to find a way out of the deal, then Beelzebub will just get rid of it all together, and things will go back to the way they were before the deal."

Realization crept into Dean's eyes, and for a moment he hesitated. And then he said in a cold voice, "So?"

"_So_?!" Julie cried, so angry she was shaking. "So you'll die! Or worse, you'll go back to being a demon out to kill us!"

"But I won't be invincible anymore, so you can take care of me before I hurt anyone," Dean said flatly. "And then you'll be safe. Beelzebub will never be able to take you to hell. We'll destroy the cure, and he'll never be able to touch you."

"But you'll be dead, Dean!" Sam pointed out angrily.

"I can live with that," Dean shrugged. "No pun intended."

For a moment everyone was silent, weighing their options. And then Julie suddenly snapped, "Well, I can't." And with no further warning, she suddenly threw Dean into the wall and grabbed the bowl from Crowley.

Dean's vision cleared just in time to see Julie taking a drink of the cure. "No!" he yelled desperately, but it was too late.

Crowley pulled the bowl away from a now-convulsing Julie. Sam was too shocked to move to help her, but in an instant Cas was there, gently lowering the twitching girl to the ground. This time, when her eyes rolled back in her head, no one panicked, knowing what was coming. As she lay still and unconscious, Cas slowly raised his head to stare sadly at his best friend. Dean had picked himself up off the ground and was staring at her, his expression a mixture of grief and shock.

"I could turn her," he whispered after a long moment. "I could bite her again here in a minute when I turn."

"Dean, don't you dare," Sam said coldly. "She made her choice, and you've got to respect it. Besides, we'll find a way to save her that doesn't require you dying."

"But, Sammy…" Dean pleaded, and it broke Sam's heart, seeing the tears begin to well up in his brother's eyes as he realized he had lost the first chance at saving Julie's soul that they had found in two months of searching.

But before he could go on, Julie suddenly gasped and her eyes open. Dean's heart sank as he saw that her blue eyes were clearly human, and he could smell her humanity from over here.

As Cas helped her up, she met his eyes and for a moment they just stared sadly at each other.

But Dean could feel the change already starting to tug at him. He didn't have time to argue about saving Julie's soul anymore. Besides, he knew he would lose. His brother and best friend and girlfriend valued his life too much to let him die for her like she was going to for him.

So he sighed and stepped up to Crowley, who held the remainder of the cure in his hands. Enough for one more person. "Well," he sighed. "I guess it's my turn."

* * *

Julie took a deep breath before daring to knock on their bedroom door.

She, Sam, and Dean had returned to the bunker, physically and emotionally drained, an hour ago. Crowley and Cas had both left a while ago, once they were certain the four humans were okay, and they had dropped Ann off at a bus stop on their way out of town. She was headed straight to the town her parents lived in, hoping that being with her family would help her life return to some kind of normal. Julie sure hoped that Ann could find a normal life after everything she'd gone through. But at least the girl was human again. But honestly, Ann was tough and brave and the kind of person who could survive anything, even an ordeal like losing her boyfriend and being turned into a werewolf. And she had seemed like she would be okay when she said her goodbyes to them. She'd hugged Dean and Julie goodbye and even thanked Sam for his help before hopping on a bus and heading home.

Since returning to their own homes, though, things had been weird between the three hunters. Sam and Julie were fine, of course. When weren't they? But it was her and Dean. He hadn't spoken a word to her besides the most necessary of conversation the whole ride home. And as soon as they had arrived at the Men of Letters bunker, he had walked into their bedroom and slammed the door behind him.

The silence after her knock seemed to stretch on for a small eternity. Julie was just beginning to worry that he was going to ignore her when Dean's gruff voice answered, "Come in."

Julie eased the door open and stepped carefully into the room. Dean was lying on the bed, on top of the covers, Sam's laptop on his lap. He was still fully clothed, even though it was late at night. Dean stared at her for a long moment, his expression unchanging.

Julie sighed. "Dean, honestly. If you don't want me here tonight, just say that, and I'll go."

Dean's expression finally softened a little and he closed the laptop. "I don't…_not_ want you here," he admitted.

Julie gave him a tiny smile, and he returned it. "So…is that an invitation in then?"

"It is _your_ bedroom, too," Dean pointed out.

Still, Julie stayed by the door. She wanted to sort this all out as soon as possible. "Look, Dean…I understand why you wanted things to turn out differently. But I also need you to understand why I couldn't do that."

"I understand," Dean sighed. "You couldn't let me die, anymore than I can let you die."

Julie blinked. "So…we're good then?"

"I was never upset with _you_," he sighed. "Even though you did throw me into a wall." She winced, but laughed a little when she saw he was smirking. "I'm upset that I couldn't save you. But every day it seems more like I never will be able to."

"Dean, don't," she sighed. "Please, don't talk like that." She took a step towards him and the bed. "Can't we just be happy for a little bit? Look, it's after nightfall, and we're both still human, and that monster Fenris is gone for good. I consider this one a win."

"Great, so we won," Dean said bitterly. "But we're no closer to saving you than we were two months ago. Just shorter on time. We've been wasting time on other hunts and distractions when we should be focused on saving you."

"Dean, saving innocent people is not a waste of time!" Julie snapped. "And we've been doing everything we can to find a way out of my deal. Maybe there just isn't one. And that's okay."

"No, it's not," he growled, standing up so he could argue better. "And we did find a way out of your deal."

"Yeah, one that's not acceptable!"

"How is your death any more acceptable than mine?" Dean cried. "It's not! I've already cost you your uncle, and your own life once before. Being around me has only brought you pain, Jules, and I owe you this. Please, just let me die for you."

To his surprise, Julie softened, her anger and frustration melting away. She stepped close to him and gently brushed her fingers across his cheek. "Dean, you don't owe me anything," she said softly. "I chose to run away with you, fully knowing that it was going to put me in danger. I chose this life, and I chose to sell my soul for you. _My_ choice, Dean."

"But my life isn't worth yours," he choked out.

"Actually, it is," she said with a sad sort of smile. "Of course I sold my soul because I love you, and I couldn't bear seeing you a demon, and I couldn't let such a dangerous demon keep on existing. But I also sold my soul because you're _important_, Dean. If the worst happens, and Lucifer rises and possesses Sam, only one person can stop him, and it's not me. It's you, Dean."

"You sound like an angel," was his reply.

"Why, thank you," she smirked, and even Dean had to smirk a little at that.

"I can't watch you die," he stated flatly after a moment of silence.

"And we'll keep trying," Julie assured him. "I promise you, Dean, we're not giving up. But you have to understand that my soul being saved by your death is not an option. Okay?"

As much as he hated to say it, after a moment's hesitation, Dean sighed, "Okay."

"Thank you, Dean," she said, smiling up at him. She studied him for a long moment, and then reached up and touched his face again. "I'm glad you're human again," she whispered.

Dean let out a sigh as her fingers brushed light as a feather across his cheek. He let out all the pain and guilt and grief and anger he'd felt these past few days and just focused on her touch. At least they were human. At least they were together. At least they were _alive_. And as long as those facts were true, everything would be okay.

"Yeah," he admitted. "Me too."


	70. Chapter 70

**Chapter Seventy**

For once, Julie woke up, not because of a horrifying nightmare, but peacefully, like a normal human being. She was lying on her side, naked under the covers, but when she reached for the familiar feeling of Dean's skin under her fingers, she couldn't find him. Julie frowned and opened her eyes, and saw that he was still in bed but sitting up with his bare back to her, hunched over something.

"Hey," she said, smiling sleepily at his back.

"Morning," he said gruffly back, clearly preoccupied with something. Julie noticed how tense the muscles in his back looked and sighed. She reached out one hand and trailed a finger down his spine, allowing herself a proud little smile when a shiver of pleasure rolled through him, relaxing his muscles a little.

Julie slipped out of bed and grabbed a black silk robe that was hanging on the bedpost. She wrapped it around herself, tied the sash, and then returned to the bed to sit behind Dean. She curled up against his back and leaned forward, resting her head on his shoulder. He paused in his work to turn and kiss the top of her head, but he was clearly very focused on what he was doing.

Julie frowned when she saw what it was. Of course. For the past two days since returning from that disastrous werewolf hunt, Dean had done nothing but research, exhausting sources he'd already read half a dozen times in a desperate attempt to find some way to save her. Now he was so desperate he was just googling ways out of selling your soul. To tell the truth, she was a little offended that after last night, his first thought upon waking up had been to get on the laptop.

"Dean…" she started, and he sighed.

"I know what you're going to say, Jules. But saving you is my top priority. So yes, this is necessary."

"Fine, so it's necessary," she sighed. "But isn't there something you'd rather be doing…?" she added suggestively, knowing that her best hope of getting him to stop with this was to tempt him with sex.

Dean turned his head slightly to smirk at her. "Damn right, there is. But, as much as I hate to admit it…" His voice trailed off because Julie had started to kiss his shoulders softly, and as he continued to speak, her lips moved to his neck. "I have to focus on this…" he tried again, but she was moving around so she could face him, still kissing his neck. Her hands trailed over his bare chest, and Dean moaned, "No fair…"

"Come back to bed," she whispered, lips brushing his ear, before gently closing the laptop and setting it on the floor by the bed.

Dean looked like he wanted to argue, until she gently pushed him back onto the pillows. And then he knew he had lost. She was just too damn sexy. Resisting beautiful women had never been his strong suit, but when they were as beautiful and tempting as Julie…

Dean's hands slid up her legs to the sash keeping her robe on, and he began to untie it. Julie grinned into his lips, knowing she'd won, and she ran her hands through Dean hair, letting him start to slip her robe off of her, when suddenly-

Her phone started to ring.

Dean was still focused on getting her robe off of her, but Julie regretfully pulled her lips away from his and sighed. "I should get that," she whispered.

"You should stay in bed," he replied, pulling her robe off of her one of her shoulders.

"Dean," she sighed, catching his hand and stopping it. She moved so she was no longer straddling him and started to put her robe back on.

"Oh, come on…" he groaned, reaching his hand out for her as she got out of bed and tied the sash on her robe. "You're the one who started this!"

"Sorry," she mouthed as she picked up her phone and read the screen. Her blue eyes widened and she started to smile. "Oh my god!" she said, shocked.

Dean sat up in bed and frowned. "What? Who's calling?"

But Julie was now ignoring him. But the name showing up on her phone screen was one she hadn't seen in…well, years!

Julie answered the call and asked almost uncertainly, "Hello?"

"Bitch!" the voice on the other end of the call shouted.

Julie almost gasped. "Um…what?"

"Do you know how long it's been since I've gotten a call from you, Julie?" the voice snapped. "Over two years, girl!"

"I'm so sorry, Chel!" Julie cried back, in a voice Dean had never heard before. It was a younger, higher, girlier way of speaking, loud and energetic, and not at all like the one he normally heard.

"Chel?" Dean mouthed at her. "Who's Chel?"

"I suppose I'll be able to forgive you," Chel sighed. "_If _you are able to get to my place by noon!"

"Wait, seriously?" Julie frowned. "We haven't talked in years, and you want me to just show up at your house?"

"Well, I came by your place, but apparently you haven't lived there in two years?!" Chel cried accusingly, and Julie winced.

"Yeah, I know…a lot's changed, Chel. I'm sorry I haven't kept in touch."

"It's okay, girl, neither did I," the other woman sighed. "When Ian and I got married, and then we had the baby, with hunting on top of that-"

"You and Ian got married?!" Julie cried.

"We eloped a few weeks after the last time you and I worked a case," Chel admitted.

"And you had a _baby_?!" Julie cried even louder and higher, and Dean winced.

"She's five months old. Her name's Lily." Julie could hear the proud smile in Chel's voice.

"Oh, I'm definitely coming now," Julie laughed. "We've got so much to catch up on."

"Like one of the world's greatest hunters who you decided to run off with and not tell me?!" Chel cried accusingly, and Julie winced.

"Right. That. How did you-?"

"I went to your place, remember? Tay and James were there-and I still think you shouldn't have dumped him, by the way," she threw in, which earned her a groan from Julie. "Anyway, they told me that you moved out years ago with _Dean Winchester_!"

"Um…yeah," Julie admitted.

"…Okay? And details, please?"

"Well, I live with him, and have this whole time," Julie shrugged. "Him and his brother, Sam, my best friend."

Dean had gotten out of bed during this time and pulled pants on. When he realized Julie was talking about him, he moved into her line of sight and waved at her. "Who are you talking to?" he mouthed. "Chel," she mouthed back, before returning to the conversation, and Dean rolled his eyes and muttered, "That's helpful."

"You live with him and his brother? And that's not weird?" Chel frowned.

"Well…it was for a little bit when Sam…" Julie's voice trailed off when she remembered Dean was right there. "I mean, no, it's not weird."

"Well, that was unconvincing," Chel said flatly.

"No, really, it's not!" Julie said earnestly. "I just…look, I'll tell you everything in person."

"Ooh, and you should bring them, too! I want to meet the infamous Winchesters, and Ian needs more guys around. He's been so busy taking care of baby Lily he hasn't had much guy stuff."

"That's precious," Julie sighed. "Well, I'll be there. You still live in Kansas?"

"Yep."

"Us too. I'll talk with the guys, but I'm pretty sure they'll be cool with it. We'll probably be over at some point today."

"Awesome! And if you need help convincing them…tell them that I've found a case."

And with that, the woman hung up.

"God, Chel," Julie laughed. "Always has to end things with a cliffhanger."

"Yeah, Chel," Dean laughed sarcastically. "She's great. Who is Chel again?"

Julie laughed and turned to face Dean. "Oh, are you jealous?"

"A little surprised I don't know about the girl who has you squealing like a teenager," Dean admitted.

"Her name is Chelsea Davis," Julie explained. "She's a year younger than me, and I met her back when we were teenagers. Both of our families hunted together, and I've known her forever. We used to be best friends, but I haven't talked to her…well, since you and I started living together."

Dean took a step closer to her and put his hands on her hips. "Well, now that the phone call is over…why don't we pick up where we left off?"

Julie looked at him, the sexy stubble on his jaw and his tousled bedhead and his crooked half-grin, and for a moment all she wanted to do was throw him back on that bed and spend the day in it with him. But an old friend had called with a request to catch up and a case, and she knew what she needed to do.

Julie put a hand on Dean's chest and leaned in to kiss him for a long, sweet moment. Dean kissed her back, tangling one hand in his hair and moving closer. But before he could get too into their kiss, she pulled away and patted his chest. She smiled a little sadly at him and said, "As amazing as that sounds…I think we've got ourselves a case."

* * *

"You sure this is the right place?" Dean asked skeptically as he pulled up at to the address Julie had given him.

Julie looked up from her laptop, where she had been reading yet another _Supernatural _book and nodded. "Yep."

"And you're sure hunters live here?" he frowned, taking in the cute, two-story home with a neat lawn and white picket fence and even a dark blue minivan in the driveway.

"Hunters can also be normal people with normal lives," she pointed out. "You two are just weird."

Dean grumbled a lame comeback under his breath, while Sam chuckled. Sam was in a much better mood than Dean, eager to meet another friend of his best friend and learn more about her life outside of them. Besides, Julie had assured Sam that he would love this Chel girl's husband, Ian.

Julie and Sam hopped out of the car, but Dean stayed put, hesitating. He really hadn't wanted to come. He wanted to stay home and search for a way to save Julie that he just couldn't find. But Cas and Crowley were out there, searching places and asking people that human couldn't, and there was no point in sitting around wasting what precious little time they had left.

Julie rapped her knuckles on Dean's car window and called, "Come on, Dean."

He sighed and opened the car door and dragged himself out of the Impala to join her. She smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and a murmured, "Thank you."

But before he could reply, there was a loud, shrill scream, and a moment later Julie was running away from him.

Sam and Dean watched, bewildered as Julie and a pretty, pale, dark-haired woman ran across the lawn towards each other and tackled each other with tight hugs, shrieking and laughing like teenage girls the whole time. "What is happening?" Dean asked warily as he watched his girlfriend giggling, something she had almost never done.

"I have no idea," Sam admitted, looking as lost as Dean felt.

"Chel, it is so good to see you!" Julie laughed as she pulled away from her friend and beamed at her. Her old friend looked good, her dark hair chopped short and spiky around her face, her pale blue eyes rimmed in dark eyeliner, wearing a dark grey sweatshirt and tight, ripped black jeans.

"You too, Julie," Chel replied, grinning. "You look hot, girl!"

Julie laughed and blushed a little. "You too, Chel!"

"Yeah, Lily's got the world's hottest mom," the young woman smirked. Then her eyes landed on the two tall, scary, lost-looking men standing back and watching them. "And the Winchesters are looking pretty hot, too…" she said with a wink at Julie. "Which one's your boyfriend? The tall one?"

"Really?" Dean groaned loudly. "We're still doing that?!"

Chel frowned, confused. "Did I say something?"

"That's Dean," Julie explained.

"Oh. Oops." Chel didn't look very ashamed.

"Common mistake," Julie assured her. "Guys, get over here!" Sam and Dean walked over to the two women slowly. "Chel, the tall one is my best friend, Sam. He's great, you'll love him."

"It's so great to meet another friend of Julie's," Sam beamed as he stuck his hand out to shake hers, his natural charm kicking in. "And thank you so much for inviting us to your home."

"He's charming, this one," Chel smirks at Julie as she shakes Sam's hand.

"And this is Dean," Julie continued, grabbing his elbow and pulling him forward a little, because he was still hanging back. "He's…less charming."

"Hey!" Dean protested, offended, but Julie just laughed and stretched up on her tiptoes to kiss him and appease him. Chel raised her eyebrows. When Julie pulled away from Dean, she put an arm around his waist and grinned at Chel. "I'm kidding. He's great too, if a bit rougher around the edges."

"Don't sugarcoat it," Dean grumbled, but Julie just patted his hip reassuringly and otherwise ignored his grumbling.

"Well, Sam, Dean, it's nice to meet you," Chel said brightly. "Please, come inside, all of you!"

The three hunters followed Chel into the house. It was nice and open, with white walls and little furniture. It was surprisingly clean and neat and normal-looking for a hunter's house. Except for the living room, where toys were strewn across the floor and a Sam-sized guy with a buzz cut and a handsome face sat on the floor. Intricate, edgy tattoos were peeking out from under his sleeves, but that edgy look was cancelled out by the precious baby he was cradling in his massive arms.

Ian looked up as Julie and the two brothers entered the room behind his wife. "Hey, they're here!" he boomed in a voice as low and gruff as Dean's. "Hey, Julie," he added with a smile at his old friend.

"Hey, Ian," she grinned, but her eyes were on the baby in his arms. "Oh my God…she's beautiful."

"Isn't she?" Chel smirked proudly. "Ian and I had the world's greatest sex, and then the world's most beautiful baby came out of it."

Sam's eyes widened a little, but Ian and Julie looked unfazed, like these were normal comments for her. "I don't know, pretty sure Julie and I could give you guys a run for your money with great sex," Dean shot back with a smirk, earning him a light slap and shocked, embarrassed, "_Dean_!" from Julie.

But Chel just grinned. "Oh, I like this guy," she laughed. "Julie, I approve. You can date him, at least for now."

"Oh, gee, thanks," Julie muttered sarcastically, but her eyes were still on baby Lily. They had never left the little child since she had spotted her.

Ian smiled softly and stood up, waking his daughter. She opened her mother's pale blue eyes and looked around, blinking slowly, a bit confused. Julie's heart melted at her big blue eyes and soft tuft of dark hair and her cute little nose.

"Do you want to hold her?" he asked Julie gently, and without hesitation she took the little child in her arms.

Chel directed Sam and Dean and Julie to sit on the couch, and Ian sat in a loveseat facing them, while Chel grabbed beers for everyone. Sam and Ian began to chat, already starting to bond, and when Chel returned with the beers, she and Dean struck up a conversation. But most of Dean's focus was on his girlfriend, who was entirely focused on the baby in her arms.

Watching her fawn over the little girl warmed his heart, but it also broke a part of it. Every time he saw her with a child, he saw how much she loved them, and how much potential she had to be an amazing mother. But because she had thrown in her lot with him, she was now doomed to go to hell in less than three months. Unless they found a way to save her, Julie would never get to be a mother, and that broke Dean's heart.

Especially since he wanted nothing more than to hold his and Julie's child in his arms.

Dean shook off those depressing thoughts and focused on the conversation going on around him. Julie soon joined in and the five of them exchanged their life stories. Dean and Sam glossed over the horrific, dark details of their lives and mostly just talked about what had happened since Julie and Dean met and fell in love. They left out some key details though, like Sam falling in love with Julie for a period of time, or Dean turning into a demon, or Julie selling her soul. But Chel and Ian seemed impressed and intimidated enough by what they did share, so they decided those details weren't really necessary.

In exchange, the young couple shared their stories. Ian, like many hunters, got into hunting when a loved one was killed by a monster. His younger sister was killed by a shape shifter, and he spent several months learning how to track and kill monsters before hunting the thing down and getting revenge. He was twenty at that point, ten years ago. For seven years, he hunted on his own, until he met Chelsea Davis. She was a born and raised hunter like Julie, and they had met at a young age and been friends for a very long time. Chel was twenty-five when she and Ian met, and the two quickly hit it off and began to date. They dated for two years before eloping and getting married, and within two months, Chel was pregnant with a cute little girl, Lily.

The two still hunted, and they had found a couple trustworthy baby sitters who were retired hunters themselves so they could go work a case and Lily would be safe. But they had found a case now, and their babysitters were both out of town. But neither one of them thought they could take this case on alone while the other stayed home to watch the baby, so they had called in a favor with Julie, and gotten two other kickass hunters as a bonus.

"So, what's the case?" Sam asked curiously.

"We think it's a ghost," Ian explained. "There's a town an hour or so from here that was terrorized by this serial killer who would torture young blond women to death about thirty years ago. He killed seven women before the police caught him torturing the eighth one and shot him. And now, in that same town, three blond women have already disappeared from this big apartment complex, and one of them was found dead two days ago, tortured to death."

"So you think he's back and trying to continue his life's work?" Sam guessed.

"Or maybe he's just another serial killer," Julie pointed out.

"Either way, we're gonna take the sick bastard down," Dean said coldly, and his brother and girlfriend nodded firmly.

"I guess that means you guys are in?" Chel said hopefully.

"Of course," Julie said with a smile at her friend.

"Great," Ian sighed, relieved. "This ghost seems pretty serious, and I wasn't looking forward to having to take him on alone."

"But before you crazy people go take on a killer ghost, I'm making lunch," Chel announced, standing up.

Lunch was just sandwiches and soup, but it was very good, and Sam and Ian had really hit it off and chatting and laughing about past hunts, while Julie and Chel caught up, and Dean interjected everyone in a while, mostly content to eat his food and just watch Julie talk. It'd been a while since he'd seen her this happy and carefree.

After lunch, Sam and Ian sat down to do some research on where the dead serial killer was buried. Hopefully they could salt and burn his bones and end the killings easily. Meanwhile, Julie and Chel cleaned up the dishes from lunch, while Dean, who despised cleaning, volunteered to watch the baby.

In the kitchen, as she scrubbed at a dish, Julie asked her friend, "So, how's the married life?"

Chel just smirked at her. "You would know."

Julie frowned. "What?"

"You and Dean act like a married couple. And you've been dating forever. When is he just gonna get the balls to propose?"

"He…it's not like that," Julie muttered, staring at her soapy hands.

"What's it like, then? He clearly loves you, and you must love him, considering you've stayed with him for two years, when you never dated anyone for more than six months. And I do miss James, by the way."

Julie groaned. "You always were mad at me for breaking up with him."

"What wasn't to like? He was hot, he was funny, edgy enough to keep life exciting, he was a hunter, and he was desperately in love with you!" Chel said in the weary voice of someone who had often had this exact conversation.

"I know," Julie admitted. "But I didn't love him. I liked him a lot, and I cared about him, but I didn't love him."

"But you love Dean. So where's your ring? Not that I believe everyone woman needs to be married, you know I'm not like that! But you've always wanted to get married and have kids, and I always wanted to be the crazy, wild, unmarried chick. How did we get flipped?"

"Well, I'm not wild or crazy," Julie sighed. "And I still do want to get married and have kids. Things just…they haven't worked out well."

"Oh, Julie...I'm so sorry," her friend sighed suddenly. "Have you guys been trying? Is it you? Or is it him?"

"What? No!" Julie cried. "No, we haven't…we haven't been trying to get pregnant. Chel, it's Dean Winchester we're talking about! As long as there are Knights of Hell out there, any kid of his would get slaughtered, and I couldn't let that happen."

"You're right, of course," Chel said quickly. "But why aren't you married, though?"

_Because I refuse to leave him a widow_, Julie thought to herself, but out loud, she just said, "Things are just really crazy right now. We want to wait until the Knights are dead and the world is safe so that we can have a life together, you know?"

"Of course," Chel murmured, but she knew Julie well enough to know that wasn't the whole truth.

After about a minute of awkward silence between them, Julie sighed and said, "I'm gonna go check on Dean. Make sure Lily hasn't killed him yet."

"Okay," Chel said softly, watching her friend go with a sad expression.

Julie walked back into the living room and stopped in the doorway, grinning. Baby Lily was squealing with joy as Dean dangled her upside-down from her feet, laughing along with the baby. Julie watched as he got a good hold on the baby again and pretended like he was going to throw her into the air, causing her to shriek with laughter. Dean was grinning when he finally noticed Julie standing there watching him.

Dean sat down on the couch and cradled the little girl to his chest with one arm. With his other hand, he patted the seat next to him, and Julie walked over and sat down next to him. She tucked her feet up next to her and leaned into his chest, and for a moment, the two of them just smiled at the little baby girl.

"You want a baby, don't you?" Dean said suddenly after a long moment, and Julie turned to study him. There was something sad and resigned in his eyes, and it broke her heart.

"And so do you," she answered.

Then it seemed like there was nothing else to say, and they were silent. "I had a dream once," Dean admitted. "You and I had a son. Cute little guy, two or three, and a load of trouble."

"So he took after you, huh?" Julie smirked, and Dean smiled.

"We named him Bobby-John, after my two dads that I lost," he continued in a soft, almost reverent voice. "And even though I knew he wasn't real…I loved him."

Julie smiled sadly at Dean and gently stroked the side of his face. For a moment, he just sank into her touch, but he had to keep going. He wanted to get it all off his chest, all of these things he had never admitted to anyone.

"I want to have a son," Dean admitted in a whisper. "My dad…I love him, but he screwed me up. I'm never going to be a good person, or even a whole person, and it's a large part because of how he raised me. I want to have a son, and I want to raise him right."

Julie just nodded at him, and he noticed her eyes were teary. But he wasn't done yet.

"And I want to have a daughter. I want to have a sweet, beautiful daughter who takes after her mom, and I want to be there for her, to try and protect her from this crappy world and beat the crap out of anyone who hurts her. I want to have kids, Julie, and I want to get married, and I want that white picket fence and apple pie life, and I've never told anyone that."

"I know," was all she said. "I want that too."

For a long moment, the two of them were silent, just staring into each other's eyes, and then Lily began to fuss in Dean's arms. Julie sighed and stood up, gently taking the baby from Dean and tucking her in to her crib, where she drifted off within seconds. Julie watched the baby sleeping, and Dean got up and stood next to her, staring at the cute little girl sadly, wishing that she was his.

"We are going to find a way to save my soul and stop Beelzebub from raising Lucifer and kill that evil son of a bitch," Julie said suddenly, turning to face Dean. "And when we do, the first thing I'm gonna do is marry you. And then we are going to have a family, as many freaking kids as you want, and Uncle Sam will help us raise them, and we are going to be happy. You are going to get everything you want out of life, Dean, if I have anything to say about it. I promise you. Because you deserve to be happy."

The two of them stared at each other for a long moment, and then they were kissing, fingers tangling each other's hair, dragging each other closer and kissing with a desperate kind of passion that almost scared them.

Because they knew they were running out of time.

Julie had lost track of how long she had been kissing Dean, when someone cleared their throat. Dean and Julie broke apart and looked up to see Sam standing a few feet away, arms crossed, eyebrows raised. "In front of the baby?" he asked them skeptically.

"She's asleep," Dean smirked.

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother. "Come on, guys. Ian and I found where the killer was buried. Time to get ready."

"In a minute," Dean replied, and Sam sighed and left, knowing the two of them would probably just keep going at it even if he stayed.

Dean turned back to Julie and took her face in his hands. "I'm making you a promise, too, Jules," he said softly. "I'm gonna save you, like you've been saving me since the day I met you. And then we are going to be happy. I'm going to spend the rest of my life making sure that you are the happiest woman on earth."

"I love you," Julie whispered, and in answer, Dean leaned down and pressed his lips to hers for a long, sweet moment.

But as happy as she knew she should be in that moment, Julie couldn't shake that nagging feeling reminding her that all the promises of happiness and declarations of love in the world weren't going to save her soul.

* * *

They had found where the dead serial killer was buried. They had their weapons and clothes packed, and they had a plan. There was nothing left but to just go.

Sam and Ian were outside loading up the Impala and a black pickup truck that Ian kept in the garage (good, because Dean couldn't imagine riding into battle in a blue minivan). Julie had gone out to help them, and Dean was about to follow, when he heard Chel ask, "Hey, Dean, do you have a minute?"

He turned to smile at his girlfriend's pretty friend. "Of course," he shrugged. "I wanted to thank you for your hospitality before we left, anyway."

Chel nodded gratefully, but something seemed to be nagging at her. Dean frowned. "Is something wrong, Chel?"

"Why you?" she asked bluntly.

Dean blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Why is it you, out of all the men in the world who have loved her? And trust me, there have been plenty."

"I…I don't really understand," Dean started, although he knew where this was going.

"Julie told me you've met James, right? So you know one of the guys who has loved that girl and been willing to give up everything he ever wanted to have a life with her. And you know another one, too, your brother. But they're just the tip of the iceberg."

"Hang on," Dean snapped. "What's this about my bro-?"

"Oh, come on, Dean, I'm not stupid," Chel laughed. "I know that girl as well as you do, and I'm good at picking up signals. I can tell Sam used to be in love with Julie, and is still a little bit in love with her, and I can tell she used to be in love with him."

"What?" Dean cried again.

"Oh…" Chel's face fell. "You didn't know…?"

"No! I mean, I knew that Sam used to love her, yeah," Dean snapped. "But what's this about him still loving her?"

"Well, you don't really ever get over Julie Carters," Chel smirked bitterly. "If she ever asked, Sam would be with her in a heartbeat. But it's not like he's actively in love with her. He loves her, but it's not enough to be dangerous to you two."

"Look, Chel, no offense or anything, but you don't really know me or my brother," he started, irritated by her know-it-all attitude and her confidence that his little brother was still in love with his girlfriend.

"But I know Julie," she sighed. "That girl might as well be a siren, because she could make just about anyone fall in love with her. When she first met Ian, I was scared I would lose my boyfriend to her. But the problem with Julie is she doesn't _try _to make everyone fall for her. She's just so good and gentle and caring and freaking perfect that you guys can't even help it."

Dean wanted to argue with Chel, to say that he wasn't like everyone else, but she had a point. When he had met Julie, he was a self-hating, border-line suicidal man who had lost everything and saw no hope for himself. And then he met her, a bright, beautiful, caring, gentle, wonderful woman who changed him. He wanted to be around her. That was all he wanted, to spend every day with her, basking in her warmth and light, and to hold her and kiss her and tell her how beautiful she was, without even trying to be.

She had changed him. She had saved him. But he hadn't been looking to be changed or saved. Dean hadn't been looking to fall in love. He just…fell.

"Anyway, that's Julie for you," Chel shrugged. "She's had guys chasing her since before I knew her, but it's only gotten worse as she keeps getting older and more beautiful. So I want to know why, out of all the men she could have chosen from, she chose you."

"I…honestly don't know," he admitted after a moment. "I was a screwed up mess when I met her. Still am. I never deserved her, and I never wanted to drag her into my messy, horrible life but…I couldn't stop her, either."

"Well, that's why," Chel laughed to herself. "The girl's a nurse."

"Well, yeah," Dean shrugged. "So?"

"_So_, she saw a broken mess of a man who desperately needed to be put back together, and she couldn't resist." Chel sighed. "She's always loved impossible challenges, and you were the ultimate challenge, Dean. Julie lives to help people and heal people. That's why she's a hunter, not because her family is, but because she can save people. And she saw someone who needed saving, and she knew she had to at least try."

For some reason, this was really making Dean angry. Probably because Chel was exactly right.

"So, you're saying the woman I love only loves me because I'm a mess?!" Dean snapped, trying to mask his hurt.

"No!" she cried. "No, not at all. But no other man has been able to hold her attention for longer than a few months, because none of them needed her like you did. So, yes, part of the reason why she loves you is because you were so broken. But that gave you a chance to capture her attention, and it probably didn't take her long to fall for you after that."

Dean still felt naked, like this sharp, intuitive women had stripped him to the bone just by pointing out the truth about his relationship. Somehow, he had thought that he himself, without trying to, had won her love single-handedly. But Chel was right, of course. Julie fixed things. She healed things. She saw a hurt child or someone who needed protection from a monster, and she risked her life to help them. She saw a battered, broken, weary man who needed to be saved, and she stepped in and did the job.

"So…does that mean…she doesn't really love _me_?" Dean asked softly, a little scared. "Just the challenge I represent?"

But to his surprise, Chel just laughed loudly. "Are you kidding? Dude, I accidentally overheard your conversation with her about having kids and stuff through the baby monitor-"

"_What_?!"

"And I didn't know what you guys were saying about her soul and stuff, but it's not hard to figure out," she said, no longer laughing. "She must have sold her soul for you, didn't she? Maybe to bring you back to life, or save you from dying, but it had to be for you. Wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Dean admitted eventually.

"See, I know Julie, or at least I knew her. The one thing that she would never do, not in a million years, not to bring back her dad or her mom or any of the friends she lost? Sell her soul. And yet she did it for you."

He looked down, knowing she had a point.

"And not just that, but she's willing to give up hunting and have kids and a normal life with you?" Chel cried. "Dean, the only other truly serious relationship she had ended when he asked her to do that for him. The idea of him telling her to change herself and give up her life for him and the chance to have a family was so horrible she dumped him. And yet she's here, more than willing and happy to do that for you?"

Despite himself, Dean smiled very slightly, a warmth building up in him. Chel had scared him with this talk. He had doubted himself, as he so often did, doubting that a wonderful woman like Julie could even think about loving him. But now she had just reassured what he already knew, that somehow, going against all logic, Julie Carters somehow had managed to fall in love with _him._

Chel smiled at Dean gently. "She really does love you, Dean. Way more than she's ever loved anyone. So congrats. You won her. Now you've got to keep her alive."

Dean nodded, understanding that this woman cared about Julie too. She wasn't just his, or Sam's. She had a family. She had friends. She had lots of people who loved her, because she was Julie, and you couldn't help but love her. And he wasn't going to let all of those people down. He was going to save her, and he was going to get that happy, normal life with her or die trying.

"I'm going to save her," he said confidently, and Chel smiled a little wider, believing him. "But first…we've got a killer ghost to stop."


	71. Chapter 71

**Author's Note: **A quick warning about these next couple chapters: they're going to be a little darker than normal. Our next villain is...not the typical Supernatural villain. I won't spoil any more, but I just ask that you stick with me and hopefully don't hate me for what's coming for the Winchester's and Co.

**Chapter Thirty-One**

"I hate this," Dean grumbled as he grabbed a box out of the bed of the truck.

"Because you're having to act like a normal boyfriend or because someone else has your car?" Julie smirked.

"Both?" he grumbled.

Julie smiled at him. It was funny, seeing Dean Winchester helping his girlfriend move like a normal boyfriend. For a moment, she wanted to pretend that they were just a normal couple doing a normal things. Not hunters who were here to stop a serial killer ghost.

But instead she grabbed another large box and followed Dean up the stairs.

The apartment building was a pretty nice one, eight stories high, with spacious rooms and lots of windows. Honestly, Julie wouldn't mind living in the room that they had rented. But that was another issue for another time.

"Why did your room have to be on the fourth floor?" Dean complained as they carried the boxes up four flights of stairs.

"_Our_ room," Julie corrected him wryly.

"It was your idea, so it is _your_ room," he grumbled. But before he could go on complaining much longer, they finally reached their room. The door was still propped open from their last trip up here.

The apartment had a living area with a couch and a coffee table and a TV already set up, a bedroom with a bed and dresser, a kitchen already full of all necessary appliances, and a bathroom. Dean and Julie were now just bringing up clothes and other basic necessities into the room.

Dean had already gone into the room, and Julie was about to do the same, when she heard a door open. She looked up to see a young man of about thirty stepping out of the apartment three doors down the hall. He was tall and thin, about Dean's height, with nerdy glasses and curly brown hair. He had the sort of plain, ordinary face that disappeared in a crowd, and that you couldn't remember unless you were looking at it. He noticed Julie and gave her a wide smile.

"Hi," he said, walking over. "I assume you're moving in?" he guessed, gesturing towards the large box in her arms.

"It would appear that way," she smiled.

"Cool. I'm Fred, by the way," he said politely.

"Nice to meet you, Fred. I'm Julie," she replied warmly. He seemed pretty sweet, and she couldn't help but smile at him.

"Nice to meet you too. Did you just move into town or what?"

"Yeah, I moved here with my boyfriend a couple days ago, yeah," she explained, reciting the well-rehearsed lie.

"Your boyfriend?" Fred asked, curious.

At that exact moment, Dean stuck his head around the door and asked, "Jules, you coming or not?"

"Fred, meet my boyfriend, Dean," Julie said, grabbing Dean's arm and pulling all of her boyfriend into Fred's line of sight.

"Hi, Dean," Fred said with a smile. "I'm Fred, yeah. I live three rooms down."

"Awesome," Dean said stiffly. "Nice to meet you, Fred. Julie, I'm going to go get the rest of the stuff."

"Okay," Julie said, but he was already headed back down four flights of stairs, grumbling about how the elevator wasn't working.

"He seems…nice," Fred said, clearly not really meaning what he said.

Julie just laughed though, not offended in the slightest. "Don't worry. He's a good guy. He's just moody right now. Didn't want to move, and he's probably irritated that I'm talking instead of helping him."

"Well, I wouldn't want to keep you from your work, or cause him to be upset with you," Fred said guiltily.

"No, don't worry about it," Julie said lightly. "He'll live. I actually, uh…I had a question I wanted to ask someone in the building."

"What's up?" he asked kindly.

"I, uh…actually, you know, it's stupid," Julie said shyly.

"You can ask me!" Fred said earnestly.

"Well, it's just…Dean says it's stupid…" she mumbled.

"I'm sure it's not," he said kindly.

"Well…after we'd already rented the apartment and we couldn't get the money back, I read online that women have been disappearing from this building and getting killed," Julie said in an embarrassed and scared whisper.

"Oh, that," Fred said shortly.

"Did you…did you know any of them?" she asked him.

"Not really," he shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know a lot of the people who live around here. But I wouldn't mind getting to know you, though," he added with a little smile towards her. "You seem pretty nice."

"You do, too," Julie beamed. "I'm glad there's some nice people around here."

"Don't worry about all of those disappearances," Fred said kindly. "The police arrested a guy a week ago who they think was guilty." Internally, Julie kicked herself for not finding that out in her research. "Besides, it's been a while since anybody went missing. I'm sure that it's all over."

"I sure hope so."

When Dean finally returned with the last box, he was irritated to find Julie still talking to that Fred guy. He cleared his throat as he stomped past her with the box, and when she turned to look at him, he gave her a pointed look. Julie sighed and quickly said goodbye to Fred, promising to speak to him more later, before following Dean into their new apartment and closing the door.

"What is your problem, Dean?" Julie hissed.

"My problem is you're suicidal!" Dean snapped back, setting the box down so he could turn to face her.

"Well, I'm already dying," she shrugged with a smirk. One look at Dean's expression made her regret that, though. "Sorry," she said meekly. "Not funny."

"Not even a little," he said coldly.

"Look, Dean, there's nothing to worry about. I can handle a ghost. And besides, Sam and Ian are going to go torch the bones tonight, and hopefully this should all be over. I'll just wait here a few days, and if no ghost tries to nab me, we know it worked."

"What if he doesn't go after you, and I wasted three month's worth of rent for nothing?" Dean snapped.

"Then I'll help you hustle a few more morons in pool," Julie sighed, stepping closer to Dean and smiling at him. She reached out and took his hand, pulling it gently towards her. Dean's hand was limp in hers, but the fact that he didn't pull away meant that he wasn't really as upset with her as he was pretending to be.

"Money isn't really your issue, is it?" Julie asked him softly, twisting one of the cords around his wrist with the hand that wasn't intertwined with his.

"You know what the real issue is," Dean said coldly, pulling his hand away.

"Here we go," she sighed, crossing her arms and getting ready for the coming storm.

"What do you want me to do, Jules?" Dean cried, throwing his hands in the air. "My pretty, young, blond girlfriend finds out a serial killer ghost is kidnapping and murdering pretty young, blond women from an apartment building and what does she do? She decides to move into the apartment building!"

"Sam and Ian talked to several witnesses, and they said every one of those women was taken within the first week of moving in," Julie explained flatly. "Now, we need to make sure that salt-and-burning those bones works. So do you want to wait until another young, blond woman comes along and gets murdered, or do you want to let me be bait since I can take care of myself?"

Dean stared at her steadily. He didn't want either of those things. Why couldn't he be bait? Why weren't serial killer ghosts ever into thirty-something-year-old white men? Why was it always pretty young women?

Actually, he had a pretty good idea why. And the thought of some serial killer, ghost or not, getting his hands on Julie and doing God knows what to her made him positively murderous.

"You know, I bet if we put a blond wig on Sam, he could be bait," Dean finally said, and Julie smiled at him, relieved that he was giving up that fight.

"Something tells me he wouldn't be quite as convincing as me," she smirked. Then she sobered and said gently, "Besides, we've got nothing to worry about. I can handle a ghost, easy, and I've got you insisting on staying here and protecting me, even though the ghost may not even attack me if I'm not single, therefore defeating the purpose of me being bait."

"One of the girls who went missing was married," Dean pointed out. "He seems to have no problem with that."

"True," Julie admitted.

For a moment, they were silent. Then Dean asked slowly, "So…what do we do know?"

"We want to look like a couple that's moving in, right?" Julie said, a twinkle in her eye. "So…let's move in."

* * *

Sam was still laughing as he got off the phone with his brother. Ian, who was driving the Impala (to Dean's dismay), turned his head a little to smirk at Sam. "How are those two doing?"

"Dean's absolutely miserable," Sam explained. "They spent all day unpacking and moving in. And he's incredibly on edge, considering any second a ghost could pop in and try to kidnap his girlfriend."

"Yeah, it was pretty brave of Julie to volunteer to be bait like that," Ian admitted. "Not that I was surprised. Julie's always been incredibly brave."

"You have no idea," Sam said, almost to himself, thinking of the kind of courage it would take to sell your soul to the very demon that tortured you in hell for ten years, knowing exactly what was coming for you.

"And Dean definitely did not want her doing it, either," Ian added with a chuckle.

"Honestly, Dean would rather slap on a blond wig and dress in drag than let Julie do this, and that's saying something, since my brother is about as macho as it gets," Sam smirked. "I'm not huge on her doing this either, but I know Julie. She's strong, and tough, and any ghost stupid enough to come after her is going down hard. And besides, she's got Dean watching over her non-stop."

"They'll be okay," Ian said confidently. "Especially after we torch this guy's bones."

"It's mostly just an extra precaution," Sam admitted. "To make sure we didn't miss something."

"It's a good plan," Ian agreed. "But your brother was not excited about putting up three months' rent."

Sam chuckled. He really liked this Ian guy. Ian was a scary-looking guy, but very kind and intelligent and witty and incredible genuine once you got to know him. He and Sam had hit it off almost instantly, and Sam was grateful. As much as he loved Julie, it was nice to have be making another guy friend. Sure, he had Cas, but the angel would always be Dean's best friend, and then Sam's. Sam totally respected that, but he was grateful to have the possibility of a close guy friendship that was all his.

For a while, the two of them drove and chatted for a while, talking about their experiences with Julie, past hunts, and how Chel and baby Lily must be doing, until finally they arrived at the cemetery. Both hunters were old pros at the usual salt-and-burn routine, and they quickly got out their shovels and bags of salt and lighter fluid and found the grave.

It was a little before midnight, and the cemetery was abandoned. With two strong, experienced men digging, it wasn't long before the coffin of the dead serial killer had been dug up and opened. Trying not to be grossed out, because even after all these years, corpses were still disgusting, Sam poured lighter fluid on the remains while Ian poured salt. When they were finally done, Ian pulled out his lighter and lit it, staring at the flame for a moment.

"Here's hoping this stops the bastard," he said flatly, and he dropped it, setting the corpse ablaze.

Sam watched the flames devour the serial killer's remains, thinking of his pretty, blond best friend sitting in a danger zone at this very moment. The thought scared him, even though he knew just how strong and dangerous Julie was. She was fully capable of defending herself, but he hoped that this was enough, and that she wouldn't have to.

The two hunters quickly covered up what they had done, packing up their supplies and refilling the grave with the quick, calm motions of people who had done this way too often. Then, when it was impossible to tell that anything strange had ever happened here, Ian said, "Well, we should probably head back and tell them the good news." Without another word, the two of them returned to the car and headed back into town.

But there was some part of Sam that he couldn't quite shake that told him that the job was far from over.

* * *

Dean didn't know how long he'd been sitting on the chair, watching Julie sleep, a shotgun full of salt rounds in his lap. A very large part of him wanted to be in bed with her, but it was more important to be alert and ready to protect her than to be lying next to her, arms wrapped around her, feeling her soft, warm skin against his, letting her kiss every inch of him…

Why wasn't he in bed with her again?

Dean shook his head. It was alarming how little ability he had to resist Julie, even when she wasn't even conscious. That was part of the problem. She looked so peaceful there, tucked into the sheets, her blond curls in wild disarray on her pillow, that he wanted to be there with her, sharing that peace. But he knew the truth, that if he risked crawling into bed and falling asleep, he could wake up to find her gone, taken by a serial killer ghost, or maybe even something worse.

Suddenly, Dean realized that Julie didn't look peaceful anymore. Her brow was furrowed, and her lips were twitching a little, as if she were speaking, but no sound came out. As he watched, she began to kick a little bit, her hands grabbing fistfuls of her sheets. Alarmed, Dean stood up, abandoning his shotgun, and walked over to the bed, just as Julie finally began to speak. She was sobbing and begging, pleading for someone to stop. It took a moment for him to really understand what she was saying.

"Stop. No, please! Don't hurt him, please. Please!"

It wasn't hard to guess who was being hurt in her nightmare. Dean sat on the edge of the bed and gripped Julie's shoulders gently but firmly. "Julie, sweetheart, whatever you think is happening, it's just a dream. I'm right here. You're okay, Jules, you're okay."

To his surprise, his soothing words weren't enough. "Dean…" she moaned, and for a moment, he thought she was awake. But then she was sobbing, "No, please, not him! Take me, not him! Not-"

"Jules!" Dean said, harsher and louder than he had meant to. But it worked. Julie jolted straight up in bed, chest heaving, eyes wild. Dean stayed still, watching her sadly, as her eyes came into focus and she saw him there, healthy and whole.

"Hey," he said softly, when she just stared at him. Gently, he reached out and brushed a hand through her hair. "You're okay, Jules," he whispered.

She never said anything. There wasn't really anything to say. She just wrapped her skinny, trembling arms around him and burrowed her head into his neck. He too wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in his solid warmth and trying to banish whatever dark nightmare was still clinging to her mind.

She broke his heart. Dean could remember when Julie had nothing but good dreams, when she was always the one who soothed him after nightmares, the one who woke up with a smile on her face. But now she was fragile and damn near broken, constantly plagued by horrific nightmares and memories of hell.

And whose fault was that?

Dean was so focused on his own self-deprecating thoughts and on soothing Julie that he didn't hear someone picking the lock. He didn't hear the door open, or the footsteps padding towards their room. He did hear the bedroom door open, though, and he looked up just in time to see the glint of a gun pointed at him out of the darkness.

He didn't hear the gun go off, but he felt something pierce the skin of his neck. He thought he heard Julie cry out, but the next thing he knew, everything went black.

* * *

Julie was really starting to get tired of waking up tied to a chair. It happened far too often in her life.

She was more concerned by the fact that she woke up tied to a chair in her pajamas. She got hot while she slept, so she wore a tank top and cotton shorts to bed most nights. Unfortunately, that wasn't the most modest clothing to be wearing when some phycho killer ghost had you tied up and planned on doing God knows what to you.

But most concerning was the man tied to a chair a few feet away from her.

"Dean!" Julie cried in horror when she saw her unconscious boyfriend bound like her. Immediately she regretted it, realizing that her voice could call the ghost to them. But mostly she was just worried about him. Dean didn't stir at the sound of her voice, but he wasn't dead. His chest was moving slightly as he breathed in and out, and he looked unharmed, thankfully. But who knew how long that would last…

Julie waited silently, looking around the room they were in. It was clearly a barn, and one that hadn't been used in a long time, with wooden walls and rotting wooden rafters. The two of them were tied to chairs sitting on packed dirt floor, but other than the chairs and a few tables with horrifying knives on them, the barn was empty. She saw no sign of anyone, and when the barn was silent for thirty seconds after she called out Dean's name, she decided to risk trying again.

She leaned forward as far as her bonds would allow and whispered, "Dean? Dean, honey, can you hear me?"

He was just as silent and unresponsive as before. Panic began to build in Julie. What if there was something wrong with him, something she couldn't see?

"Dean?! Dean! I need you to wake up, honey, I need to know you're okay. _Dean_!" Julie cried, her voice growing louder and more scared with every word.

But Dean was still out cold. Unfortunately for Julie, the ghost? Not so much.

Her head turned when she heard the barn door creak open, and she realized a moment too late that she should pretend to be asleep and maybe get left alone.

Instead, she watched, wide-eyed, as her captor stepped into the barn. He was tall and slender, wearing jeans and a dark sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over his head so she couldn't make out his face. Something was wrong, though. He was taller and thinner than the pictures of the dead serial killer she had seen. And his black sweatshirt was a pretty modern style, which seemed odd for a ghost from thirty years ago.

Julie watched warily as he closed the door behind him and walked towards his two victims. She couldn't see his face, but she could tell from the way he was facing that he was focused on Dean, and that made a protective rage fill her.

"Hey!" she barked sharply, and he tore his eyes away from her unconscious boyfriend and focused on her. "What the hell, man?" she snapped. "I was _sleeping_, and then you just decide to barge in and kidnap me and my boyfriend?"

"Well, you're a lot calmer than the others," he said, sounding amused, but his voice chilled Julie to the bone.

"…Fred?" she asked slowly in disbelief, unwilling to believe that it was really her nice new neighbor. But her captor just chuckled and pulled back his hood to reveal that easily forgettable face.

"You remembered," he said, and there was something hard and dangerous in his voice that hadn't been there during their pleasant conversation earlier.

"Are you possessed?" Julie asked after a long moment of studying this plot twist.

"What?" Fred snapped, bewildered.

"Are you being possessed by that dead serial killer? Because if you are, fight him, Fred," Julie said desperately. "I can help you, I can get rid of him, and this can all be over."

"And they call _me _crazy!" Fred laughed. "No, I'm not possessed by some dead serial killer!"

"Man, I really wish you hadn't said that," she said softly, realizing with horror what was really happening. In their horrible line of work, it was easy to assume that anyone who would kidnap, torture, and kill innocent young women was a monster. But sometimes, it wasn't a monster at all, or at least not in their usual sense.

Fred was watching her, a dark, curious, almost inhuman gleam in his eye. It wasn't like he was seeing an actual person tied to a chair in front of him, but a _thing_. And the fact that an actual human thought like that was more chilling to Julie than being at the mercy of a demon or monster.

"You're not scared," he mused. "Normally they're crying and begging me to let them go right now."

"Well, I would very much appreciate it if you let us go," Julie said coldly. "But somehow, I doubt that's going to happen since you broke into my apartment and shot me and my boyfriend with knockout darts."

"You're sharp," he observed, smiling at her in a way that was just wrong.

"Well, I did watch you shoot him in the neck," Julie pointed out, jerking her head towards her still-unconscious boyfriend.

"Ah, right," Fred shrugged. "Sorry about that. I hadn't planned on taking him, but he was in the way. And then, once I had him, I thought, 'Hey, I've never had a guy before. Might be fun to try.'"

Julie glared at him. "You're sick," she spat at him, even though it was probably stupid to be angering the psychopath that had her held prisoner. "And if you think you're doing to us what you did to those poor girls, you're also stupid."

"How will you stop me?" Fred pointed out, and she had no real answer. At least, not one that he would believe. But she did send up a quick prayer to Castiel and hoped that he would appear and smite this man before he hurt her, or worse, before he hurt Dean.

Fred was distracted again, walking slowly towards Dean with an unnerving gleam in his eyes. "I didn't like him much, when I met him," the seemingly-charming, nice man said slowly. "He was rude to me in the hallway."

"He was probably just jealous that I was talking to another guy," Julie said quickly, hoping to get his focus off of Dean and back on her before he got any ideas.

He just snorted. "Yeah, right. Handsome guy like him wouldn't be jealous of me. Probably didn't even notice me."

Julie didn't know what the right thing to say to that was, so she kept her mouth shut.

Thankfully, Fred turned to face her, forgetting about Dean. "I was surprised _you_ noticed me," he said, now advancing towards her. "Most people see right through me. That's okay, though. It means they never see it coming."

"You seemed like a nice guy, Fred," she said carefully, her heart beating faster with every step he took towards her. "And I still think you are. You don't have to do this, you know. Just let me go, and I'll help you."

"I don't need help," Fred said calmly. "Really, I'm fine. If you want to worry about someone, you should worry about yourself."

Julie's eyes widened as he reached into his sweatshirt pocket and pulled out a small, sharp blade. She pulled at the ropes binding her wrists, but it was hopeless. The knots were tight and secure. He must have had plenty of practice tying helpless young women to chairs…

Julie tried her best to keep her breaths even as Fred leaned down towards her, now far too close to her. She barely managed to keep her lips from trembling as the tip of his blade trailed across her cheek, but she was proud that she was able to keep her gaze steady as she glared at him.

"You're so pretty," Fred whispered, and there was something in his voice that she definitely did not like. He dug his knife into her skin a little bit, just enough to make a shallow, but long cut along her cheekbone. He watched with a sick sort of fascination as blood dripped silently down her cheek. He caught a drop of blood with her fingers and stared at it.

Julie squeezed her eyes shut and prayed with all her might for Cas to come and save her.

Then Fred's knife was back, digging into the soft skin under her chin and lifting her head so she had to stare at him. "So pretty…" he whispered again, digging the tip of his knife into her neck and slowly trailing it lower and lower, towards her breasts, leaving a trail of blood behind it.

She was in serious trouble. Cas wasn't coming, Dean wasn't waking up, and she couldn't get free. She had to stop things now, or at least distract him, before things got a whole lot worse.

"And you're right," Julie said suddenly, her voice cold. "I didn't pay you any attention when we met. I was just being nice to you. I didn't care about you at all."

Fred's face twisted in rage, and he hit her hard across the face. Julie shook her head a little to recover, and then lifted her head to glare at him. "Stupid bitch," he spat at her.

"So this is what you do, huh? You kidnap pretty girls and cut them up and do whatever you want to them because you know in real life they'd never give you the time of day?" Julie continued, realizing that she probably was being stupid.

"Shut up," Fred said, his breaths ragged and eyes wild.

"You know what? You're pathetic. This is probably the only way you can even get girls, by kidnapping them and tying them up and forcing them to spend time with you," Julie laughed. "And in the end, you have to kill them, because they'd rather die than be with you-"

The hilt of his knife came crashing down on her head, knocking her out cold. Julie's last thought before she lost consciousness was one of fear and regret. Because what if she was wrong? What if he didn't care whether she was conscious or not, and he just kept torturing and doing other, even worse things to her?

What if she had just made everything worse?

* * *

"Sam, you've got to calm down!" Ian said as calmly as he could, although he himself was struggling not to panic.

His friend just kept right on pacing around the room, his eyes panicked. "Ian, do you not understand what's happening?!" Sam cried. "Some psycho killer ghost has ahold of my best friend _and _my brother, and you want me to _calm down_?!"

"You can't help them while you're panicking," Ian pointed out.

"I can't help them!" Sam yelled angrily. "I've already prayed to Cas, and he won't answer. For all I know, he's in trouble, too! But Dean and Julie are trapped somewhere with some serial killer ghost that tortures and murders blond women, and apparently has no problem taking guys either, and for all I know, they're already dead!"

"You can't think like that," Ian said wisely. "Sam, unless you calm down, we won't have any hope of finding them, and then you might as well say goodbye to them forever."

Sam finally stopped pacing around Dean and Julie's new and abandoned apartment to glare at Ian. "Sorry," Ian said softly. "That was uncalled for."

Sam shook his head. "No…no, you're right," he admitted quietly. "I can't find them if I'm having a panic attack."

"Right," Ian said carefully. "Now, we've just got to think. This ghost, he can't have had them for long; you talked to Dean on the phone right before we torched his bones."

"Which clearly didn't work," Sam grumbled.

"You're right, and we'll have to figure that out. Sam, you're a smart guy, and a good hunter. You've got a better chance of figuring out where the ghost might keep his victims than I would. So I need you to help me to find them."

To his surprise, Sam finally did stop pacing. Slowly he managed to get his breathing at a steadier pace, and a bit of the wild panic left his eyes.

"You're right," Sam admitted softly. "I'm not going to help them by losing it."

"Right," Ian sighed, relieved. "Now, look. They can't have been gone more than seven hours, and I highly doubt they're dead. Serial killers tend to like to play with their food." One look at Sam's dark expression, and he regretted that last comment. "Sorry. Look, they're probably fine. They're tough, and they'll manage to stay alive until we can find them. But that _does _require us being able to find them."

"I'll get to work on that," Sam said firmly. "I'll figure out where the police found and shot him. It's very possible he's got something personal tying him to there and that's why we couldn't kill him."

"Great idea," Ian said encouragingly. "You work on that."

"What are you going to do?" Sam frowned.

Ian sighed and ran a hand over his buzzed-short hair. "I…I am going to go tell my wife that I managed to lose her old best friend."

* * *

Dean woke up cold, sore, tied to a chair, and pissed.

It was freezing in this musty old barn. His muscles were stiff enough that he must have been tied up in here for a while now. As worrisome as that was, as Dean looked around, he realized that was the least of his problems. There was a table nearby lined with dangerously sharp weapons surely intended to be used on him. But he barely even noticed that.

Because she was here, too.

He hadn't exactly been calm before, but when he saw his girlfriend tied to a chair in a dark, creepy barn in a skimpy tank top and shorts, that made his heartbeat double. He gasped, and started to struggle wildly against the ropes tying his wrists and ankles to the chair. Both the chair and the knots were incredibly solid, though, and he was completely trapped and unable to reach her.

"Julie?" Dean hissed desperately, leaning forward towards her as far as his bonds would allow. "Jules, can you hear me? Honey, I need to know you're okay. Julie? Ju-?"

Dean's soft questions cut off abruptly when he noticed something red dripping down onto Julie's tank top. Blood.

He finally took in the large bruise coloring the side of her face, the long, thin cut across her other cheek, and the longer, deeper cut down her neck and chest. His vision slowly turned red, and it took every ounce of self-control he had to keep his breathing steady. He wanted…no, he _needed_ to murder something.

For a moment, Dean was scared. He had often felt this way over the past couple of years, when he was influenced by the Mark of Cain or his demonic side. But now he was free of both, and completely human, which meant that he was easily capable of that murderous kind of rage all on his own…

Dean finally looked away from the blood slowly dripping down Julie's cheek when the barn door opened. "I thought I heard something," the man who had entered remarked brightly. He was tall and thin, with a plain face and nerdy glasses, and it took Dean a long time to recognize him as their new neighbor, Fred.

"You had better be here to rescue us," Dean snarled at the young man.

"Not exactly," Fred smirked.

"Because if you were the one to hurt her, you just signed your own death warrant, pal," Dean finished darkly. "And you might think that's just a threat, but believe me, I _will _get free, and I _will _kill you."

Fred calmly walked over to the table and took his time selecting a large, sharp, butcher's knife. Then he turned to Dean and smiled nastily. "Well, to answer your question, _pal_, I did do that to your girlfriend. And I plan on doing a whole lot more."

Dean tried to lunge towards the man who had dared to hurt his Julie, but his bonds pulled him back. Fred just laughed and began to advance towards Dean, turning the knife over in his hands. Dean felt a little thrill of fear go through him when he saw the cruel, gleeful look in Fred's eyes. It was odd, but humans scared him a hell of a lot more than any demons.

"You know, I've never had anyone like you two before," Fred commented calmly, as if this was just a normal conversation. "Your girl, Julie, she wasn't very scared of me. I kind of miss that. The others, they were so scared, and the fear in their eyes…it gave you this kind of _power_, you know?"

Dean wanted to snarl that he didn't, but the problem was…he did. Try as he might, he could never forget those memories of ten years in hell, apprenticed under Alastair, learning the ins and outs of torture. And as he cut up poor, damned souls, there was a part of him that was just so glad to not be in their shoes that it kind of enjoyed the rush of power that complete control gave you.

That was the part of him that had been in control when he was a demon. But he wasn't a demon anymore. And there was no way he was ever going to agree with this psycho.

Suddenly, the tip of Fred's knife was resting right above Dean's pounding heart. "I've never had a guy before," Fred said quietly, as if he was sharing a secret. "And you seem pretty tough…Dean, isn't it? My guess is it's going to take a while to get you to scream."

Dean decided right then and there he was never going to scream, no matter what this sick bastard did to him.

Fred leaned in closer to him, and Dean suppressed a shudder at the man's expression. It reminded him so much of Alastair's in this moment, although he looked nowhere near as excited to cut into Dean as that demon had been. Still, he was well on his way to getting there…

"I miss the screams, though," Fred admitted in a whisper. "They were kind of the best part."

And without another word, he dug his blade into Dean's skin.


	72. Chapter 72

**Chapter Seventy-Two**

The next time that Julie woke up, sunlight was seeping through the cracks in between the door and the walls of the barn. And more importantly, Dean was awake.

"Dean," Julie gasped, seeing his green eyes open and staring at her. "Dean, oh, God, you're okay, oh, I was so worried-"

"Easy, Jules," he said quickly, cutting her off. "I'm okay. It's okay."

But she could clearly see that he wasn't. She wasn't blind. His jacket had been stripped off of him and tossed somewhere, so he was just in a button-down red flannel over a black t-shirt. The sleeves of his flannel shirt were rolled up, so that she could see the shallow cuts crisscrossing his forearms. They weren't deep enough for him to be in danger of bleeding out, but there were cuts in his skin, and that was unforgivable. He had also clearly been hit in the right eye, and was sporting a lovely shiner. They were a couple shallow cuts on his face, and another couple bruises from being hit in the face. Julie decided to focus on his split lip, probably the least of his injuries, so she wasn't completely overcome with rage.

"He did this to you, didn't he?" she asked softly. "Fred."

Before Dean could reply, her eyes widened. "Oh, Dean! He's not a ghost. The serial killer, he's human, it's-"

"Our lovely next door neighbor, yeah, I know," Dean grumbled. "I had the pleasure of meeting him."

"I'll kill him," Julie vowed quietly. "He's going to pay for hurting you."

Dean smiled a sad, twisted sort of smile. "Look at us. I was just thinking the same thing about you."

Julie glanced down at the cut running down her neck. "This? This is nothing! It's almost quit bleeding. No offense, or anything, but you're in a lot worse shape than I am."

"Well, you were probably smarter than me and didn't try to piss the guy off," he pointed out dryly. "And now he has this obsession with trying to get me to scream, which isn't happening, but it means I'm going to have to deal with a whole lot of this crap. He only quit whaling on me because he had to go to work."

Julie shook her head. "Wow. That's right. He's an actual person, with a job and friends and a family."

"Crazy, isn't it?" Dean sighed.

"He seemed so nice and charming when we met," she said softly. "I would have died to protect him from a killer ghost, but all along, it's been him killing those poor women."

"And us, unless we find a way out of here," Dean pointed out darkly.

"Sam's out there, looking for us," his girlfriend pointed out wisely. "And I've prayed to Cas half a dozen times. Eventually, he'll show up and save us."

"Let's just hope we make it that long," he muttered darkly, and Julie had to agree, their chances weren't looking so great.

* * *

Sam sighed and loosened his tie as he walked away from the police station. He had never been a huge fan of having to dress up in a suit and tie every time he wanted to impersonate a fed, but not having his brother around took any fun that still remained out of it. Besides, the suit and tie were chafing him even more as his panic only grew.

The police knew nothing, as usual. He and Ian had already investigated the basement of a now-abandoned home where the dead serial killer had murdered his victims, but they had found nothing even remotely helpful. So Sam had gone to the police and acted as an FBI agent to see if they knew anything about the old case that might be connected to these new murders. But they were as lost as him, and the case wasn't nearly as personal for them.

Sam sat behind the wheel of the Impala for a long moment, staring blindly at the windshield, before pulling out his phone and dialing Ian's number. His friend answered on the third ring.

"I've got nothing, Sam, so please tell me you do," Ian said shortly.

"The police knew just as much as we expected them to," he replied irritably. "Which is nothing."

"So…nothing. We've got nothing."

The defeat in Ian's voice angered Sam for some reason. They weren't giving up! Dean and Julie were in trouble, and they weren't going to rest until those two were safe.

"Cas might still show up," Sam pointed out. "And if necessary, I'll call Crowley and get him to do a locator spell for us."

"Crowley?" Ian frowned. "Who is that? A warlock?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Sam grumbled. "What about Chel? How's she handling all this?"

"She's about ready to abandon our baby and drive over here and find them herself," Ian sighed. "She feels incredibly guilty because she dragged you guys into this in the first place."

"Well, hopefully when we find them, they'll be fine, and she'll have nothing to feel guilty about," Sam said shortly, refusing to imagine this situation turning out any other way.

"You're right," Ian said, and it was clear he was just trying to please Sam. "Of course you're right. Everything's going to be okay, Sam."

Sam had nothing to say, so he hung up.

He still hadn't moved the Impala. He sat there for a long moment, contemplating what his next move should be. He could do more research, or continue praying to an angel who couldn't hear him. Or…he could do what he should have done hours ago, but was ashamed to do.

Sam sighed aloud and dialed the dreaded phone number.

He was surprised by how long the phone rang. That demon loved to gloat whenever Sam had to call him, and he was normally eager to rub it in Sam's face. But Sam's phone just kept ringing and ringing until.

It went to voicemail. Crowley let Sam's call go to voicemail.

Now Sam was pissed. That demon had the nerve not to pick up when he called! Humiliated, Sam left a short, curt voicemail: "Crowley, pick up the damn phone. Dean and Julie are missing, probably being tortured to death somewhere, and I need a spell to find them. Call me back the moment you get this and help me get them back or so help me God I will hunt you down and kill you myself."

Frustrated and out of options, Sam ended the voicemail and drove back to Dean and Julie's apartment to look for a way to find them that just didn't exist.

* * *

The next time Julie woke up, she smelled something burning. It took her a moment, but then she came to the horrible realization that some_one_ was burning.

Her eyes flew open, and she found herself staring at Fred's back. He was standing over Dean, and suddenly the man moved slightly and she could Dean, teeth gritted, veins sticking out of his neck, as he used every ounce of willpower he possessed not to cry out in pain.

It took her a moment to realize why. And then she saw the red-hot poker that Fred was sticking into his shoulder, and everything made sense.

"Don't _touch _him!" Julie shrieked, horrified, lunging forward only to get pulled back by the ropes tying her to the chair.

Fred turned to look at Julie, but the poker was still burning into Dean's skin. "Oh, you're awake!" he said brightly.

"Bastard!" Julie screamed. "Stop hurting him!"

"Oh, this? This is nothing," Fred shrugged. "Isn't it, Dean? I mean, he won't scream, so obviously it must not hurt him that-"

"Stop hurting him right now or I swear to God I will kill you myself, and it'll be ten times more painful than anything you could think up," Julie spat, her eyes cold and dead serious. At first, when saw Dean being tortured, she had been horrified and concerned and desperate to make it stop. But now she was just angry. Angry and vengeful.

To her surprise, Fred pulled the poker away from Dean's skin, and he relaxed ever-so-slightly, although he was clearly still in agony. Dean's green eyes met Julie, and he didn't even bother trying to hide the pain in them. He looked much worse than the last time she had seen him. He had looked bad, then, but nothing like the blood-stained, burn-covered man before her. He had still been able to talk with her and force a smile, and they had talked for two or three hours before she had drifted off to sleep.

If only she hadn't fallen asleep. Then maybe Fred would at least be hurting her and not him.

"You're funny," Fred smirked. "How are you going to hurt me when you're tied up?"

"Don't underestimate me," Julie warned him.

Fred did not look impressed though. "You're just a girl. Just like all the others. You're just scared and helpless, and there's nothing you can do to me. And tough guy over there, he may act all strong, but he can't do anything to me, either. I'm invincible."

There was a terrifying glint in Fred's eyes. He truly believed what he was saying. And he probably thought there was nothing wrong with his actions. Somewhere in Julie, there was a wise, compassionate woman who looked at this man and knew that he was sick, and that he desperately needed help. But right now, another part of her was winning, the part that would sell its soul to save the man sitting a few feet away from her. And this sick bastard had dared to lay a hand on that man, and now he was going to die, sane or not.

"No one's invincible," was all Julie said, although she had about a hundred more things she wanted to say to him.

"_I_ am," Fred said calmly, just stating facts. He set his hot poker down on the table and picked up a large, sharp knife instead. "But you know who's not?" he asked, amused. He walked over and pressed the knife tip to Dean's neck. "Him."

"No!" Julie shrieked. "No, don't hurt him!"

"So I figured out how to get _her _to scream," Fred said calmly to Dean. "I just hurt you. I wonder what happens if I hurt her then. Will that finally get you to scream?"

Dean just glared silently at him. "Yes," Julie choked out. "If you hurt me, that will hurt him more than anything you could do to him."

Fred started to smile and pulled the knife away from Dean's neck. Julie relaxed visibly, even though the serial killer was now coming towards her with a knife. Dean, on the other hand, strained against his bonds, although it only made his various cuts bleed more when he struggled.

Fred dug the tip of his knife into Julie's left arm and slowly began to cut through her skin towards her wrist. Julie gritted her teeth to keep from screaming, but she was oddly grateful. She would much rather he hurt her than Dean.

"No," Dean choked out. "No, stop! Don't hurt her! Please!" His voice grew more and more panicked as the cut grew deeper and longer.

"You were right," Fred smirked at Julie, his knife tip now at her wrist.

"Yep," she said in a remarkably calm voice, and then in one swift motion, she jerked the chair back, and his knife sliced right through the ropes binding her left hand to the arm of the chair.

For the fact that her arm was sliced open and was bleeding heavily, Julie moved remarkably quickly. Without hesitation, she grabbed the knife and ripped it out of a stunned Fred's hand, ignoring how it sliced a deep gash in her palm when she grabbed it by the blade. Ignoring the pain and the blood, Julie sliced through the ropes on her right hand and took the knife in her unharmed hand.

Fred had finally recovered, and he lunged towards her, trying to wrestle the knife out of her grip. But Julie was fast and deadly and beyond pissed, and she sliced his arm wide open. Fred staggered away, gripping his bleeding arm, and Julie quickly cut her legs free, stood up, and elbowed him in the nose, hard. The serial killer went crashing to the ground, stunned, and she abandoned him for someone much more important.

Dean was staring at her, wide-eyed. "Your arm…" he protested, staring at her severely wounded left arm.

"Honey, trust me, you look a lot worse," Julie replied calmly, ignoring the pain and blood loss as she worked on cutting Dean free. She had cut one of his hands free and was working on the other when Dean yelled, "Jules!"

Without thinking, Julie whirled around and swung her knife in a perfect arc. It was like she had already known where he was going to be, because she slit Fred's throat easily, without batting an eye.

The man collapsed, dead, his blood making a slowly growing pool at Julie's feet. She had killed him so calmly, but now that Julie saw what she had done, her hands began to tremble, and her breathing sped up.

"Oh my God…" she whispered, horrified.

"Julie? Julie, listen to me," Dean said softly behind her. "Jules, don't look at that. Hey, turn around. Look at me, okay? Look at me." Slowly, Julie obeyed and turned to face Dean, pale and shocked. She was going into shock, which was very dangerous, considering she was already losing a lot of blood. Dean struggled to stay calm himself as he said, "Okay, Jules, I need you to finish cutting me free so we can get out of here and get help. Okay? Honey, can you do that for me?"

Julie nodded slowly and obeyed, cutting his other wrist free, and then his ankles. Dean stood shakily, realizing he probably hadn't stood in over a day. He himself was losing a lot of blood from various cuts all over his body, and he felt like he could pass out any second. But they had to get out of here.

His girlfriend was clearly going into shock, and he knew why. She had just killed a human. Sure, he was a serial killer with plans to kill her and her boyfriend, but that wouldn't matter to Julie. She had just killed an actual person, and as far as Dean knew, she had never killed anyone who wasn't being possessed. For a sweet, caring person like Julie that was a horrible thing to do. But right now they had bigger problems. Like the fact that they were both bleeding out in a barn in the middle of nowhere.

Dean gently took Julie's face in his hands, trying to ignore the blood on her face and his hands. "Julie, I need you to focus on me. Can you do that? On me, not him. Okay?"

"Okay," she whispered.

"Good." He mustered a weak smile, trying to ignore how that made his bloody, battered face hurt. "Now, we've got to slow our bleeding, and then we've got to find a phone or a hospital or something because-" Dean stopped himself, realizing that telling his shell-shocked girlfriend that they were dying was probably a horrible idea.

To his surprise, Julie lifted her unwounded hand and trailed her fingers over his arm, careful to avoid the cuts on his wrists. Fred had sliced open his wrists, and he was starting to bleed out. He didn't have much longer, and she must have realized that.

"You'll die," she said softly, and the shocked expression was disappearing, to be replaced by her composed, focused, work-mode face.

"I…yeah," Dean admitted, realizing that was the only thing that was going to get her moving right now. Him in danger.

"Sit down and take your shirt off," Julie said sharply.

"What?" Dean frowned. "Uh, Jules, now is _really _not the time-"

"I need your over shirt to make bandages, moron," Julie snapped, but her affectionate "moron" caused both of them to make the tiniest of smiles.

Dean did his best to remove his shirt without hurting his scorched shoulder or bleeding arms, and Julie made quick work of cutting it up with the knives. She tightly bandaged his wrists to slow the bleeding, and he did the same with her arm. Julie wanted to continue trying to patch up his various cuts and burns and bruises, but she was beginning to get lightheaded from blood loss, and Dean couldn't be far behind her. They needed to get moving, before they both died here anyway.

Dean got up and found his jacket in a corner. It was November, and freezing outside, and his girlfriend was in skimpy pajamas and would surely freeze to death if she went outside like that. He did his best to bundle her up in his jacket, and the two of them left the barn and set out through an empty field, looking for a highway or a payphone or anything that could save them.

He had no idea how long they staggered through the dark together. Julie was trembling and weak, and he wasn't much better himself. He had sustained more injuries than her, but the cuts in her arm were much deeper than any of his. Fred knew how to cut someone without endangering their lives, but Julie had sliced herself open to get free and save them. And if they didn't get help soon, she could end up sacrificing her life to save him. And he wasn't worth that.

Dean was cold and weak, staggering around in the dark with no hope and no jacket, but he still held out longer than Julie. She dragged herself along for as long as she could, and then she had to lean most of her weight on him just to keep staggering forward.

Thankfully, Dean's arm was around her to provide her support when her legs finally gave out and she fell to the ground. He barely managed to catch her before her head hit the ground, and he lowered her gently to the grassy ground and tried to wake her up.

"Julie, you can't give up yet," he said desperately, shaking her thin shoulders. "Honey, we're almost there, I promise. Just a little bit further, okay? You can do it, Jules. Just a little bit further, and we'll be safe, okay, sweetheart? I promise."

But it was hopeless. She was unconscious, and if he didn't get help soon, she'd be dead.

Dean wasn't quite sure how he found the strength. Maybe it was that protective strength that filled mothers when they lifted cars off of their children, or something like it. But somehow, even though Dean was only a few minutes away from passing out like Julie had, he found the strength to pick her up and carry her in his arms like one would a child. Whenever he felt like he couldn't go another step, he would just look at her deathly pale face in his arms and know that if he stopped, it wasn't just him that would die. It was her, too.

So Dean just kept staggering along until he finally reached a road. He stood by the dark, empty road, and now that he wasn't moving anymore, exhaustion finally overtook him. His knees gave out and he collapsed…just as the headlights finally appeared.

* * *

Sam had given the police his number and told them to call if anything happened or a new development occurred. It was a good thing he did, too. Because, a little after midnight, he received a call from the police chief that two people matching his description had been found unconscious by the side of the road and were now in the hospital.

He and Ian drove to the hospital, faster than he had thought possible, and then Sam spent over an hour pacing the waiting room, waiting for one of the two people he loved most in the world to come out of surgery. He prayed to Cas a dozen times at least, but the angel never swooped down and miraculously healed them. Crowley never appeared, either. When the angel and demon finally did show, Sam was pretty sure he was going to kill them.

But finally, after an agonizing hour and twelve minutes, Julie finally came out of surgery. A doctor informed him that she had only sustained a couple minor cuts, and then one deep, dangerous cut on her left arm. She had basically bled to death by the time she got to the hospital, but they just barely managed to keep her heart going and get enough blood in her system to declare her no longer in imminent danger of dying.

But Sam's big brother was still in surgery, and the doctor, a nice, middle-aged woman named Dr. Renee Keeley, had no idea what was going on with Dean.

Sam and Ian went to the room Julie had been moved to and waited for news of Dean. Ian sat by and watched sadly as Sam sat, hunched over in one of the hospital chairs, clutching Julie's good hand in his and praying silently as the minutes turned into hours. Sam hadn't prayed much in recent years, but right now, he couldn't stop. He knew Julie would be praying for the man she loved if she could, so he had to make up for her.

Finally, after a torturously long amount of time, Doctor Keeley finally returned with news of Dean. He had survived the surgery, and was now resting two rooms over. She later told Sam that his brother had been clinically dead for several seconds at one point during surgery, but they had managed to keep the man alive. But he was covered in burns, severe cuts, bruises, and was bleeding severely internally, with two cracked ribs.

Ian stayed by Julie's side, while Sam went to go visit his brother. It was horrible for Sam, seeing his brother lying there, pale and covered in stitches and bruises and bandages in a hospital gown, on a hospital bed. If it weren't for the occasional breath Dean took, Sam would think he was dead. And as Sam took in his brother's black eye, split lip, the cuts and burns on his arms, and imagined the various other wounds he couldn't even see…he vowed he was going to find and kill the thing that did this to him, if he hadn't already.

The next morning, Chel arrived. One of their babysitters had finally returned, and she had left Lily with them and sped all the way here. She cried when she saw how hurt Julie and Dean were, and again when Ian told her how close they had both come to death.

Ian and Chel both lavished apologies on Sam, but he didn't care. They hadn't known this would happen. And these two would have wanted to help anyway. He ignored everyone, nurses and doctors and even his friends and just alternated sitting in a cramped little chair by Julie's bed and Dean's bed. He'd been awake for nearly forty-eight hours, and nurses and Chel and Ian all told him to get some rest. But he couldn't. Not until he knew that the two most important people in his world were alright.

And then, finally, Julie woke up.

It was mid-morning, and Sam had been struggling not to drift off, when suddenly Julie's breaths picked up in speed. He looked over and saw that her blue eyes were open and focused on him.

Julie tried to smile at him as he gasped. "Hi, Sam," she croaked, and then started coughing.

Chel and Ian had both been dozing off, but they jolted awake when she started coughing. Sam sprang out of his chair and scrambled to grab a glass of water for Julie. She was still weak, so he helped her sit up and held the glass to her mouth so she could drink.

"Well, that was humiliating," she got out once she had drank most of the cup.

Sam grinned at her. She smiled back at him, and suddenly the two of them were laughing, Sam laughing until tears sprang to his eyes. He was just so damn relieved that she could still open her eyes.

"Thank God you're alive," he whispered, squeezing her good hand gently.

"Couldn't abandon you," she pointed out, squeezing his hand weakly in return. And then her blue eyes suddenly widened in panic. "Dean," she whispered, her voice desperate. The monitor began to beep faster as her heart rate picked up to an unhealthy speed.

"It's okay, he's okay," Sam said soothingly, patting her hand. "He's alive, he's fine. You're both fine."

"He's just a couple rooms over," Chel called softly, and Julie finally realized there were other people in the room besides Sam.

"What happened to staying home with the baby?" Julie asked her friend, smiling a little.

"Ah, somebody's watching her," Chel shrugged with a smile, although there were tears in her eyes. "Besides…I couldn't miss all the excitement."

"Julie, we're so glad you're okay," Ian said earnestly.

"Thanks, Ian," she smiled. "But no human could take me out."

The three hunters frowned, so she told the story of their capture, and their discovery that the serial killer had been Fred all along, and she even told about them being tortured until she escaped and killed him. By the time she finished her story, though, her throat was raw and she was exhausted. Sam could tell, and he convinced her to relax, assuring her that they would talk more later, and she quickly drifted off to sleep.

Three hours later, Dean woke up. Sam had dozed off in a chair next to his brother's bed, finally able to sleep now that his best friend had woken up. But he woke with a start when a familiar voice croaked, "Dude, these chairs are way too small for you."

Sam looked around, bewildered, until his eyes met his brother's green, alert eyes. Dean smiled painfully at him, ignoring his split lip, and got out, "Hey, Sammy."

"Dean," Sam choked out, grinning in relief at his brother.

"Enough about me," Dean said without missing a beat. "Jules. Where is she?"

"Two rooms over, alive and…well, alive," Sam said.

"How bad is she?" Dean sighed guiltily, like it was his fault she was hurt. In his mind, it probably was.

"Better than you," Sam smirked, but there was no humor in his eyes as he took in his battered older brother.

"Yeah, that Fred guy didn't go easy on me, huh?" A gleam of pride came into Dean's eyes. "Not that my girlfriend went too easy on him, either."

"She sounded like she felt guilty about killing him," Sam remarked, bewildered.

"Yeah, well, he was a human, and you know how she is about them. Thinks they're worth protecting or something." Dean rolled his eyes, but Sam knew Dean well enough to know that he agreed.

"But this guy might as well have been a monster. He deserved to die for what he did to you two, and those other girls."

"True. Not that Julie would see it that way, but-"

Suddenly, there was the sound of fluttering wings, and then a familiar voice cried, "Dean!"

Sam whirled around to see a panicked Castiel staring at his battered best friend as he lay on a hospital bed. "You're a bit late to the party, Cas," Dean remarked calmly.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Sam snapped as he got to his feet, a lot less forgiving than Dean.

"With Crowley," the angel replied without missing a beat, still focused on Dean.

"What?" both brothers frowned.

"We were so focused on trying to stop Beelzebub from breaking another seal," Cas said offhandedly.

"Well?" Dean snapped. "Did it work?"

"Yes," his best friend said, although he didn't seem very happy about it. "However, it meant that I wasn't here to help you when you needed me."

"It's okay, Cas," Sam said, relenting. "We're all still alive, and you slowed the rise of Lucifer. I'd say that's a good thing."

"I still wish I could have been here to help," the angel said guiltily.

"Well, you can make up for it now by healing us and getting us out of here," Dean said eagerly. "I am so ready to not feel like I'm dying anymore."

Without hesitation, the angel stepped forward and touched Dean's forehead. When he removed his hand, every sign of abuse was gone from his skin.

Dean rolled out of bed and stood on his now solid legs. He stretched and then grinned. "Great. Now let's go heal my girlfriend, get some clothes, and get the hell out of here."

* * *

"I'm making lunch for an angel," Chel said in a dazed sort of voice for about the twelfth time.

"If I were you, I'd be more worried about the other four hunters you're also feeding. Dean and I haven't eaten in days, and Sam and Ian both are starving, I'm sure. Add in Dean's bottomless stomach, and…well, let's just say, Cas is the least of your concerns."

"Yeah, but there's an angel in my living room!" her old friend exclaimed. "There's a freaking angel of the lord playing with my baby."

"Yeah, Cas loves kids," Julie said, smiling fondly as she sliced up tomatoes. They were making burgers for lunch, and pretty much everyone but Dean would want something other than meat on their burger.

"And you have a nickname for said angel," Chel said in disbelief.

"Dean's nickname," Julie explained. "And Dean's best friend. Cas and I are friends as well, but we didn't get really close until Dean died, though."

"What am I supposed to do with a sentence like that?!" Chel exclaimed, and Julie had to laugh.

She was so grateful to be back on her feet, doing normal things. Honestly, when she had collapsed, unconscious, in that field, she had thought she wouldn't be waking up ever again. She had only hoped that Dean would leave her and try to make it on his own. Of course, he would rather die than leave her, so that was a foolish hope. But somehow, they both managed to make it through that Fred mess. And then, with a little healing touch from Cas, she was back to normal.

She was trying to focus on the positives, and not on the fact that she had murdered a human. Granted, he was a mentally sick murderer who wouldn't stop hurting people, but he was human, and she had killed him. Julie hadn't talked with Dean about it yet, and she hoped they never would. No one other than him had seen how badly that had affected her. She had never killed a human before, or at least she had never killed someone who wasn't possessed. And even though her actions were justifiable, she knew that the guilt was going to stay with her for a long time.

But for now, she was going to have fun. She was having lunch with friends, and they had stopped a threat. Not only that, but Beelzebub had been stopped in breaking another seal. Today was a good day.

In the living room, Ian watched with fascination as Castiel bounced Ian's daughter on his knee, the angel being very careful not to hurt her in any way. His blue eyes were locked on the precious little girl, utterly fascinated by her, and every time she giggled, he would grin.

Sam and Dean were arguing about how they should earn back the money Dean had spent on three months' rent and how Dean shouldn't have let himself get captured in the first place. Dean was just grateful to be able to have a lighthearted conversation with his brother, when he had worried he would never Sam again.

Eventually, Chel and Julie came out of the kitchen and told them that the burgers were ready. Ian had already grilled the burgers, and now the rest of the meal was finally ready. Normally, when people talked about food, Dean was all ears, but during Chel's speech about lunch, Dean was focused only on Julie.

She looked good. Her skin was a healthy color, her hair was washed and fell her around face in golden waves, and he knew that underneath her brown sweater, her skin was smooth and whole. Honestly, he was just glad to see her up and moving and not stiff and cold.

Julie noticed Dean staring at her, and when all of the others went to sit down at the dining table, she stayed behind a moment and walked over to him. Julie stretched up on her tiptoes to kiss Dean for a brief, sweet moment, sliding her hand into his as she did so. When she pulled away, she smiled at him, and then gently tugged her along behind him to the dining table.

Sam and Dean sat on either side of Julie, with Cas on the other side of the table, across from Dean. Ian and Chel sat next to each other, and Lily sat in her own special little chair, her mother helping her eat baby food. Dean ate three or four burgers on his own, and Julie ate two burgers and a large salad. Fred hadn't exactly fed them well, and they were starving.

Conversation was good. Sam and Julie talked in their usual easy banter, and when Julie was occupied with Dean or Cas or Chel, Sam and Ian talked more. They were quickly becoming good friends themselves. Chel watched Julie talk to an angel calmly, teasing him and squeezing his hand to assure him she really was alright. She was in awe of how calm her old friend was around an angel. But Julie's life was a lot different now that Sam and Dean Winchester were in it. Angels were commonplace.

After lunch, the six of them talked for a while longer. Castiel didn't talk much with the two humans he barely knew, more concerned with making sure his friends really were alright. Still, everyone got along well, and Sam, Dean, and Julie were really enjoying themselves when they decided it was time to go.

Sam and Dean packed up for the drive back, and Cas disappeared and returned to heaven to help slow Beelzebub. Julie remained inside, saying goodbye to her old friends and assuring them that they shouldn't feel guilty for what happened. Everything turned out alright.

Far too soon, Sam poked his head inside to say goodbye and tell Julie it was time to go. She wasn't ready. She wanted to stay here and hang out with friends, to play with cute baby Lily and live a relatively normal, happy, stable life. But her days were numbered, and the apocalypse was coming yet again, and she was part of a small group of people who had the slightest chance of stopping it.

For a moment, Julie remembered the days when she had been like Chel and Ian. She had normal relationships, she had a day job and an actual house that she lived at, and hunting was just another part of her life. She had a family, and whenever she wanted, she could stop. It been two years since she had been like that, though.

And for a moment, she kind of missed it.

But then Dean was hollering a goodbye to Chel and Ian and warning Julie he was driving away in one minute, with or without her. It was time to go. She hugged her old friends one last time, kissed Lily on the top of her head, and walked out the door.

They had a good life, and one day, she hoped she could have one like it. But for today…she had work to do.


	73. Chapter 73

**Seventy-Three**

When he got a chance to, Sam liked to work out in the morning. He'd lift weights in the gym that he had discovered and revamped in the bunker, or he'd go for a run in the woods around the bunker. He usually got up an hour or two before Dean and Julie anyway, and figured he might as well get some use out of that time.

That morning, he had woken up even earlier than usual, and he had gone for a long run. It was cold out, considering December was right around the corner. Still, by the time he got back, Sam was sweaty and in desperate need of a shower.

After showering and getting dressed for the day, Sam made himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table in the main hall with his laptop, ready to do his daily search for any possible cases. It was still pretty early in the morning, and Sam was enjoying the peace and quiet and time to himself.

But soon enough, he heard a door open, and someone slipped out of Dean and Julie's bedroom. He looked up and saw that it was Julie, and started to smile at her, until he realized she was wearing nothing but an over-sized flannel shirt. Dean's.

For a moment, Sam was reminded of a morning much like this, many long months ago, when Julie had walked into the room in nothing but Dean's shirt. At that time, he had been in love with her, and she had driven him mad, dressed like that. But things were different now. After he got over the initial surprise of seeing her in such little clothing, for a moment, there was a spark of attraction as he stared at her. She was still beautiful, and deep down, Sam knew that some of his love for her still lingered. But it didn't bother him anymore, and he pushed that dangerous attraction away and smiled at her.

"Sam!" Julie said, surprised. "I didn't think you'd be awake this early. Which I now realize was stupid. But I would have at least put on pants."

"I did laundry," Sam shrugged, a little amused that such a mundane sentence was coming out of his mouth. "You've got plenty of pants over there on the couch."

Julie smiled gratefully at him and then ducked around the corner to grab one of the pairs of pants he had washed last night, after those two had retired to their bedroom. "So, how was your run?" she called as she got dressed.

"How did you know?" he smirked, typing away at his laptop.

"Your hair is wet, and you obviously just took a shower. Plus, your running shoes are sitting in here, and they've got fresh dirt on them."

"You're quite observant," Sam called. "You should be a hunter."

Julie reappeared, now wearing cotton pajama shorts that peeked out from under Dean's oversized grey flannel shirt. She was grinning at him as she said, "Funny. You should be a comedian."

"We'll leave that to Dean."

Julie ruffled Sam's wet hair teasingly as she walked past him, and he pulled away from her touch, shaking his head and smiling. "You want breakfast?" she hollered, heading towards the kitchen.

"Sure," he replied.

"Eggs? Bacon? Cereal? You gotta help me out here, Sam."

"Surprise me," he smirked.

A couple minutes later, Julie returned, plopping down a plate of cold pizza in front of him. He was pretty surprised, considering his normal breakfast was much healthier. Julie sat in the chair next to me, hugging her knees to her chest as she sipped coffee and picked at her own plate of cold pizza.

"Cold pizza and coffee," Sam remarked, amused.

"You're surprised, aren't you?" she shot back, and he smiled to himself.

The two friends sat in silence for a while, eating their cold pizza and drinking their coffee. That was one of the things Sam appreciated most about Julie. She, unlike his brother, could sit with him in silence for hours at a time and it wasn't awkward.

Eventually, Julie got curious about what Sam was researching on his computer, though, and the two of them talked through possible cases. When Dean finally got out of bed and staggered into the hall, half-asleep and wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants, the two of them were sitting close together, huddled over the computer screen and laughing at something Sam had just said.

"What the hell are you two doing up and laughing at seven-thirty in the morning?" Dean grumbled irritably.

Julie turned around in her chair and smiled at him. "Look, Sam! He lives!"

"We thought you were going to sleep forever, Dean," Sam smirked.

"The sun literally just came up," Dean snapped. "No human should be up and moving before the sun."

Julie got out of her chair to give him a quick kiss on the cheek and guide him over to a seat next to his brother. "Sam, why don't you keep Sleeping Beauty here entertained, and I'll get more cold pizza?"

She left the two brothers to talk and poured more coffee for Dean. She put every slice of cold pizza left on a plate and walked out to the table to give them to Dean.

Sam and Dean were glancing at her bedroom and the noise coming from it. "I think someone's calling you," Sam said, and Julie quickly gave Dean his breakfast and hurried to answer her phone.

She was surprised to see the name Taylor Carters flashing across her screen. Tay hadn't returned any of her calls since…well, since Jasper died. Taylor texted regularly to assure her cousin she and James were still alive, but other than that, Julie's cousin had pretty much avoided contact with her since Jasper's death.

Julie quickly answered and asked hesitantly, "Yes?"

"Julie?" Taylor's voice came, just as hesitant as hers.

"Yeah, it's me, Tay," Julie smirked. "Pretty sure Sam and Dean's voices are a little lower than mine."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, smartass," Taylor grumbled, but Julie could hear a bit of a smile in her cousins voice.

"What's up, Tay?"

"Well…James and I just now finally got around to going through my dad's stuff," Taylor admitted, and for a moment, the thought of her dead uncle made Julie want to cry.

But all she said was, "Oh?"

"Yeah, well…anyway, we found his will." Julie's throat closed up. The man, like many other hunters, had written his will long before his death. It was common practice to always know how you wanted your personal belongings to be divided after your death when you could die any day. Julie realized she should probably write a will. Not that she had much to give away, but her time was quickly running out…

"You're in it, obviously," Taylor sighed. "Me and James, too, and your boyfriend, too."

"Dean?" Julie frowned.

"Yeah," her cousin said irritably. "You know how much Dad loved him. He already considered Dean basically a son-in-law, and he wanted you two to shack up and have little hunter babies, and-"

"Alright, enough, Tay," Julie cut her off, because those thoughts were far too painful.

"Point is, you and Dean are both in Dad's will," Taylor sighed wearily. "And…I haven't seen you in too long. I think you and your killer boyfriends should come over."

"First of all, I only have one boyfriend, and Sam and Dean aren't killers-"

Taylor snorted, and Julie took a deep, calming breath. She had forgotten how irritating her cousin could be when she wanted to be. "They are no more killers than any of us."

"You're right, they just got you killed, and him-"

"Taylor, do you want us to come or not?" Julie snapped.

Taylor was silent for a long moment, and then she admitted, "…Yes."

"Okay. We'll be there soon," Julie promised, and then she hung up the phone.

* * *

James was the one who greeted the three hunters at the door. When he saw Dean and his expression didn't immediately darken into one of jealousy and dislike, all three hunters standing on the doorstep were surprised and impressed.

"Hey, guys," James said in a remarkably calm voice. "Come on in."

Julie and the Winchesters' stepped into her old home, and James shut the door behind them. James turned to face Julie and smiled slightly at her. "Hey, Julie," he said quietly. "It's good to see you."

"You too, James," she admitted, and she suddenly stepped forward and hugged him, surprising all of them. For a moment, James was surprised, but then he gave in and hugged her back. Amazingly, it wasn't an awkward hug at all, but a comforting one.

After a moment, they pulled apart and Julie brushed her hair out of her face. She could feel Dean's jealous stare on the two of them, and heat spread across her cheeks. Why was she embarrassed? She had just hugged an old friend who had lost someone important to him not long ago and was sharing in her pain.

Of course, he was also an old friend that she had often had sex with. That might be why she was embarrassed.

Thankfully, Taylor chose that moment to walk into the room. Julie was surprised to see that her hair was chopped shorter, falling just barely to her shoulders, a little shorter than Julie's own hair. Taylor wore a tight-fitting dark purple sweater and dark skinny jeans, which were much more modest than her usual clothes, which would look at home on a slutty sorority girl. But the most strikingly different thing about Taylor was something that Julie couldn't quite give a name to, a difference in her expression and even the way she stood.

She looked older, more mature. She looked like a thirty-year-old woman who had seen too much. For the first time in her life, Taylor Carters actually looked her age.

"Taylor!" Julie cried as she took in her cousin, and then without warning, the two of them were running to hug each other. They stayed in each other's arms for a very long time, and Dean looked down, trying not to think about why the two women were so emotional right now.

Eventually, the cousins pulled apart, and Julie smiled at her older cousin. "I like the hair," she commented.

"Of course you do, it looks like yours," Taylor shot back, and both women smiled at each other before turning to face the others.

Taylor nodded at Sam when she saw him, but when her eyes landed on Dean, she didn't nod. She just held his gaze determinedly until he had to look away.

She wasn't angry. Not like she had been when Julie had died because of Dean. Then she had screamed at him and hit him, tears pouring down her face. The look Taylor had just given Dean was definitely accusing, but it wasn't angry. It was her way of saying that she hadn't quite forgiven him for what had happened, but she wasn't actively angry at him, either.

Dean knew he should be grateful she wasn't trying to stab him, but somehow, this made him feel worse. Taylor had matured enough to understand why Jasper had died for Dean, and to respect his decision. But the only reason she had matured was because she had been forced to, when she no longer had a father to treat her like a child anymore.

Suddenly, Dean was regretting coming here a lot. He was not ready to feel this guilty.

While he had been lost in his thoughts, the others had been talking. James had ordered pizza, and the five of them sat down to pizza and beers, and to talk. Sam and James sat next to each other and chatted quite a bit, while Julie and Taylor sat next to each other and caught up on everything that happened in their lives since that disastrous day when they lost a father and an uncle. But Dean sat in silence, picking at his pizza and wallowing in guilt.

At first, Julie didn't mind. She understood Dean, and she knew he needed some space to process the fact that he had been trying to ignore for the past month or so, the fact that Jasper had died for him. But it began to become a problem, when Taylor or James would ask Dean a question, and he would just grunt in response or ignore them altogether.

Eventually, Sam shot her a look and mouthed, "I'll keep them busy." Julie understood and stood up sharply. Dean looked up from the table, bewildered, as she grabbed his elbow and pulled him up next to her.

"We're going to go have a chat," Julie announced calmly. "We'll be back soon."

Sam watched as she dragged Dean upstairs while he protested quietly. Taylor smirked as she peered into her now-empty beer. "Twenty bucks says they're going to end up having sex," she smirked.

Sam glanced at James, figuring it would be a sore subject considering how in love with Julie and jealous of Dean he had always been. But the hunter just smirked and said, "I'll take that bet. She's gonna be too busy chewing him out for being rude to even think about sex. Trust me, I've been where he is right now."

Both of them laughed, and Sam looked in-between them, bewildered. Then he mentally kicked himself for not picking up on the strange but powerful chemistry going on between them. If he was reading the signals correctly, it seemed that James had finally moved on from Julie, but he hadn't moved on very far…

Upstairs, Julie shut the door of her and Dean's old bedroom behind them and turned to face him. "What's going on, Dean?" she snapped at him.

"What do you mean?" Dean replied irritably.

"You're being incredibly rude to them, ignoring half the things they say to you!"

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" he asked defensively. "Pretend to be all buddy-buddy with your cousin who clearly hates me and a guy who has wanted to kill me and take my place since the day I met him?"

"God, you're a drama queen!" Julie groaned. "They've been perfectly civil to you, Dean. Even _James _is making an effort to be polite. Can't you please just do the same?"

"Maybe I should just hug him and get all starry-eyed staring at him like you've been doing, would that help?" Dean crossed his arms and glared accusingly at her.

For a moment, Julie just stared at Dean is disbelief and disgust. "No," she finally said, her eyes narrowing. "This isn't about you being jealous, which is completely ridiculous, by the way. This is about him, isn't it? Jasper."

Dean glared at the floor. "Well, what do you expect me to do? Be all happy and bubbly as I sit around in the house that belonged to a man I basically murdered?!"

"What?!" Julie cried. "Dean, what are you _talking_ about? You did not murder my uncle! He tied you to a freaking pipe and killed himself to save you!"

"Right! To save _me_! If it weren't for me, you and Taylor and even James wouldn't have had to lose him." There was pain in Dean's eyes, and that guilt that never seemed to leave him.

"They don't blame you for that," Julie said softly, unconvincingly.

Dean snorted bitterly. "Yeah, they do."

"No, they don't!" Julie said sharply. "Believe me, if they blamed you, you wouldn't be in this house, and they sure as hell wouldn't try to be civil towards you."

"Well then, they should blame me, considering it's my fault-"

"No, you know what, Dean? It's _not_!" Julie snapped, completely and utterly done with this. "It's _my _fault, dammit! Jasper died for you because he knew that losing you would hurt me more than losing him. And you becoming a demon, that was my fault too. I was the reason you took up the Blade again, to get revenge. And Beelzebub raising Lucifer, that's all because of a deal I made. So you can stop being so selfish and taking all the blame when this entire mess we're in is because of me."

"But if I had just left after I saved your life that first day we met, none of this would have happened," Dean pointed out, angry for a reason he didn't even understand. "But no, I was just too damn selfish and lonely, and because of that, you died, and Jasper died, and the world is ending, _again_, and-"

"Dammit, Dean, I can't _do _this!" Julie cried suddenly, so loudly she was sure the people downstairs could hear. "I can't have this same fight with you over and over about whose fault this whole mess is. I _can't_." There were tears in her eyes now. "I am standing in my dead uncle's house, and I am just barely holding it together, and I can _not _deal with this right now."

Dean stared at her for a long moment. Part of him wanted to apologize and hold her and let her cry into his shoulder, but the stupid, stubborn, headstrong part of him won out. "Fine," he said flatly, and he left the room without another word, ignoring the stinging of tears in his own eyes.

* * *

Julie was sitting in her favorite place on all of their property. It was a patch of grass under a huge oak tree, and there was a perfect little nook for her in-between two tree roots. It was several yards away from the white picket fence that she used to shoot cans off of. As she stared at the fence, she was struck by a memory of a time she had been here, about two years ago…

_Jasper laughed, impressed, as he watched this mysterious Dean shoot the final can off of the fence with near-perfect accuracy. Eight cans in eight shots, a perfect score. Even Julie had to be impressed with this handsome stranger's skill and accuracy._

_"__Damn, son!" Jasper laughed. "Even in my prime, I was lucky to get all eight."_

_"__It probably was luck," Dean shrugged, looking at the ground modestly._

_"__Luck or not, that was hot!" Taylor called as she watched, eying Dean greedily._

_Dean smirked and rolled his eyes. He'd only been here for a day, but he had already figured out how Taylor worked, and had decided to find her constant hitting on him amusing instead of letting it make him uncomfortable, or worse, finding it attractive. For some reason Julie couldn't explain, she really didn't want this new, intriguing hunter sleeping with her cousin._

_"__Where'd you learn to shoot like that?" Jasper asked Dean curiously._

_"__My dad taught me how to shoot," Dean shrugged. "I've had a lot of practice since then."_

_"__I'll say," Jasper smirked as he moved to set the cans back up. "I'll hit six on a good day, and I've got decades of practice."_

_"__And you're losing your vision, old man," Julie called from where she sat, curled up by the trunk of her beloved oak tree._

_"__Respect your elders, missy," Jasper replied, smiling fondly when he thought she couldn't see._

_Dean smiled, watching the two of them interact. "What about you, Julie?" he called, holding out his gun towards her. "You care to take your shot?"_

_Julie stared at him for a moment, and then smiled slowly. "Why not?" she smirked, getting up and walking over to him. She took a moment to weigh how heavy his gun was and examine the bullets before loading the gun and lining up her first shot._

_Her first shot nearly clipped the first can, but didn't knock it off the fence. "Ooh," Dean winced. "Looks like you've already missed your chance at beating me."_

_"__Whatever, jerk," Julie smirked, shooting him a look. "I'm just not used to your gun."_

_"__Excuses, excuses," he muttered, smirking as well._

_Julie took a moment to aim, and then tried again. The can went sailing into a nearby bush, and she turned to smirk at Dean. He nodded his head respectfully, assuming she was done._

_But no. She then proceeded to shoot every other can off the fence on her first try calmly and efficiently. When she was finished, and Dean's mouth was hanging slightly open, duly impressed, she turned to face him and pressed his gun back into his hand._

_"__I told you," she smirked cockily. "I just had to get used to the gun."_

Julie realized that her eyes were wet with tears. What the hell was wrong with her? She wasn't sure what about that memory had made her want to cry. Thinking of a time when Jasper was alive, or thinking of a time when things between her and Dean were simpler and easier, just attraction and intrigue. None of this tangled, heartbroken, hopelessly codependent, doomed mess that they were in now.

She was startled out of her thoughts as someone sat down next to her and leaned back against the tree. She smiled a little at Sam as he sighed and said, "This is a nice spot. If I lived here, I would definitely come read here a lot."

Julie smiled a little and shook her head. "Yeah, I read here sometimes," she admitted. "Mostly I just came here to shoot things, though."

"I wouldn't mind doing that, either," he replied, meeting her eyes with his warm hazel eyes.

Suddenly, it was just too much for Julie. "What's wrong with us, Sam?" she whispered, hating the fear in her voice.

"You and Dean?" he guessed softly, his eyes now sad as they studied her.

She nodded, her throat tight. "You and me…" she said softly, reaching out to rest her hand over his. "We never fight. We just get along, and we talk, and you're always there for me, and…it's great." Sam swallowed and nodded, getting a little nervous. They were started to head into uncomfortable, dangerous waters, comparing her and Sam's relationship to her and Dean's.

"Why aren't Dean and I like that?" she whispered.

"Well…Dean's not like me," Sam said after a long moment of thought. "He, um…he's self-destructive. Not to say that I'm not, but he…he's got it in his head that he's bad or something, that he doesn't deserve to be happy. I've never been able to change that about him. And I used to think that you loving him could change that, that he could see how he deserves to be loved. But Dean…he can't see that he's good. He only sees the bad things about himself, and that's always going to cause problems between you two."

Julie nodded. Everything he was saying was true. All the guilt, all the self-hatred, all the anger in Dean had caused countless arguments between them. But there was something else, something more…

"Then of course there's the issue of you selling your soul," Sam said flatly, and Julie winced. Yep. That was it.

"Julie…Dean needs you, plain and simple," he said after a moment. "Dean finds people that he cares about, and he latches onto them, loves them whole-heartedly and unconditionally, and if they get close enough…he can't lose them. And besides me, he's never been as close to anyone as he is with you. And the fact that you're damned, and he can't find a way to help you…the fact that you sold your soul for him…it's killing him, Julie."

She looked down at the ground and tried to blink away her tears. Eventually, she managed to nod in agreement. "But...I can't change what I did," she choked out. "And I wouldn't if I could. So…is this it? We're doomed to do nothing but fight for another three months, and then I die, and he loses it? That's it?"

"I sure as hell hope not," Sam snapped.

"I just…I don't know what to do, Sam!" Julie said desperately. "One minute, things are great between us, and I love him, and he loves me, and we're as happy as we could be, considering I've got a time limit. And then all of the sudden, it's like a switch flips, and then we're fighting over the stupidest things…" She stopped to get her emotions under control, and then admitted, "We fight a lot, Sam. And I'm scared if we just keep fighting…we're just going to get further apart, and I'm going to lose him before I have to."

"You know what he's doing, don't you?" Sam frowned, and she looked up at him bewildered. "Julie, he's doing that on purpose! Sure, it's probably subconsciously, but he did the same thing with me when he was dying. He tried to push me away so it was less painful for me when he…when he died. Obviously, it didn't work, but that's what he's doing now. He's afraid to hold onto you, Julie, in case…in case we can't find a way to save you."

"But that's stupid!" Julie snapped.

"I agree."

"And it's selfish! I'm dying, Sam! I can't afford to lose him three months earlier than I have to!"

"Hey, I'm with you," Sam said reassuringly, taking her hand and squeezing it. When he saw the tears about to spill over her lashes, he dragged her closer and held her tightly against his chest and let her cry into his shoulder.

They were silent for a long time, and then Sam whispered, "I'm sorry about all of this, Julie." She took a deep, shuddering breath, and he added softly, "And I'm sorry about Jasper."

* * *

"You shouldn't fight with her."

Dean groaned aloud but didn't lift his head, staying hunched over his beer. "Look, James, I'm very angry and emotional right now, and the last thing you want to do right now is piss me off. And you giving me advice on my relationship with your ex? Now that's gonna piss me off."

"Look, I'm not trying to stick my nose where it doesn't belong-" James started.

"Well then, don't," Dean snapped, sitting up to glare at James. "You have no idea what's going on between us."

"You're right," Julie's ex-boyfriend shrugged. "I've got no idea what all is going down between you. I just know that she loves you and that you shouldn't hurt her or try to push her away or whatever it is you're doing, because she really can't take that right now."

Dean stared at James for a long moment. "Aren't you the guy that used to be madly in love with her and wanted to settle down and have a family with her?" he asked slowly.

"Yeah," James said flatly.

"But for some reason you're trying to help me stay with your ex?"

"Look, Dean, I am not even close to the first guy who was madly in love with her," James answered. "But for some crazy, suicidal reason, she's picked you out of all of us. She loves you. I mean, she really loves you, man, she doesn't just say it or act like it. So you shouldn't fight with her."

"She's dying, James!" Dean snapped. "What am I supposed to do, just sit by silently and watch hellhounds rip her apart?"

"No, you're supposed to fight them, not _her_," James said plainly. "Look, I get that right now is an emotional time for all of us. We just lost Jasper, and we could be about to lose Julie, too. But that means that you guys have got to stick together. Just… don't let her go through this alone."

Dean stared skeptically at James. "I don't get it. You used to be in love with her for the longest time. You hated me. Why are you helping me now?"

"Look, Dean, I may not be in love with her anymore, but I still care about her," James sighed. "I don't like seeing her miserable, and when you two fight…she's miserable. And you obviously are, too. Of course I don't care nearly as much about you…"

Dean smirked and stood up. "Yeah, yeah, okay, I get it."

"Good. Because otherwise I was gonna have to whoop your ass."

Dean laughed at that. "Sure, James. I'm sure that would have been funny to watch." He stopped to study his old rival for a moment. "How did you move on from her so quickly?" he asked curiously.

"Well, it took me over two years, so I wouldn't call that quickly," James pointed out.

"Okay, true," Dean smirked. Then he sobered. "But…I don't think I'd ever get over her, even if she left me."

"Well, Dean…maybe you love her more than I did," James admitted softly.

At that moment, Taylor walked into the room. James turned away from Dean, their conversation forgotten, and a very familiar light came into his eyes. He was staring at Taylor the way he used to stare at Julie.

_Or maybe you just fell in love with someone else, _Dean thought to himself, amused.

"There you guys are!" Taylor sighed, looking a bit frazzled. "James, I found Julie and Sam, but they're out being all cute by her old tree, so I figured I'd leave them alone."

"What do you mean, they're being all cute?" Dean asked defensively.

"Relax, tough guy," she smirked. "They're all snuggled up together, and she's clearly been crying."

"And that's supposed to make me relax?" Dean snapped.

"Dude, my idiot cousin is utterly consumed by her love for you," she said dramatically with a near-perfect eye roll. "Despite the obvious chemistry between them and the fact that your brother's a total hunk, she would never dream of cheating on you."

"I…am not sure how to feel about that," Dean grumbled, overwhelmed, but she had already moved on past that subject to a new one.

"Well, as long as we've got you here, Dean, might as well give you your inheritance from Dad," Taylor sighed, setting down a thick manila envelope on the table in front of Dean. He stared at it for a moment, unsure he wanted to open it. It would surely make him emotional, and he wasn't ready for that. Not again.

Taylor and James exchanged knowing looks. "We'll give you some space," she said kindly, before leading James out of the room and leaving Dean alone.

He stood there in silence for a long moment, steeling himself, and then pulled a small silver knife off of his belt to use as a letter opener.

A small wooden box that looked surprisingly like a jewelry box and a folded piece of paper fell out. Dean decided to read the paper first and unfolded the letter to read it.

_Dean,_

_If you're reading this, I'm dead. Hopefully, I died defending my girls or taking out some big threat in an epic way. Well, no matter how I died, it happened. And as weird as it is to be writing about my death while I am still very much alive, I want to make sure you get this message and this gift._

_When I met you, I didn't know what to think. You seemed like most other hunters, cool and distant with a lot of baggage and a dark past. Then I figured out who you really were, and I realized you had a hell of a lot more baggage than anyone I'd ever met. And I realized you were dangerous. Not just to monsters, but to me and my girls if we got too close to you._

_You probably don't realize how quickly I figured out how quickly I realized who you were. It was the second day I'd known you, as we got to work on that case you had found, and I realized just how good a hunter you were, better than anyone I'd ever met. And then you slipped up and mentioned killing a Leviathan. There were only three hunters who I knew of who had ever encountered a Leviathan, let alone kill one, and one of them was dead, Bobby Singer, and the other two were the infamous Winchester boys. And, ironically, one of them was also named Dean._

Dean had to stop reading to process. Jasper had figured out on the second day who he really was? But that was before he had really started falling for Julie, back before he had poured out his soul to her and kissed her in that shed, back when he still could have left, if Jasper had made him. And if Jasper Carters had known for that long how dangerous Dean was to him and his family…why hadn't he sent him away? He could have prevented this whole mess, or at least the Carters' involvement in it!

Now Dean had to know why Jasper had let him stay. He had no choice but to keep reading.

_So, not only did I know who you were, but I saw what was happening. Taylor hadn't won you over by throwing herself at you, unsurprisingly, but my Juliet was already captivating you in that irresistible way of hers. You have no idea how many men I've had to beat off of our girl, Dean. She can't help it, though. And you couldn't either. After a little over a day, you were clearly interested in her, but trying to ignore it. And, more alarmingly, she was very interested in you. I could tell what was going to happen, and I knew that if I let you stay, and she fell for you, she would most likely end up dead._

_But I let you stay._

_I'm still not sure why, Dean. Maybe because I saw how much you were hurting, how much you needed her love. Maybe just because I'm a terrible excuse for a father, and can't hold a candle to how my brother parented her. Either way, I let you stay. And sure, there were times I regretted it. Like when she died to save you. But I don't regret it now, Dean. You're a good man, and you are good to her. And she loves you. Which, I guess, is why I left you the rings._

Dean stared at those words, not comprehending. The rings?

_When Katrina died, Thomas kept her wedding ring with him always. And as Tom was dying he gave me her ring, and his, and told me to save them for Julie and her husband. He hoped, just like I do, that our girl can one day be happy and have the family and the good, happy life she deserves. I know that happy, safe life is near impossible, but I also know that she has at least found her future husband._

_Just humor me, Dean. Keep the rings, and if things ever work out and you decide you want to marry her, use them. It would mean a lot to Juliet, and to Thomas. And you should know, Dean, that I would be proud to call you a son-in-law._

_Jasper_

Eventually, through a film of tears, Dean folded the paper up and tucked it into his jacket. Then he picked up the simple wooden box and opened it reverently.

The rings were nothing flashy. They were silver, which could be quite useful on hunts, he noted. Thomas's old wedding ring was a thick silver band, plain, yes, but incredibly meaningful. And Katrina's ring was simple as well, but beautiful, a delicate, silver circle with one reasonably big, beautiful diamond.

After a long moment, Dean closed the box and tucked it into his jacket as well. "Thanks, Jasper," he whispered, glancing up at the ceiling. If anybody deserved to go to heaven, it was that kind, funny, caring, protective, good man.

Dean felt emotionally raw after reading that note and seeing the rings, but more than that, he was pissed at himself. How incredibly stupid and self-centered was he, to be fighting with Julie when he may only have less than three months with her? He owed it to her, and to Jasper, to quit acting like a pouting child. Sure, this was painful, and having to sit by and watch her die was so painful that he wanted to hurt something.

But losing her because of their stupid bickering would be even more painful.

And so, with rings and letter in hand, Dean marched off to fix the problem.

* * *

Julie walked into the kitchen to grab a drink and was surprised to see both James and Taylor inside. Sam had just gone to look through the rest of the house for them, and she had found them without even trying.

They were washing the dishes from lunch, shirts rolled up to their elbows and forearms covered in soapy water. For a moment, Julie stopped to watch the two of them interact. They talked and laughed and splashed each other, sneaking special, secret little looks at the other whenever they could.

And it hit Julie like a ton of bricks. They were in love with each other. Her ex-boyfriend and her cousin were crazy about each other, but neither would admit it.

She waited for the jealousy to come, but it never did. Instead, she smiled. She had always hoped that Tay could find a man that she actually loved, and she had always hoped that James would find someone besides her to settle down and be happy with. And now, it looked like both wishes were coming true.

Julie cleared her throat when the two of them caught each other staring and their stares became increasingly more intense. Immediately, Taylor whipped around and laughed nervously. "Oh, hey, Julie!" she said quickly. "I was planning on going to get you soon. I wanted you to see what Dad left you."

"Oh?" Julie asked softly, suddenly nervous.

"It's all up in his old room, including a letter he wrote you," she said, giving Julie a sad smile.

"I'll go check it out," Julie said bravely. "You two have fun," she added with a smirk before heading upstairs to her uncle's old bedroom.

She was surprised by sheer amount of stuff on his bed. Four large cardboard boxes full of stuff and a letter rested on top of Jasper's old bed. Oddly nervous, Julie approached the bed and opened the letter. Fighting to keep her hands steady, she read the letter, the last words her uncle would ever give her.

_My dearest Juliet,_

_I know how much you hate that name, but I think you need to know why I always wanted to call you that. It was, of course, the name your parents gave you, but it was more than that. It was the name of the heroine of your favorite play when you were twelve, it was what Thomas would cry happily when he would return after a hunt and you would jump into his arms, it was Katrina's favorite name. It brings back fifteen years of wonderful memories, of a kind, sweet, innocent, loving, young girl who was everything I could ask for in a niece._

_But I want you to know that I understand that you are no longer that girl, and haven't been for a long time. You are Julie, a fierce, brave, clever, self-assured, caring, beautiful, deadly hunter and a powerful, wonderful woman. You are everything I could ask for in a hunter. I know that your father never wanted this life for you, and I definitely understand why but, Julie, sweetheart, you're damn good at it. Probably better than I ever was._

_I respect and am so proud of the woman you have become. I do wish I could have protected you more, like I promised Thomas I would, but you're such a strong-willed girl, I couldn't have held you back, anyway. And I know that he would be so damn proud of you, too, Juliet._

_Obviously, if you're reading this, that means that I'm with Tom and Kat now. I'll give them your love, of course, and tell them of our heroic girl, and how she's saving the world with the two greatest hunters in the world, and an angel as well. And as for those hunters…I do wish that I could have protected you from what being close to them does to a person, but I don't regret letting you go with him. Again, not that I could have stopped you. But Dean Winchester is a good man, and I think you've chosen well. A little crazily, but well. And Sam is a good man as well. I trust them to take care of you now that I can't even try anymore._

_I am sorry I won't get to see you save the world and finally marry that boy and settle down. I just pray that one day, you'll get to be happy. That's all I want for you, Juliet, and all Thomas and Katrina would have wanted._

_I've left you their stuff. It's all I have left of them, and it honestly really does belong to you, and not me. I think you'll appreciate it. Hopefully, it'll help you get to know your mom a little better. She was kind and sweet and wonderful, as wonderful as you. She loved you very much, Julie, and she would be so, so proud of the woman her daughter has become. And so would Tom, of course. And so am I._

_Don't worry about me, sweetheart. God willing, I'm in a better place. You just keep those boys from letting the world explode._

_And, Juliet Grace Carters…I love you._

_Love, Jasper_

It took Julie a very long time to quit crying after reading that beautiful, sweet, heartbreaking letter from her beloved uncle. When the tears finally stopped flowing, she was hesitant to open the boxes, knowing it would probably just bring more tears. But she had to know.

Julie opened the first box and sorted through it. It contained a basketball signed by all of Jasper's basketball teammates from his senior year of high school, when they went to state, Katrina's old cheerleading uniform, and several photo albums. Julie flipped through one of them, smiling at pictures of her father, a gangly, cute teenage boy, and a pretty blonde girl she recognized as her mother going through high school together. Occasionally, she'd find a picture of a young, handsome, blond man who she recognized as Jasper. It brought a smile to her lips, and she set the photo albums aside to peruse later.

The next box was full of things she recognized. Her dad's old favorite gun, a couple leather journals that he had catalogued his hunts in, much like Sam and Dean's father, his old hunting jacket. She gathered the jacket up in her arms and pressed her face into the fabric, breathing in the very faint, but still familiar scent of cologne, earth, and rust that was her father.

Julie blinked away tears and moved on to the next box. Inside was a framed photo of her mother and father on their wedding day, young and beautiful and giddy with love. For a moment, she thought the beautiful blond woman in the picture was her. She had never realized how much she looked like her lovely mother. Of course, she had barely even known the woman before she died…

She moved onto the other items. Several large novels, mostly ones she had read before, but a couple new ones that her mother must have loved, because they all had her name on the inside cover and were well-worn. There was a stack of love letters her mother had written to her father, and his responses. And there was another framed photo, of a handsome young couple, Thomas and Katrina Carters, standing in front of a small home with a tiny, blue-eyed, blonde baby nestled in Katrina's arms. It took Julie a moment to realize it was her, and she smiled at the perfect little scene.

Finally, she reached the fourth and last box. And it was by far her favorite.

It was full of music. CDs and cassette tapes with every Beatles song ever written, lots of classic rock and eighties pop songs, and even older singers, like Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. Her father had been renowned for his wide, eccentric, but good taste in music. But it was her mother's music that made her the most excited.

Her mother had owned a record player, and there it sat, and with it came records containing all the great jazz classics. Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and her mother's favorite of all time…Frank Sinatra.

Julie set up the record player and put on a Frank Sinatra record. "They Can't Take That Away" crooned softly from the record player, and she couldn't help it. Softly at first, and then more excitedly, Julie began to sing along.

It had been far too long since Julie sang. She had been in choir and done some musicals in school, and she had always been told how great a voice she had. In another life, she would have liked to have sung professionally. She loved music, and she loved all the great singers. But her life hadn't exactly led down a very musical path.

Still, she loved to sing. She had sung a lot more before her life became so chaotic and dramatic (so, when she met the Winchester's), but she hadn't sung since…well, since she sold her soul.

It felt so good to sing. She let her high, pure voice fill the room, smiling, letting the music fill her and spill out of her. She felt oddly at peace, considering so much was going wrong.

Eventually, the song ended. As the last chord died out, a low voice came from the doorway, startling her.

"I miss that."

Julie whirled around to see Dean standing there, leaning against the doorway and watching her, a sad but sincere smile on his lips. He straightened up and smiled hesitantly at her. "Your voice is so beautiful," he said softly. "And it makes you happy."

She didn't know what to say, so she looked at her feet.

Dean took a step towards her. "I miss when you were happy," he admitted. "I miss when _we _were happy."

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Julie whispered.

"Too long." For a moment, Dean stared at her, and then his face crumbled. "God, Jules, I'm so sorry. I'm so stupid and selfish and pigheaded, and I always feel the need to pick fights, even though you're the greatest thing that's ever happened to me, and I'm sorry-"

Julie stretched up and gave Dean a quick kiss to stop the flow of words. "Me too," she whispered, smiling up at him.

Dean smiled at her and pulled her in close. He rested his chin on top of her head and just focused on the feeling of her arms around him. He looked around the room, at the boxes full of what appeared to be her dead parents' stuff and the note from her dead uncle, and he vowed to himself that this wouldn't happen to her. She wasn't going to die too young like her parents had. He was going to save her, and he was going to marry her using the rings tucked away in his jacket, and they were going to have a long and happy life together.

Because, dammit, after everything she had gone through, this wonderful woman deserved that!


	74. Chapter 74

**Chapter Seventy-Four**

"I hate being here," Dean grumbled. "I can't shake the feeling that I'm late to class."

"You never cared about being late, Dean," Sam pointed out, and Dean had to give that to him.

The two brothers were walking down a high school hallway. It was pretty early in the school day, and all the students were in class at the moment, so they had pretty much free reign of the school. And no one was going to question them, at least not while they were in their FBI suits.

"I still don't get why we're looking for EMF," Sam admitted, watching his brother use his homemade scanner as they patrolled the hallways. "The four victims were completely unrelated as far as I could tell. And going crazy and killing themselves? Doesn't sound like ghosts to me."

"Well, we've already ruled out demons, so what else would you suggest, wise guy?" Dean snapped. In all honesty, he wasn't really irritated with his brother, but he did not like being in high schools. They brought back a lot of bad memories, and being here sure wasn't helping save his girlfriend, who only had ten weeks to live.

Sam muttered something under his breath. "What was that?" Dean asked smugly.

"I don't know!" Sam snapped.

"That's what I thought," Dean smirked, and Sam opened his mouth to shoot back a retort. Their bickering was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"It's hard to pass as FBI agents when you're fighting like a couple of high school drama queens," Julie advised them, and the two brothers looked up to see her walking towards them down the hall in a dark pantsuit.

"Drama queens?" Dean repeated, a little offended.

She ignored him, though. "So I couldn't get anything out of the principal, even though he was totally into me," she sighed, brushing her hair out of her face. "But I _did _get something out of the gym teacher."

"That slack-jawed jock we met earlier?" Dean smirked. "I'm surprised he could form whole sentences. He looked like he had more muscles than brain cells."

"He did have a whole lot of muscles," Julie mused, smirking when she got a jealous glare out of Dean. "But he was the one who found the kid who died a couple days ago. Said he thought he heard the poor guy screaming for help, but when he came in, he was dead. Slit his wrists right in the middle of the gym floor."

"He was screaming for help, but he committed suicide?" Dean repeated skeptically.

"Or something made it look like he committed suicide," Sam pointed out.

"And what is that something again, if it's not a ghost?" Dean asked, turning to shoot his brother a look.

"You know what, Dean-?!"

Thankfully, the bell rang before Julie had to pull the bickering brothers apart. "Come on, you two," she sighed, putting one hand on each of their backs and guiding them out of the hall as students began to pour from the classrooms. "Saved by the bell," Dean muttered, earning him an elbow in his side from Julie. Finally, the two of them quit bickering long enough to step into the nurse's office, the next stop in their investigation.

Julie did most of the talking, with Sam occasionally chiming in. Dean's mind was elsewhere, though. There was a reason he was so antsy right now, ready to pick a fight over anything. His girlfriend had two-and-a-half months left before she went to hell, and they were no closer to finding a way to save her than they were ten weeks ago. For over a week since returning from the Carters' home, the hunters had made no progress on finding a way to save Julie, and they were quickly running out of time.

The nurse knew less than they did, although she was a pretty young thing, probably too young to really know what she was doing. She had tan skin, dark curls, and big dark eyes that she couldn't seem to keep off of Sam. Still, that was better than the English teacher, a thirty-something-year-old woman who had hit on Dean, and not even subtly, the whole time Julie and Dean tried to question her. She, too, had known nothing, like everyone else in this school, it seemed like.

Julie, too, was irritable. After she and Dean had fought at her old house, they had made a pact not to fight over stupid things anymore. They hadn't fought since then, but things were still tense. They were making no progress, and her time was quickly running out, and it was driving them all crazy. On top of that, all these people were clueless idiots, and this pantsuit was incredibly uncomfortable…

By the time they got out of the nurse's office, Julie was in desperate need for a break from work. Sam could sense how frazzled his best friend and brother were and decided to give them a break. He went to talk to the math teacher, a boring guy in his late fifties, and then returned to the chemistry lab where he had left them, hoping they would feel rejuvenated enough to get back to work.

What he was not expecting was to find them on top of one of the tables, tearing each other's clothes off.

"Oh, god—what—guys!" Sam spluttered, turning his face away when he realized what was going on. "What the hell?"

Dean, who had been lying on top of Julie, making out with her, lifted his head but didn't get up. "We were bored and stressed, Sam, and we needed to de-stress."

"Well, could you de-stress when we're not working? And especially not when anyone could walk in and catch you two?"

"No one did," Dean shrugged.

"_I _did!" Sam pointed out.

Julie rolled her eyes and smirked. She had already gotten Dean's suit jacket onto the floor, and his white button-down shirt was half undone. For a moment, she couldn't help but think what a shame it would be for Dean to put his clothes back on, but she knew Sam was right. They were supposed to be professionals.

A year ago, she would never dream of having sex with Dean while they were working a case in a high school. But now, every moment she was closer to death, and the thought that she had so little time with him left made her do a lot of things she wouldn't normally do.

"We should probably put our clothes back on," she sighed, even as she traced her fingers over Dean's anti-possession tattoo.

"Or we could just have Sammy stand watch," Dean smirked.

Sam started to protest, but Julie said, "No, he's right. We need to get to work. Kids are dying."

"I hate it when you're right," he grumbled, getting off of Julie and buttoning his shirt up. Julie sat up and buttoned up her own shirt. "Okay, Sammy, we've got shirts on. You can look now."

Sam sighed and turned to face them as they picked up their suit jackets and pulled them back on. "Really, Julie?" he sighed. "I'm not surprised by Dean, but I thought you were more professional than this!"

"We were bored and stressed, and we needed to de-stress" she repeated, giving him a sly grin, before walking out of the classroom and going back to work.

Sam never did bother to tell her that her shirt was buttoned wrong.

* * *

Julie sighed wearily as she opened the door to the next room. The three of them were having zero luck. They'd talked to nearly every teacher, and no one seemed to know anything. There were only three teachers left to talk to, so the three of them had split up. She was dealing with the grief counselor, who technically wasn't even a teacher, and more than anything, she just wanted to go home.

Wow. She felt remarkably like she had through most of her high school career: frustrated, stressed, and desperately missing her bed.

The grief counselor was a middle-aged woman with brown hair, wearing a grey version of Julie's pantsuit. Why someone would wear this outfit willing bewildered her, but Julie put on a professional expression and introduced herself.

"Agent Kemps, here to talk to you about the deaths of four students in two months," she said shortly, all tact long gone.

"Ah, right," said the grief counselor, Ms. Lewis, pushing her glasses up her nose. "I heard some agents were coming around today. Not quite sure why, though. No offense, or anything but...the deaths were suicides."

"Some don't seem to think so," Julie replied shortly. "Now, Ms. Lewis, if I could just ask you a few questions…"

This woman was as clueless as any of them. At the end of her questioning Julie stood up and thanked her flatly for her help, although she had been no help at all.

"Glad to help," Ms. Lewis said brightly, standing up. She stuck her hand out to shake Julie's and added, "It was nice to meet you, agent."

Julie shook her hand, nodded curtly, and left, now massaging her forehead. She had a headache coming on, and they were no closer to solving the case.

She reached the hall she was supposed to meet Sam and Dean at, but they hadn't arrived yet. Julie sighed and leaned against the wall, waiting. Five minutes passed, and they still weren't done. The bell rang, causing her head to hurt worse, and students poured out of the classrooms, talking and shouting and laughing. Most of them quieted down when they saw her and tried and failed to whisper subtly about her. News of FBI agents investigating in the school had spread like wildfire, and it was all anyone wanted to talk about.

Julie was starting to get really tired of waiting for Sam and Dean while these kids ogled at her. She had just made up her mind to go find one of them when she heard the howl.

At first, she thought she had imagined it. It was distant, but it was there. And then it came again, alarmingly closer than last time. A moment later, another one joined it, coming from the opposite hallway.

Julie's eyes were wide, and her heart was racing. No. No, this couldn't be possible. She had ten more weeks! She still had time left!

But that didn't seem to matter. Because she could hear them, at least two hellhounds coming towards her. Another howl joined in, and another, and she could hear their horrible growling, and then a student screamed in horror, and another, and then suddenly there was something big and dark lunging towards her-

Dean was on his way to the place he was supposed to meet Sam and Julie when he heard the screaming.

For a moment, he was frozen in place, but then the voice, high and terrified and pained, came again, screaming and sobbing. At first, he had thought it was a student, and that whatever was killing the students had gotten another one.

But then he recognized the voice. And it wasn't a student.

Dean took off running down the hallway, shoving students out of the way and roaring, "_Move!" _He sprinted through the school until he reached a clump of terrified students and uncertain teachers, gathered around the screaming woman.

"Move! Get out of the way! _Move_!" Dean yelled desperately, pushing and shoving at students and teachers alike until he got to her. She was curled up in the fetal position against the wall, tears running down her face, shaking and screaming, begging something not to hurt her.

But there was nothing there.

Ignoring the people all around him and not caring what they thought, Dean dropped to his knees next to Julie and said soothingly, "Julie, it's alright. There's nothing there, honey. Jules, you're okay…"

He reached out to touch her face, but she screamed and jerked away from his touch. "No!" she screamed. "Don't hurt me, please!"

"I'm not…" Dean stopped, at a loss, and then tried again. "Jules, there's nothing there. Nothing's hurting you…"

The crowd murmured as someone shoved through them. Sam appeared, wide-eyed and breathing heavily. "Dean?" he asked. "What's going on? What's wrong with her?"

For the first time, Dean processed that at least twenty people were crowded around them, watching their every move. He needed to get her out of here and figure out what was wrong.

"We need to get her somewhere safe," he said shortly, and without another word, Dean scooped his trembling girlfriend up in his arms, ignoring how she whimpered and begged him softly to stop hurting her.

"The hell are you looking at?!" Dean snapped protectively when he saw at least twenty pairs of eyes locked on the woman he loved as she sobbed and whispered, "Please, please, no. Stop hurting me, please…"

"Dean," Sam said warningly.

"Get out of the way!" Dean snapped, and the crowd quickly scattered.

"Let's take her into the chemistry lab again," Sam said softly. "That teacher's not here today, so no one will be there."

Dean followed obediently, trying to ignore the horrible, whimpering, pained noises Julie was making as he carried her. Eventually, they finally reached the empty classroom, just as Julie wailed, "Please, just let me die…"

Sam and Dean met each other's eyes, and Dean saw his own fear and confusion and concern echoed in his brother's eyes. Without a word, they stepped into the classroom, and Dean gently set Julie down in the teacher's chair. She was still crying and shaking, and he didn't know how to help her.

Sam saw how lost his brother looked and bent down in front of Julie. "Julie?" he asked softly. "Julie, can you hear me?"

"Sam?" Julie whispered, her eyes coming into focus for the first time since Dean found her.

"I'm here, Julie," Sam said gently, smiling slightly. "You're okay."

Suddenly, Julie's eyes widened, now locked on something behind Sam. "No! They're back! Sam, run!"

And then she was screaming again, thrashing around in the chair and screaming Sam's name until her voice broke.

Now Sam looked as lost as Dean had. This time, it was Dean's turn to step forward. He grabbed Julie's wrists and held them tightly in his hands, because she was swinging wildly at them. That only made her scream more, and she struggled wildly against him, shrieking, "No! Let me go! Don't hurt me, please!"

"Julie, calm down! No one's hurting you!" Dean cried, but he didn't seem to be able to get through to her. Finally, out of ideas, he dropped her wrists and grabbed her face in his hands, forcing her gently to look at him. "Julie!" he yelled. "It's not real! Whatever you're seeing, it's not real!"

She stared at him for a long time, her eyes gradually coming into focus. Then she choked out, "Dean?"

"I'm here," he whispered, and then Julie collapsed into his arms, sobbing.

Dean held her, rubbing her back soothingly until she recovered enough to stop crying. Then she pulled away and stared at the Winchester's, panicked. "Sam, Dean, you've got to get out of here," she warned them. "They'll be back any second, and they'll hurt you, too!"

"What will?" Sam frowned.

"The hellhounds," Julie whispered, terrified.

The brothers exchanged a look. "Julie, you've still got ten weeks," Dean said softly. "They're not here." Not yet.

"No, no, I heard them, and then I saw them, and they were tearing me apart, biting my leg off and ripping me apart-"

"Julie, look at yourself!" Dean cried. "You're fine. Both legs and everything."

Slowly, she looked down and frowned. "But…how…I saw them…and I _felt _them…"

"Wraith," Sam suddenly gasped.

Dean and Julie looked up at him. "What?" Dean frowned.

"Don't you remember, when we checked into that mental hospital, and there was a wraith killing and eating the brains of the patients?" Sam said, his eyes bright as he realized that he was right. "And then the thing found us and touched us, and then we went insane!"

"It's a wraith," Dean whispered.

"And some of the teachers, the students were acting really odd before they committed suicide. Like, odder than most suicidal teens."

"Who have you touched?" Dean asked Julie suddenly.

She frowned. "What?"

"Who have you touched today?" he asked again.

"Well…you," she said slowly.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Besides me. It didn't have to be much, just their skin touching your skin, and they can get inside your head."

"I shook hands with half the teachers!" Julie exclaimed. "It could be twenty different people at least."

"Sam, you stay with her," Dean said sharply, standing up.

"What are you going to do?" Sam frowned.

"Find the thing that did this to her and stab it about a hundred times," Dean growled.

"Remember, silver kills them, and you can see their true face in mirrors," Sam advised his brother.

"I got it, Sam," Dean said shortly, pulling silver knife out of his jacket and showing it to Sam.

His little brother nodded and then sat down on the ground next to Julie, who had begun to tremble again, her eyes glazing over. "Be careful," he said softly.

Dean opened the door, and then Julie screamed. He whirled around and cried, "What?"

"Dean, you can't go out there!" Julie wailed. "There are hellhounds out there, and they'll kill you!"

Sam and Dean exchanged a look, and then Dean said flatly, "Don't let her go anywhere."

Dean stepped out of the room, and Julie began to scream and sob his name. It took all of Sam's strength to hold her down as she tried to run to him and stop the hellhounds that were surely ripping the man she loved apart.

Dean marched angrily through the school, barging into the classrooms of every teacher who had so much as looked at Julie today. He at least avoided the ones who were teaching a class at the moment. They all had questions about Julie and concerned looks for him, but he ignored them, glancing at their reflection in nearby windows or mirrors. When each person passed the test, he excused himself and marched off to find the next one.

Meanwhile, he went over a list of all the people he had so much as brushed against today. He had shaken the hands of ten or so teachers. The English teacher, the history teacher, the drama teacher, the vice principal, the guidance counselor, the P. E. teacher…

He had already checked five teachers when he heard a horribly familiar voice behind him, one he'd been trying for years to forget.

"And there is! My little protégé, the Righteous Man, the one who got away…"

Dean whirled around, trying to ignore how that monster's voice alone caused his heart to pound so hard it hurt. To his horror, Dean found himself staring at a demon he thought he was long rid of. But he hadn't seen him die, and in his heart, he had always known that somehow he had survived. And now he had finally found Dean…

"No," Dean breathed, backing away until his back hit a wall of lockers.

"It's been too long, Dean," Alastair purred, moving slowly towards the hunter.

Looking into that demon's cruel, dead eyes, for a moment Dean was in hell, a quivering, bleeding, broken mess hanging on the rack. In his mind's eye, Alastair's true form loomed over him, hideous and twisted and evil, laughing maniacally as he sank a hook deep in Dean's flesh and then ripped…

"How've you been, Dean?" Alastair crooned, still advancing on Dean. The hunter was snapped back to reality at that horrible voice. "Have you been good? Healthy? Whole? Because we can fix that, you and I…"

Dean finally recovered enough to go for the demon-killing knife in his jacket. It wouldn't kill Alastair, but it would slow him down, maybe just long enough for him to get to Sam and Julie and make sure they were safe…

But before Dean could get the knife all the way out of his jacket, it went flying through the air, right out of his hand and straight into the demon's.

"I remember this little toy," Alastair smirked, turning the knife over in his hand. "It really stings, doesn't it?"

"You're not real," Dean blurted suddenly, remembering why he was here in this school and what he had been doing before this walking nightmare appeared.

"Hmm?" Alastair asked, not really listening, but still studying the blade.

"The wraith must have got me," Dean said firmly. "You're not real. I'm just crazy."

"Oh, you're crazy, Dean," the demon laughed. "But trust me, O Righteous one…I am very, very real."

And without another word, he swung the knife in a wide arc, slicing Dean's arm open. Dean cried out in pain, and then the demon descended on him, slicing and carving and hacking until Sam finally came to collect his trembling, screaming, crazy older brother.

* * *

Sam felt incredibly guilty leaving Dean and Julie chained up, but he didn't have a lot of options. They were unreachable, dangerous to others and themselves, and he had a wraith to kill.

He was now absolutely certain he was hunting a wraith. Somewhere in-between Dean's struggling and babbling about Alastair, he was able to give Sam a list of all the people he'd come into contact with today, but after that he was hopeless.

It had broken Sam's heart, finding Dean cowering on the floor, moaning in pain and begging some invisible figure to stop. Mostly, Sam was just grateful he'd found Dean before someone else did, because when Sam tried to get his brother to stand and come back to the lab, Dean lashed out at him and gave a pretty good fight before realizing he was fighting his brother and not the master torturer of hell.

Years had passed since Dean's horrible decades in hell, and Sam had naively hoped that maybe those memories had faded. He still sometimes struggled with his memories of the Cage, which were mostly gone, but the occasional detail slipped through, and that was enough to give him ample nightmare material. Most of the time, Dean played off hell like it was no big deal, but seeing the wide-eyed, terrified, quivering mess that those visions of Alastair turned him into, Sam knew how much hell clearly still haunted Dean, and probably always would.

When Sam finally got his brother back to the abandoned lab, he found Julie huddled in the corner, stabbing and swinging at the air with her knife. He rushed to stop her, taking away her knife once he had calmed her down, and realized what he needed to do.

So he got some handcuffs out of his duffel bag, took any and all weapons away from his crazy brother and best friend, and chained them to opposite sides of a table. Trying to ignore Julie's soft whimpering or the rattle of Dean struggling against his chains, Sam left to finish the job that Dean had started.

In some small part of Dean's mind, he knew that Alastair wasn't really there. But the demon looked real, and he sounded real, and he had sure as hell felt real as he had tortured Dean back in the hall.

Dean watched, half-terrified and half-murderous, as Alastair roamed calmly around the room, searching for an exciting new weapon to use on Dean. "There's a fascinating array of chemicals that you can find in a high school chemistry lab," Alastair said smoothly, lifting a bottle full of clear liquid that looked like water, but Dean doubted was nearly as harmless. "Rather foolish of teachers to let children play with them, when some of these combined could melt your flesh off."

Suppressing a shudder at the thought of what was surely coming, Dean tried once again to free his wrist. Sam had chained him to one corner of a table and taken away all of his weapons. It made no sense, and Dean had begged him not to, but Sam had left him, defenseless and trapped, for this demon to slowly take apart.

Try as he might, Dean could not get free. Even worse, though, was the woman chained to another corner of the table. Alastair hadn't noticed her yet, thankfully, but Julie was there, trapped and defenseless like him, an easy target for this psychotic monster.

"Hmm," Alastair mused, pulling a small blowtorch out of a drawer. "What do you think, Dean? Would a little fire liven up this party? It would be a nice little preview of what's waiting for you in hell."

Somehow, Dean found the willpower to meet the demon's eyes steadily as it advanced on him, refusing to show fear. Yes, this monster terrified him more than just about anything else he had ever encountered or endured, but he was Dean Winchester, and he wasn't going to give Alastair the satisfaction of breaking him this early into their little "sessions," as that monster liked to call them.

Alastair lit the blowtorch, and Dean forced himself not to look at the small flame as it drew closer, reaching for his skin. He gritted his teeth so tightly he thought his teeth might crack, refusing to scream.

And then suddenly the flame went out. Alastair's sadistic gaze was no longer on Dean, but on something just past him.

"Now, what do we have here?" the demon purred, forgetting Dean and moving towards the other captive in the room.

"No," Dean gasped before he could stop himself, and Alastair turned away from Julie to smile cruelly at him.

"Who's this pretty little thing, I wonder?" the grand inquisitor of hell asked, amused, reaching out his fingers to brush across Julie's cheek. She was curled up as much as she could be with her wrist chained to the table, her eyes squeezed shut, the occasional whimper escaping her lips. The sight of that most feared and hated monster touching Julie made Dean's vision red.

"Get the hell away from her!" Dean snarled, throwing all caution to the wind. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew expressing any kind of concern for Julie would only put her in more danger, but he couldn't help it.

"Is she one of your little sluts, Dean?" Alastair chuckled.

"Call her that again and I'll kill you," Dean growled, trying to lunge towards the demon but getting pulled back by his handcuffs.

"Hmm…judging by your behavior, I'd say this girl is more than one of your typical one-night stand type," the demon observed, clearly enjoying this. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you love her…"

"She's just some girl I was trying to protect from whatever was killing people in here," Dean lied quickly, trying desperately to protect her. "I don't even know her."

"Well then, I'm sure you won't mind if I do this, then," Alastair said brightly, and with no warning, he suddenly pulled out his knife and drove it into Julie's stomach.

"_No_!" Dean screamed, lunging forward so quickly something popped out of place in his arm. Alastair watched him, laughing quietly, and then held up his blade to show that it hadn't actually pierced her skin. It had been a trick.

"You lied to me, Dean," Alastair practically purred, lifting his knife and tracing it up and down Julie's neck. She stirred slightly and moaned, but didn't otherwise react. Dean, on the other hand, watched the blade move hypnotically, scared out of his mind. If she died now, she was going to hell. There would be no saving her, and he couldn't let that happen.

"I really don't like it when my victims lie," the demon continued. "It proves they don't respect me. They don't _fear _me like they should. Now, Dean, do I have to carve this woman open, or will you tell me what I want to know?"

"Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you," Dean choked out, his throat tight. "Just don't hurt her."

Alastair smiled at that. "Who is she, Dean?"

"Her name is Julie Carters. She's a hunter."

"Who is she to _you_?"

"My…my girlfriend." That word didn't really convey all Julie meant to him, though.

"And you love her, oh, that's clear." Dean didn't reply, and Alastair snapped, "Answer me! Do you love her?"

"Yes," Dean whispered, disgusted and angry and ashamed, but mostly scared, scared for Julie more than himself. At least in hell, all Alastair could do was torture him in the most horrific ways possible. But he never got his hands on Sam, Dean saw to that. But now that Alastair had Julie, it was like seeing his worst nightmare come true…

"Say it," the demon smirked cruelly, his knife tip resting over Julie's heart now.

"I love her," Dean said flatly, glaring at his former mentor down in hell.

"How sweet," Alastair crooned. "Too bad, though. If you didn't love her, I'm sure it would hurt a lot less when I did this."

And he drove his knife into Julie's heart, this time for real.

Julie was snapped out of her nightmarish visions of hellhounds tearing at her skin when she heard a heartbreaking scream just a few feet away. Suddenly, the hounds were gone, and she was still chained to a table, but she was healthy and whole. She turned to see who was making that horrible noise and saw Dean thrashing around, tears leaking out of the corners of his closed eyes as he moaned, "Julie, no… please, no…Jules…"

"Dean?" Julie asked, confused. "Dean, I'm right here."

"God, no...Julie, I can't…I can't…" He was on the verge of sobbing now, and Julie heart broke. She reached out for him, but her fingers came just a couple inches short of his shoulder.

"Dean, it's okay. I'm right here. Honey, I'm okay," Julie said softly, trying to soothe him.

"Not for long," another voice came from the doorway.

Julie looked up, shocked, as the guidance counselor walked calmly towards her. Something in her expression had changed though, and Julie knew before she spoke again that this must be the monster that had been killing innocent high schoolers.

"It's you, isn't it?" Julie asked darkly. "You're the one who's been hurting everyone."

"Guilty," "Ms. Lewis" smirked.

"And you're a wraith," Julie accused the monster standing over her.

"Smart little thing, you are," she laughed. "And a lot less crazy than that guy over there. You managed to snap out of my nice little nightmare I gave you. But your boyfriend over there? He's long gone. He'll never be sane again."

"Oh, he will be," Julie smirked, her eyes dark. "Perhaps you don't know who that is."

"Oh, I know. That's Dean Winchester, one of the two deadliest hunters alive. Why do you think I took him out so early on?"

Julie glared at the monster pretending to be Ms. Lewis. "You really think you're going to be able to kill him? Or either of us, for that matter?"

"It worked on all those other kids," the wraith shrugged. "It's a pretty good plan. Do you even realize how many kids commit suicides these days? So I just find a few likely candidates, make them go crazy so it makes sense when they suddenly show up dead. And crazy brains are just so more delicious."

The wraith knelt in front of Dean, smiling. Julie tried to pull free of her handcuffs and stop the monster as a spike slowly slid out of its wrist. It reached for Dean and brushed a finger across his sweat-soaked forehead. "I can just tell Crazy over here is going to be divine."

"I'll kill you," Julie snarled, struggling wildly to get free and murder that monster who dared come near the man she loved.

"How can you?" the wraith laughed. "I don't know if you've noticed, but you're chained up. You can't."

"Maybe I can't," Julie said slowly, her eyes on something behind the wraith. "But I bet you _he_ can."

And the wraith whirled around just in time for Sam to drive a silver knife through its throat.

For a moment, both hunters were silent as they recovered. Then Sam said sheepishly, "Sorry about using you two as bait. I figured that was the fastest way to find this thing, though."

"Don't be sorry, it was smart," Julie admitted. "But you had better get over here and unchain me now, before I start to get really annoyed."

By the time Sam unchained Julie, Dean's eyes were open, and they were clear and bright. He looked around, confused. "What…? Where…?" he asked slowly, disoriented.

"You're okay, Dean," Sam sighed, kneeling down next to his brother to unchain him. "A wraith got to you and made you crazy. Again. But I took care of it. Everything's okay now."

"But, Sammy, Alastair was _here_," Dean choked out. "Somehow, he came back, and you've got to run, he could be anywhere-"

"It wasn't real, Dean," Sam said firmly, and realization slowly crept into his brother's green eyes.

"But…he…he killed Julie," Dean got out brokenly.

"Not exactly," Julie said carefully, stepping into Dean's line of vision.

For a moment, he just stared at her, and then suddenly her shot to his feet and threw his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. "Thank God," he breathed, but his voice cracked on those two words, and Julie suddenly felt like crying.

Sam watched the two of them sadly for a moment. He wanted to give them a moment, but they had to get moving. There was a monster corpse to dispose of him, and then they needed to get out of town before people asked too many questions…

"Guys, I hate to break this up, but we've got to get out of here," Sam said gently.

To his surprise, they pulled apart easily and nodded at each other. "Sam's right," Dean sighed. "As usual," he added, getting a smirk out of his brother.

And without another word, the three hunters got to work.

* * *

That night, after a long day of cleaning up after their job and driving back to their bunker, Dean stripped off his shirt and pants and collapsed right into bed. Julie crawled into bed soon after him, at least taking a moment to change into pajamas, and then lay on her side, staring at his back, which was turned to her.

She waited a while for him to fall asleep, but Dean's breath continued to be irregular. Finally, Julie sighed and asked, "You can't sleep, huh?"

"I know what I'll see when I do," Dean replied shortly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly.

Dean rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. "Not really. I mean, you don't want to know."

"I want you to be able to talk with me, about anything. And if you need to talk about Alastair and hell…I'm pretty sure I can handle it."

Dean snorted bitterly. "Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea," he said almost condescendingly.

"You know, I'm pretty sure I do," she said coldly, and he winced.

"Right. Obviously, you know what hell was like. You had to suffer under Beelzebub, who was probably even worse than Alastair, if that's possible." Dean took a deep, steadying breath, and then continued, "But…you don't know what it's like to…to have them _break_ you."

Julie swallowed. "Dean…I know how awful hell is. No one blames you for breaking. I probably would have broken soon if Cas hadn't saved me."

But he just laughed bitterly. "No, you wouldn't have," he smirked, still staring at the ceiling. "Jules, you're a good person. You're wonderful. You're good to your very core, and no matter how much torture you endured, you would never give in and torture other people. You just couldn't. It's not in your nature."

"You don't know that," she said defensively. "Anyone would break under that much strain."

"Not you. Not my dad. Probably not Sammy either. And I'm not looking for some pity party, either. I'm just stating facts." He took in a deep, calming breath, and continued, "I'm not a good person, Julie. I try very hard to be, but deep down, I'm weak. I'm selfish. And I've always known that. And that's just something I have to deal with."

Julie was mad now. "How can you be so blind, Dean, that you only see the bad parts of yourself, and you hate yourself for them?!" she snapped.

He turned his head so his green eyes pierced into her. "How are you so blind that you only see the good parts of me?" he replied calmly.

"That's not true," she said after a moment. "I know you've got your faults, Dean. But you're a good man."

"I wish," he said softly. "But the truth is, you don't know me as well as you think. There's only one creature in all of existence who really knew who I was, and it wasn't you, or my dad, or Bobby, or even Sammy. It was him. Alastair. I spent forty damn years with that…_thing_. Day in and day out, he'd take me apart, figuring me out bit by bit, until he knew what I really was. And once he knew that, he knew how to break down my spirit, until I finally just gave in." The man Julie loved took a deep, shuddering breath, and then admitted, "Julie…if Cas hadn't gotten to me when he did, I would have just kept torturing under Alastair until it quit meaning anything to me. If Cas hadn't saved me, I would have become a demon five years before I ever met you."

Julie wasn't quite sure what to say to all that. "That's part of why I've always been so terrified of Alastair," Dean admitted softly. "Not just because of what he did to me, and what he got me to do. But because he knew just how despicable I am."

Dean rolled back over and Julie watched as the muscles in his back slowly relaxed and his breathing evened out. She waited until he was asleep to draw close to him and press her lips to his shoulder bone for a long moment. When she pulled away, she whispered, "You're wrong," knowing he couldn't hear her.

She stayed like that until the nightmares began, and he began to twitch and moan and beg Alastair to stop. Then she held him tightly and whispered to him of how kind and good and brave he was until, finally, morning came.


	75. Chapter 75

**Chapter Seventy-Five**

"How does this sound? Four kids got killed by their own father last week."

"Sounds like your regular crazy, asshole, murderer father who had better be getting the death sentence," Dean grumbled, not looking up from his computer screen.

Sam shrugged. His brother was probably right. "Okay…how about this? Woman gets stabbed to death inside a locked house without anyone setting off the alarm."

"Sounds like a ghost killed her," Dean shrugged.

"Right," Sam said. His brother said nothing else, and Sam frowned. "That is the whole point of us looking for cases, right? To find people in danger and save them?"

"Like I said, sounds like a ghost. Call Matthew Bones or Jim Morgan or Jody or somebody to deal with it."

Sam stares incredulously at his brother before reminding himself why he was acting like this. Of course a small little hunt like this wouldn't matter to Dean, when his girlfriend had only nine weeks left to live, and they weren't getting any closer to a way to save her.

"You're not even looking for cases, are you?" Sam sighed.

"Nope. Found some ritual about separating someone's soul from their body, though."

"What?" Sam frowned, leaning over to look. "Would that even help?"

"Doesn't look like it," his brother muttered. "I think it's used for harvesting souls, and it basically leaves the person an empty shell. So, not what we want. Plus it takes sacrificing a virgin, among other horrible things, so I'd say that's out."

"Dean…" Sam started nervously. "Don't you think if there was a way to save Julie online, we would have found it by now?"

"So what do you want me to do, Sam?" Dean snapped. "Give up?"

"Or you could help look for a case, something to get our minds off of things," his little brother pointed out hopefully.

Before Dean could snap a reply, though, Julie walked into the room. Both brothers were a little surprised to see her. They'd been sitting at the table, eating and drinking beers and doing research all morning without her. Neither of them had seen her since eight o'clock that morning, and it was now a little before two in the afternoon. She had gone into the library to read or something, and hadn't come out since.

"Hey," Sam said brightly, glad for a distraction from what was surely about to be a tense argument.

"Hey," she said in a matching tone. She sat down in a wooden chair across from the two brothers, who were sitting side-by-side, and studied them. They exchanged uncomfortable looks and squirmed under her stare.

"Uh…what's up, Jules?" Dean asked uncertainly. "You seem a little…weird today."

"Oh, nothing," she shrugged. "I just finally finished those _Supernatural _books."

They both blinked. Then Dean muttered, "Oh, crap."

"Do we even want to know?" Sam asked nervously.

"I've got about a billion questions, so you're going to have to," Julie shrugged. "Like, first of all, Sam, why the hell did you think you could overpower freaking Lucifer when you said yes to him?"

Sam looked down uncomfortably. "I didn't know the books went that far," was all he said.

"And also, how the hell did you have the sheer willpower to overpower the freaking devil and save your brother and the entire world?" she asked, half-awed and half-proud.

Sam blushed a little and smiled sheepishly, both embarrassed and pleased at her obvious pride in him.

"I helped," Dean chimed in, and Julie rolled her eyes.

"Actually, I've got some questions for you. Like, why on earth did you think telling your demon-blood-filled brother who had just beat the crap out of you that if he walked out that door he could never come back was a good idea?"

Dean looked down, ashamed. "To be fair, I was acting like a complete idiot," Sam chimed in, trying to defend his brother.

"You both were," Julie pointed out. "But there was probably a smarter thing to say as your damaged, confused little brother who desperately needs help is walking out the door."

Dean grumbled something under his breath that Julie was pretty sure she didn't want to hear. Instead, she started her next round of questions.

"Also, Sam, what the hell? Ruby? Come on, man, she was so clearly playing you."

"Yeah, yeah…"

"And Dean? That angel chick you slept with ended up trying to murder your parents and killed your brother? Just how bad were you in bed?"

Sam roared with laughter while Dean sputtered and scrambled for an answer.

After that, Julie had other, deeper, more meaningful questions. She asked the boys to describe Bobby and Ellen and Jo and John and Ash and Pamela and all of the other people they had lost, if it wasn't too painful. They shared fond memories, and she got to know those people as more than just characters in a book. She asked about whether Cas was really such a hard ass when they met him, and why they didn't ever just shoot Bela. She ranted about Gordon and Azazel and Lucifer and Zachariah and Uriel, lamented over never knowing Gabriel, who she thought was hysterical. She asked about what the apocalypse was like, and she asked whether the demon blood was really that powerful, and what they regretted, and what they were proud of.

At one point, she asked about a young boy, Jesse, who they had both nearly forgotten about. "Oh my God," Sam gasped. "I can't believe I almost forgot about him."

"I take it you never tried to find him?" she guessed.

"He's the Anti-Christ, Jules," Dean pointed out. "He's not going to get found unless he wants to be."

"Well, his powers only got stronger because Lucifer was topside, right?" she pointed out. "And now that he's not…wouldn't the kid just be a normal kid with a little bit of extra psychic juice?"

"Like you, Sammy," Dean pointed out.

"I guess," Sam admitted. "Maybe we should try to find him…" he mused.

"I think we've got enough problems at the moment," Dean pointed out. "Once we all survive this Apocalypse 2.0, then we can go around adopting all the half-demon kids you two want."

After that, Julie brought up the question she'd really been dying to ask. "Okay. I'm just going to say this once. Did you two use to be gay for each other?"

Both of them stared at her, wide-eyed. Then Sam burst out laughing, while Dean cried, "What? Hell no! Sasquatch over there? Are you kidding? First of all, he is not my type, second of all, _he's my brother-_"

"Okay, okay, I believe you," Julie laughed, mostly to stop his protests. "Me thinks he doth protest too much," she added in a whisper to Sam, who laughed before realizing what that would mean for him, and then going pale.

"Why on earth would you think that?" Dean cried, still outraged.

"It's just…God, the sexual tension between you two in these books was insane!" she laughed, but neither of them found that very amusing. "I mean, I was kind of rooting for you two to get together myself."

"What?!" both brothers yelled, causing Julie to burst out laughing again.

She was still laughing when Castiel appeared behind her, blue eyes wide with fear and panic.

Sam and Dean both stood up at the sight of their wild-eyed, clearly distraught friend. Julie's laughter died and she turned around to see what they were staring at. "Oh my God," she breathed, getting up. "Cas, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I don't mean to bring this on you. You three could use a break from all this."

"What's going on, Cas?" Dean snapped. "Whatever it is, we're glad to help."

"It's…it's Hannah," he admitted in an almost frightened voice. "She's been taken by Beelzebub."

By the time Julie got Cas to calm down and sit down and tell them everything, Crowley appeared.

Castiel was explaining how demons had ambushed Hannah while she was scouting for a possible seal on earth when an all-too familiar voice drawled, "Well, I for one think it was an obvious trap. Your pretty little angel friend should have known better, Cassie."

Four heads whipped to glare at Crowley. "What are you doing here?" Sam asked darkly.

"I'm here to get some backup so I can go stop the breaking of a seal," the demon sighed. "And, as depressing as just saying it is…you four are about the only backup I can get."

"What do you mean? What seal are they breaking?" Dean asked, standing up.

"The sacrifice of an angel," Crowley said cheerily.

"Hannah," Cas gasped, standing up as well. "We have to save her. She has stood by my side through all of this, and I cannot fail her now."

"We will," Julie said soothingly, touching Castiel's arm reassuringly. "We won't let anything happen to her. We'll go now."

"Well, _you_ won't," Dean said firmly.

"Excuse me?" Julie snapped.

"If we're going to fight Beelzebub, I'm not letting you within the same state as that evil son of a bitch!"

"Last time I checked, Dean, you don't control me. Hannah is a friend and these seals affect me just as much as you, so I _will _be going-"

"You will not, even if I have to chain you up in the basement myself," Dean snapped, and the two of them were practically nose-to-nose.

"For the love of God, we do not have time for another one of your lover's quarrels!" Crowley snapped irritably. "If you don't want that angel dead, you'll come with me, now."

"Gladly," Dean said, turning to face Crowley. "Sammy, Cas, come on. Let's go."

"You pig-headed, sexist-" Julie started to snap.

"I am not being sexist!" Dean yelled. "I am trying to protect you."

"I am a hunter, Dean, and a damn good one. I don't _need _protecting!"

"But you're damned, Jules, and if you die today, you're going straight downstairs, and I can't save you," Dean snapped, trying to hide his pain with anger.

"You can't just sentence me to sitting in this bunker for the last nine weeks of my life!" Julie shot back.

"Watch me."

Sam, Cas, and Crowley exchanged looks. These two could be at it for hours. And Hannah did not have hours.

Julie and Dean were in the midst of another round of bickering when suddenly Cas laid a hand on each of their shoulders, and then suddenly they were no longer in the bunker.

* * *

The five of them suddenly appeared outside a large, grey manor surrounded by fields. Sam sized up the building, looking for an entrance besides the front door, but Dean and Julie were a little too preoccupied to be doing that.

"Cas, are you freaking kidding me?!" Dean snapped. "You brought her _here_?!"

"We had to get moving, and you two were going to argue for hours," the angel said unapologetically.

"Thank you, Cas," Julie said smugly.

"But you're still not coming inside," he said firmly, his grave blue eyes now on her.

"What?" Julie snapped. "The hell I'm not."

"We cannot allow you to be killed, or else Beelzebub will have your soul in hell, and it will be so well-guarded I will have no hope of ever saving you."

"Sam?" she asked desperately, turning to her best friend to back her up.

"I'm sorry, Julie," he said softly. "They're right. You're too important to lose."

Julie swore angrily, and she still looked like she wanted to go inside the manor, but together, her two closest friends and her boyfriend managed to convince her to stay out and only come in if they desperately needed backup.

"Alright, now that we're all done bickering about keeping poor Juliet safe, I say we get in there and save that angel before it's too late," Crowley said. Then he sighed. "Never thought I'd be willingly trying to save an angel's life, especially that smug, arrogant bitch of an angel."

"Watch how you speak about my lieutenant," Cas said warningly, and the angel and demon glared at each other.

"For the love of…we do _not _have time for this!" Dean snapped. "Come on!"

They searched quickly for an entrance to the manor besides the large, grand front door, but there seemed to be none. "He's inside," Castiel said darkly. "My power is already being weakened. If I go in there, I'll be about as powerful as a human."

"Well, that's reassuring," Dean grumbled.

"It's not like we have must choice, though," Sam pointed out, and without another word, the four men walked inside the dangerous house while Julie waited, fuming outside.

The house was falling into disrepair. Furniture and rugs were rotting, and bits of the floor and walls had been eaten away at by termites. More importantly, though, there was no sign of anything demon or angel in the first room.

They stopped when they came to two separate hallways, unsure which way to go.

"We can't split up," Sam pointed out. "If we get separated, we're dead."

"So…which way?" Dean asked uncertainly.

"Left," Cas said firmly. "I can sense Hannah's presence, and she's that way."

Gripping his demon-killing knife tightly, Dean led the way down the hall and into a wide room that looked like a slowly rotting library. The others fanned out behind him, looking around for any sign of Hannah or an enemy.

"You boys got here surprisingly fast," an unfamiliar, yet somehow horribly familiar voice said smoothly, and someone rose out of one of the old, musty chairs. He was tall and muscular, with tan skin and dark blonde hair just a couple shades lighter than Dean's. He even had green eyes. Dean felt a little unnerved when he noticed the man was built like him, and the same height, too. He even had light freckles!

The most unnerving thing about him though, was the all too-familiar air of pure evil about him.

"Beelzebub," Dean snarled, automatically stepping between his little brother and this evil Knight of Hell.

"I'm impressed that you can recognize me in this new body," the demon chuckled.

"I have to admit, I like this meatsuit better," Dean smirked.

"Of course you would. I modeled it after you to screw with your pretty little sex toy—oops, I mean girlfriend's head." Beelzebub's green eyes were just as malicious as ever.

Dean started to lunge at the demon, but Sam put a hand on his arm and held him back. "Where's Hannah?" Castiel asked sharply.

"Upstairs," the king of the Knights shrugged. "We weren't going to kill her until you got here, Castiel. I though it would be funny to watch your face when we slaughter her." Cas's eyes flashed dangerously. "Of course, now that you're here, we could always just sacrifice you and use your blood to break the seal."

"Try it and I'll kill you myself," Dean growled.

"I see your tough guy attitude hasn't changed much," another voice called. The woman it belonged to stepped around the corner and smirked at Dean. She was a tall, curvy, leggy brunette with pretty brown eyes, but there was something inhuman in those eyes. Dean took one look at her tight, sexy clothing and the hungry, hateful way she was eying with him and groaned.

"I thought we took care of you," he said coldly.

"Who…?" Sam started to ask, and then his eyes narrowed. "Apollyon."

"I'll deal with you later, Sammy," she smirked, but there was only hate in her eyes. "Right now I'm more concerned with your pretty boy brother and how slow and agonizing his death is going to be."

"We buried bits of you all over," Castiel frowned. "How are you back?"

"Well, it did take weeks, even with all of my power," Beelzebub sighed. "You boys did a very thorough job. But I managed to put little sister back together, and she found a less damaged body-"

"And then I agreed to help him raise Lucifer as long as he promised me you, Dean Winchester," Apollyon finished, glaring at Dean.

"Well, sweetheart, I hate to break it to you, but I'm taken-"

"Oh, I'm not interested in sex anymore, Dean, although that would be a nice way to strip away that arrogance and pride of yours," the demon said cruelly. "No, I want to tear you apart, but slowly…make you beg for death, but I won't give it to you. I'll torture you a week for every day I was buried all over the country. No, a month."

"Tempting," Dean smirked, ignoring the protective way Sam and Cas were bristling behind him. "However, I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

"See, that's not really an option," she smirked, and then the two Knights of Hell attacked.

Sam, Dean, and Cas fought valiantly, stabbing and parrying with their respective angel blades and demon-killing knives. Crowley vanished as soon as the fighting began, but they had bigger problems than that. Sam and Dean struggled against Beelzebub, who bore the Mark of Cain and the First Blade and was nearly unstoppable, while Castiel fought against Apollyon. But in the end, they had no hope of winning.

Sam went down first. Beelzebub managed to slice his left forearm open, and while Sam was recovering, the demon threw out his hand and the hunter went sailing into the wall. Cas got distracted from the fight when his friend was hurt, and Apollyon managed to disarm him and throw him to the ground as well.

Then only Dean was left. He struggled with all his might against Beelzebub, but the demon was significantly stronger. Finally, he got tired of fighting and just overpowered Dean, disarming the man and throwing him to the ground. Dean picked himself up off of the ground just in time to see the point of the First Blade pressed up against his heart.

"Dean!" Sam groaned as he started to pick himself up, but he would never get there in time.

"You know, Winchester, you are really starting to piss me off," Beelzebub, and he started to pull the Blade back to stab Dean.

And then a gun went off, and suddenly Beelzebub was frozen in place, blood dripping from a bullet wound in his neck.

Dean scrambled away from the trapped demon as another bullet went into Apollyon's heart. He looked up, wide-eyed to see his savior, assuming it was Crowley come to the rescue.

Instead, he watched in awe as Julie lowered her gun and smirked, "Bet you're glad that I didn't stay outside, huh?"

The two hunters and the angel picked themselves up off the floor, staring at Julie. She walked over to join them and check on Sam's cut to see how serious it was. When Beelzebub saw her, he started to smile. "Oh, Juliet, you were a fool to come here," he chuckled.

Julie turned away from Sam to glare at the Knight of Hell. "You know, everyone keeps saying that. And yet I just saved their asses and took out two Knights of Hell. Maybe it's about time for you all to quit underestimating me."

"I would never underestimate you, darling," Beelzebub said teasingly.

"Funny, I don't remember giving you permission to speak to me," she said coldly.

Both Knights chuckled. "Oh, she's gotten braver," Beelzebub laughed. "I remember a time when the mere sight of me would make you scream and cry and beg for mercy."

Dean's face twisted in hatred and he tried to move towards the Knight of Hell. However, Julie put a hand on his chest and gently pushed him back. "I appreciate the gesture, tough guy, but I've really got this," she said, her voice both gentle and pissed at the same time.

Then she turned her furious blue eyes on Beelzebub, and he felt the tiniest thrill of fear.

"I have no way of killing you, Beelzebub, which is a real shame," Julie snapped. "After everything you've done to me, and to these boys, I would love nothing more than to tear you apart and send you back to hell for good."

"As long as I get to take you with me," he replied, grinning nastily.

This time, both Sam and Dean moved to fight the demon, but Julie turned and put a hand on each of their chests and gently pushed them back. "Really. I've got this," she said firmly.

Then she turned back to the demon and smiled. "I'm not going to hell. Just like you're not raising Lucifer, and Sam's not getting possessed, and this world is not getting destroyed. You wanna know why?"

"Because you pathetic maggots are going to stop us?" Apollyon laughed.

"Yes," Julie said, deadly calm. "You Knights may be ancient and powerful, but these boys and Cas here have defeated things far more powerful and far older than you."

"You really think mere humans can stop me now?" Beelzebub laughed. "I'm invincible, thanks to you and your undying love for that boyfriend of yours."

Julie only smiled, though. "No one's invincible," she said calmly, absolute certainty in her eyes. "And we'll find a way. Trust me." Dean couldn't suppress a little shudder when he saw the darkness in his girlfriend's eyes. And at the same time, he found this badass Julie really freaking hot.

"As for humans taking you down, I don't doubt that it'll happen," Julie continued calmly. "Don't forget, these three guys were the ones who took your lord Lucifer down in the first place."

"That's where you come in," Apollyon smirked. "Once you're dead and my brother here is taking you apart in hell, those three are going to be so busy crying over you that they won't stand a chance."

But instead of showing fear or pain, Julie just turned to glare at the demon. "After what you did to him, bitch, you don't get to talk."

"Where is all this confidence coming from?" Beelzebub asked, honestly curious. "You were always terrified of me, and rightly so."

"I've got nothing to lose," she shrugged. "And being scared got really old."

At that moment, someone came walking down the stairs. The hunters and angel grabbed their weapons, but it was only Crowley, walking calmly towards them with a self-satisfied smirk.

"What the hell, Crowley?" Dean snapped. "You bailed on us the moment a fight started!"

"I didn't 'bail'," he sighed dramatically.

"What else do you want to call it? Running away?" Sam asked coldly.

"Being smart, Moose, a concept you surely wouldn't understand," the former king of hell said drily. "While you three and apparently Julie were fighting down here, I went upstairs and made quick work of the minions upstairs. And guess who I found…"

And sure enough, behind him came a familiar face, Hannah. She looked pale and weak, and she had cuts on her wrists that were draining the blood out of her, obviously a way to torture and weaken her.

"Hannah!" Cas cried in relief, but then his blue eyes narrowed in anger when he saw her wounds.

"Castiel," Hannah said weakly. "You shouldn't have come."

He ignored her and hurried over to his lieutenant to examine her wounds more closely. But as he walked past Beelzebub to reach her, Julie noticed that the demon was smiling. That unnerved her, and then she noticed the blood on his hands and the devil's trap bullet on the floor. He must have literally pulled it out of his neck while they were distracted.

"Cas!" Julie screamed, but it was too late. Beelzebub swung the First Blade in a wide arc, catching the angel across the chest and putting a deep gash all along his torso. He gasped in pain and collapsed to the floor.

"No!" Dean yelled angrily, and he and Sam ran at the Knight of Hell. But Beelzebub was out of patience for them. He raised a hand, and both men went sailing backwards and were pinned into the wall.

While they struggled against his power, Julie came up from behind him and tried to stab him with an angel blade. But Beelzebub was ready. He whirled around and made a deep cut all along her left arm, and then threw her backwards into the wall, where she collapsed as well.

He looked up to take care of Crowley as well, but the demon had vanished yet again. "Oh, well…" the king of the Knights shrugged. "I'll catch him later. For now, you four are plenty."

He walked over to Castiel and found Hannah kneeling over him, trying to help him. He waved a hand and she too flew through the air and collapsed next to Julie. Castiel looked up weakly, saw Beelzebub standing over him, and then tried to crawl away from him.

But he didn't get more than a couple inches when Beelzebub suddenly drove the Blade all the way through his shoulder and into the ground, pinning him like a trapped butterfly and causing him to scream in pain.

"Cas!" Julie, Dean, and Sam cried in horror and anger. "Stop it! Don't hurt him, hurt _me_! It's me you want!" Julie cried desperately.

Beelzebub smiled calmly at Cas. "How cute. Juliet wants to take your place, Castiel. What do you think? Should I let you go free and take her to hell now instead of later?"

"No," the angel groaned, and Beelzebub smirked nastily.

"Sorry, sweetheart," he shrugged. "The angel has spoken."

And without another word, he stood up and began to kick Castiel savagely in the side and in the head, while Julie screamed and Dean swore at him.

When Beelzebub finally stopped, blood was leaking out of Cas's mouth, and he could barely open his swollen eyes. Beelzebub yanked the bloody First Blade out of his shoulder, and besides groaning in pain, the angel gave no other response. He was too weak to even try to fight Beelzebub.

The demon smirked and pulled Castiel up into a kneeling position. He put the angel in a headlock with one arm, and pressed the tip of the First Blade against Cas's stomach.

"No…" Hannah moaned. "Please…"

"Where are your angel powers now, Castiel?" Beelzebub smirked. "I don't see you flying in to save the day."

"Let him go, you son of a bitch," Dean growled.

"Hmm…a compelling argument, but…no. This angel has bothered me for far too long. I've got an angel I need to kill to break this seal, and I think I might just use him."

And Beelzebub drew back the Blade to stab Dean's best friend to death.

But by the time his Blade came crashing down, Cas was no longer there.

Beelzebub looked around, but the angel was gone, and so was Hannah. But they weren't strong enough to teleport away in his presence!

And then he saw Julie, lying on her side, her bloody palm pressed against the sigil she had drawn in her own blood. A sigil that banished angels. She grinned at the Knight of Hell and said, "How are you going to kill an angel when there are none?"

"You smug bitch," Beelzebub snarled, coming towards her with the Blade. Dean began to struggle wildly as the demon bore down on the woman he loved, looking murderous, but then at the last second-

Crowley appeared out of nowhere, put a hand on Julie's arm, and they both vanished.

Beelzebub looked around, shocked, and then yelled in anger and frustration. A moment later, Apollyon shrieked, "Beelzebub, stop him!"

He turned around just in time to see Crowley standing in-between the Winchester brothers, a hand on each other their shoulders. "See you hopefully never, Beelzebub," the demon said cockily, and then all three of them vanished, leaving the two Knights of Hell completely alone.

* * *

Two hunters, two angels, and a demon sat around the oak table at the bunker, nursing their wounds. Cas and Hannah were still too weak to heal others, as they were still healing themselves, so Julie had to bind up her wound herself. She sat at the table in silence, her wounded arm bandaged tightly and resting on the table, her head resting on Sam's shoulder.

She was starting to drift off like that when a cooler was placed loudly on the table, and Dean appeared in the seat next to her. He opened the cooler and began passing beers around. Crowley declined, but then on second thought took three, and Sam, Julie, and Dean all grabbed a beer and took long, deep drinks.

When Dean was done with his first beer, he wiped his mouth and said flatly, "So…we won that round."

"Yay," Julie muttered with no enthusiasm, and Sam smiled a little at her.

"You really shouldn't have come inside," Dean told her.

She raised her eyebrows. "Really? We're still doing this? If it weren't for me, you, Sam, Hannah, and Cas would all be dead or worse right now."

"Still, you almost died-"

"But I didn't."

"But you almost did-"

"_But I didn't_!"

"You idiots are giving me a headache!" Crowley said loudly, cutting them off. "Juliet, you have to be more careful, or you'll end up in hell nine weeks early and leave Romeo all alone. Romeo, you have to accept that Juliet is badass and that you're going to need her to stop Beelzebub breaking all the seals. Because he, like everyone else in this room except for me, tends to underestimate her."

"Crowley…that may the least terrible thing you've ever said," Sam said drily.

"What do you mean he underestimates me?" Julie frowned.

"He knows Moose and Squirrel are dangerous, and he accounts for it," the demon explained. "So of course, he's going to focus on taking them out first in battle. When he wants to trap and torture you three, he'll trap them first. He pinned the two of them up against the wall, but left you free to move. The fact is, Julie, you're a woman, and so a lot of people, including your boyfriend, are going to underestimate you for it."

"I don't-" Dean started, outraged.

"You didn't trust that she could take care of herself in a fight against Beelzebub, and yet she saved all of your asses and got the angels out when he got free. Now, be honest, Dean. You didn't really think she could do all that, did you?"

"I…" Dean looked embarrassed and guilty now. "Julie…you know that I think you're amazingly strong and tough and a great hunter-"

"Don't worry, Dean," Julie sighed, more tired than irritated. "Besides, it's a good thing you all underestimate me. Otherwise, we would probably all be dead."

Hannah hadn't spoken since arriving at the Men of Letters bunker, but she finally lifted her head and said softly, "Thank you. All of you. I would have been killed if you all hadn't come to save me." She turned to look at Crowley and sighed, "Even you, demon."

"I have a name," Crowley said, mildly offended.

"No one cares," Dean said shortly before turning to Castiel. "How you feeling, Cas? Got enough angel mumbo jumbo to heal up my girlfriend?"

"I do believe I'm strong enough," Cas said. He stood up and walked over to Julie, who tentatively held her arm out. He closed his eyes in concentration and put a hand on her arm. The group watched in silence as he focused his power on Julie.

When he opened his eyes and pulled away, Julie sighed in relief. "That feels so much better." She quickly undid her bandages, and sure enough, her arm was smooth and healed. "Thank you so much, Cas," she said, standing up and hugging him tightly. They held each other for a long moment, until for once, Julie was the one to pull away.

But to everyone's surprise, the angel grabbed her shoulders gently and looked her in the eyes. "I am sorry that I underestimated you, Julie, and I promise you I will not do it again," he said gravely.

Julie laughed a little uncomfortably. "Don't worry about it, Cas. It ended up okay."

"And I also want to thank you for that," he said, now smiling a little. "Without you, Dean, Sam, and I would all surely be dead or worse, and Hannah as well. I can't ever repay that."

"You don't have to," Julie said with an honest smile. "Cas, you're my friend. No, you're more than that. You're family, and we're always going to be there for you no matter what."

The angel smiled back at her. "Well, now that the Hallmark moment is over, I think I'll be heading out," Crowley said drily.

"Let us know if any other seals come up," Julie told him.

"Of course I will," the demon smirked. "After all, we're friends. No, family."

"Shut up, asshole," Julie said as he vanished, but she was smirking herself.

Cas and Hannah soon left as well, returning to heaven. They never did seem to get a break from work. Of course, when the apocalypse could be coming in just nine weeks, it wasn't exactly vacation time. And that left just Julie, Sam, and Dean.

Julie sat next to Dean, resting her head on his shoulder, suddenly exhausted. She thought back to this morning, how she had spent hours finishing up the Carver Edlund books so she could talk with her boys about their lives before her. But there was a big difference between reading about trying to prevent the apocalypse and actually living it. For one thing, living it was much more tiring.

"I can't believe it's only six o'clock," Sam said.

"You're kidding," Julie said, shocked. She felt as tired as if it was midnight.

"It's gotta be later than that," Dean said in disbelief.

"Nope. On a normal night at this point, we'd be eating pizza and drinking beer and talking of playing cards," Sam pointed out.

Julie looked at the brothers. They both looked depressed and worn. They had been trying to save the world for far too long. And they needed a night off, dammit!

She stood up suddenly and said, "Well, we've got the beer right here. I can go put a pizza in the oven, and I'm sure we've all got plenty to talk about."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks and smiled slightly. "Like what."

"Like that time that Dean turned into a crotchety old guy, or when Sam got body-swapped with a teenager. Believe me, I've got plenty of questions."

And so, groaning and laughing, the three of them settled down to one normal night. Because God knows they needed it.


	76. Chapter 76

**Chapter Seventy-Six**

It started out like any other day. Dean woke up in bed with his beautiful girlfriend and kissed her awake, and they spent a while making out before finally deciding to get up and get dressed and face the day. Sam was already awake, with coffee, and Dean threw together some breakfast while those two talked together. Then the three of them sat down to breakfast and to talk.

In the past two days since stopping Beelzebub from breaking a seal, the three of them had settled into a nice, simple routine. After breakfast, the three of them sat down to do a little research and search for cases on the side. Then Julie and Sam usually went off and did something. Today, they were going into the gym to work out and train together. And meanwhile, Dean stayed on a computer, searching for a way to save Julie, and, on occasion, cases.

He was obsessed. There was no other word for it. Every waking moment not spent with his brother or girlfriend, he was searching relentlessly for something that did not exist. Dean knew there was no way out, at least not one he would find in a book or online. But he couldn't stand watching idly as his girlfriend died. He had to at least feel like he was helping.

Dean had given up on saving Julie's soul for the moment and was instead looking for a case to get his mind off of things and keep them moving. He had finally accepted that they needed to keep doing hunts to keep them from going stir-crazy and being miserable. So he was sifting through page after page of odd or unexplained deaths, when he found a horribly familiar name from a horribly familiar town.

Julie was in the middle of punching and kicking Sam when she heard her name called. He had some padding strapped on, and she was wearing gloves, but he would still wince occasionally when she kicked him and knocked the wind out of him. Soon, it would be her turn, though, and she was dreading having Sam Winchester whaling on her, padding or no.

So she was the tiniest bit relieved when she heard Dean calling her.

She and Sam stripped off their gloves and gear and walked back into the main hall, where Dean was frowning at her computer. Julie walked over and brushed a kiss on Dean's cheek. "What's up?" she asked him.

He raised his green eyes to stare at her sadly. "You remember our old friend Mark?" he asked carefully.

"Mark Jones?" Julie frowned. "Your old buddy from the mechanic's shop back in Illinois?"

"That's the one."

"What about him?"

In answer, Dean turned the computer to face her.

Julie read the article, and then her face went pale, her eyes filled with sorrow. "Oh, Mark…" she sighed sadly.

"What happened?" Sam frowned.

"He's dead," Dean said flatly, although there was real sorrow in his eyes. "Killed himself, or so the police are saying. But they never found a weapon, and he was stabbed in the back."

"So, he didn't kill himself," Sam said. "That's just the cover story?"

"Looks like it," Dean said. "Official police report doesn't think he really did it himself. But they've got no leads, and they don't want to alarm people."

"Of course," Sam said coldly.

"Do you think…do you think it had anything to do with us?" Julie asked softly.

"How could it?" Sam frowned. "You guys haven't had contact with him or any of them in a long time."

"But if somehow something managed to track us to having once lived there and figured out who our friends used to be, wouldn't they want to attack them for revenge?" Julie pointed out.

"Or to get our attention," Dean muttered darkly. "Get us to come."

The three of them were silent for a moment, and then Julie asked, "Do you know when his funeral is?"

Dean typed on the computer for a moment, and then read, "Tomorrow at ten in the morning."

He looked up, and they had a whole conversation through their eyes. "You know we should go," Julie finally said.

Dean sighed. "You're right. And we should figure out who or what killed him and make sure it doesn't hurt anything else."

"So…what does this mean?" Sam asked, still a little behind them.

"It means that for the first time in over a year, Dean and I are going back to our old home," Julie said flatly.

* * *

Elaine Duvall sat in the second row of the small chapel, wearing a black dress and constantly wiping at the stream of tears she couldn't stop. Everything had already been bad enough ever since those two had turned the whole world on its side and then vanished. She had been losing contact with her friends, watching their lives fall apart, and now this. Now one of her good friends was lying stiff and made-up in a coffin eight feet away from her.

She supposed the ceremony was beautiful. Mark's niece played a beautiful piece on the piano, an old church hymn. His brother gave a beautiful speech while his mother cried loud sobs in the front row. The pastor gave a beautiful benediction before the crowd began to get up to go bury Mark. The whole thing was just so damn beautiful.

Elaine saw Greg sitting in the back, his face stony and hard as he tried not to cry. She thought she saw Heather there at the beginning, but she wasn't there when the service ended. She probably left when she saw Greg. Brian came as well. He and Mark's brother and two of his younger cousins were carrying the coffins, though, so she didn't get a chance to talk to him.

Elaine was depressingly alone, like she had been for over a year.

She watched as the great black, grieving crowd moved towards their cars. She knew she should get in her little car and follow the caravan down to the graveyard, where her mom and her stepdad and her grandfather lay. She had been an only child to her mother and a father who had vanished as soon as he heard the word "pregnant." Her grandpa had died of a heart attack, her mother of cancer, and her stepdad had overdosed because of depression when her mom died. Her only living nearby relative was her grandmother, who suffered from a wide variety of health issues including dementia, which kept her in the nursing home.

And now her friends were dying or drifting apart, all because of that one hellish, crazy night and the chaos that had followed.

Not for the first time, Elaine found herself wishing Julie was here with her. She missed her old best friend, who had always helped her deal with the depressing thought of how alone she was in the world. And now it had only grown worse. She could really use a friend right now. Even a crazy one who fought off murderers with magical black eyes and then vanished with her boyfriend and a stranger in the middle of the night.

It was as Elaine was thinking of how she missed Julie that she noticed three strangely familiar figures huddled together behind the back of the chapel.

"God, that was depressing," Julie muttered, wiping at her eyes to make sure her eyes were dry again.

"He must have been a good guy," Sam said kindly, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly. "There were a lot of people there. And it was a great service. Very moving."

"Did you see Greg?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, but no Heather," Julie pointed out. "She must have been sick or too sad to go or something."

"And Brian?"

"Yeah."

"And Elaine?"

Julie looked at her feet and nodded. "She looked really sad," she said softly.

This time, Dean was the one who gave her a comforting hug. "It's gotta be rough on her. Mark was a good guy and a good friend."

Julie nodded, throat tight, and made sure her eyes were dry once more before she pulled away from Dean. "And there was no EMF?" she asked Sam.

"None on the body, and none back at the house," the younger Winchester said. "No sulfur either. Whatever killed him probably wasn't a ghost or demon."

"There's still a lot of monsters it could be," Dean pointed out.

"Or it could be human," Julie muttered, thinking of sweet, friendly Fred turning out to be a sadistic serial killer. There were human monsters out there, too.

But neither brother ever got a chance to reply to that. Because at that moment, a familiar voice snapped, "Dean? Julie?!" and the three of them turned around to see Elaine headed straight for them.

"Crap," Dean breathed as the three of them exchanged nervous looks.

"So much for not getting seen," Sam muttered, and then Elaine was upon them.

"I know you," she said to Sam, eyes narrowed. "You're that guy who showed up that night everything went crazy."

"Yeah, I'm, uh, I'm Dean's brother, Sam," he said nervously.

"Nice to meet you, Sam. Now what the hell are you guys doing here?"

The three hunters exchanged nervous looks, unsure what to say. "We heard about Mark," Dean finally got out. "And we, uh…we wanted to pay our respects."

"It's weird, considering you were obviously lying to all of us about who you really are, but I actually believe you," Elaine said flatly.

"Look, Elaine, we're sorry we didn't tell you guys who we really are," Julie said carefully, the first time she'd spoken since seeing her old best friend. Elaine's expression softened a little when she looked at Julie. "It was nothing personal. We were just trying to protect you."

"Well, you guys pretty much failed at that," Elaine said, her voice surprisingly bitter. Julie blinked, a little hurt.

"We're so sorry about the demons…I mean, those people that almost hurt you and Greg and Heather," Julie said earnestly, realizing too late that talking about demons was probably not wise.

"Oh, I wasn't talking about that," her old best friend said quickly. "I meant everything that came afterwards."

Dean and Julie exchanged confused, worried looks. "What happened? Did other people attack you?" Dean frowned protectively.

Elaine smirked. "Nothing quite that dramatic. Our relationships just fell apart. I mean, three of the people in our friend group were insisting crazy black-eyed people attacked us and that our nice neighbors and friends went full-out psycho killer ninja on them." Dean couldn't resist a tiny smirk at that. "And then you guys disappeared, taking all of our evidence with you. Megan and Mark and Brian all thought we were crazy, and we all drifted apart pretty quickly."

"I'm sorry," Julie said softly. "At least you had Greg and Heather, though."

"Of course," Elaine said suddenly. "You wouldn't know."

"Know what?" Dean and Julie asked in unison.

"They got divorced a few months ago," she said flatly. "It was bad. They can't stand to be in the same building together."

"Oh, no," Julie breathed. "And that's because of us?"

"Partly. Didn't help when Delilah moved into town and Greg total started cheating on Heather with her."

"He wouldn't!" Julie said, shocked.

"He really wouldn't," Dean frowned suspiciously. "He loved Heather."

"Their relationship was rocky after what happened," Elaine said, not accusingly, but definitely not in a friendly tone. "And I'm pretty sure Delilah could get just about anybody to cheat."

The three hunters exchanged a look at that. "A siren?" Sam mouthed.

"Maybe," Dean mouthed back.

"Okay, what the hell, guys?" Elaine snapped. "You're keeping secrets right in front of me?"

They exchanged another guilty look, and then Julie took a deep breath and said, "Okay. Confession time. We're here to pay our respects, yeah, but we also aren't convinced Mark really did commit suicide. If he didn't we want to stop whatever—I mean, whoever killed him."

To her surprise, Elaine didn't look surprised or frightened, but actually a little relieved. "Oh, thank God," she breathed. "I'm not crazy."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"I think I found something you guys will want to see," she replied, and without another word, she walked away, leaving them no choice but to follow.

* * *

Dean was honestly a little surprised Elaine let them into her house, considering everything they had ended up putting her and their other friends. But she was handling this all surprisingly well.

As they drove to Elaine's house, got out of the Impala, and walked up the driveway, Dean noticed their old house had been rebuilt. It looked different now, with different paint and a different-colored roof. Still, it looked better than the last time he had seen it, when it was on fire thanks to those demons.

That had been the night that Sam had finally come back into his life, the night that Sam and Julie met, the night this all began. It seemed like a lifetime ago, but it hadn't even been two years.

Too much had happened. They had lost too much, and so had all of these people. Although, dying or becoming a demon or finding out the devil was going to rise soon and try to possess you was probably worse than a divorce. But it still wasn't fair, or right.

The inside of Elaine's house looked the same. It was a one-story home, nice and neat, and there was a stack of papers on her counter that she walked straight to.

"You have a nice home," Sam called politely as they followed her into the kitchen.

"It's too big for one person," was all she said in reply, digging through the stack of papers.

Finally, Elaine came up with what looked like a police report. When she handed it to Dean and he examined it, he saw that it was the document containing Mark's actual cause of death and some pictures.

"Oh my God…" Julie whispered, horrified, as she examined the papers over Dean's shoulder.

"Sammy, I don't think this thing is a siren," Dean said slowly, his eyes wide.

Mark's death had been gruesome. He had been found naked in his bed, having been stabbed at least a dozen times. He had lost so much blood that he had nearly been drained of all blood by the time they found him. So much for the getting stabbed once in the back.

"How do you have this? This isn't even the police report," Dean asked.

"My friend, Doctor Reynolds, he was the one who did Mark's autopsy," she explained wearily, twisting her long, dark hair off of her neck and up into a bun. "He felt so sorry for me because Mark was my friend that he told me the truth about how he really died."

"This sure as hell wasn't suicide," Dean said firmly. "No one would do that to themselves. No one's that crazy."

"Dean, this report says he was drained of almost all his blood," Sam frowned, examining the papers.

"Well, yeah, that's a lot of wounds," Dean shrugged.

"But where's all the blood?" Sam asked slowly, pointing to a picture of the crime scene. There was blood on the carpet, sure, but not a corpse's worth of blood.

Realization crept into Dean's eyes, until Julie finally just said what they were all thinking. "Vampires. Smart ones, too. They made it believable that he lost all that blood."

"But why?" Sam frowned. "Was it to get to you guys?"

"Well, it did get us here," Dean pointed out.

"Hang on!" Elaine said loudly. "Did you just say 'vampires'?!"

Dean sighed. "Who wants to explain? Anyone?" Sam and Julie both quickly shook their heads, and he groaned. "Fine. Okay, Elaine, so it's like this. Those people who attacked you to get to us…those were demons. They were after me because my brother and I are probably the two deadliest hunters alive."

"Hunters?" Elaine frowned.

"We hunt and kill monsters that are hunting and killing people, and we try not to get hunted or killed ourselves," Dean explained in about as confusing and vague a way as possible.

"Are you serious?" Elaine asked, and he nodded. "So…you just expect me to believe that demons are real, and that you guys hunt them?"

"Not just demons, but monsters and angels and even the devil," Dean said brightly. "And God. He's around here somewhere too, I think. But you don't have to believe us. I just figured after all this time we owe you the truth."

Elaine slowly turned to Julie. "Please tell me this is one of his weird jokes," she almost begged her old best friend.

Julie smiled sadly. "I wish. At least it wouldn't be very funny, like most of them."

"Hey!" Dean cried, offended, earning him a quick, appeasing kiss. Elaine watched the three of them, trying to understand.

"I just…I can't believe this is happening," she admitted softly after a long moment.

"Well, you don't have to," Dean said again. "Hopefully, we'll find the vamp killing people, take care of it, and be out of your hair by tonight."

"That's awful optimistic of you," Sam pointed out. "Especially since we have no idea where to start."

"Well, we could start like we would were it any other case," Julie pointed out. They gave her confused looks, and she rolled her eyes. "The crime scene, morons."

"How will you get in?" Elaine frowned. "There's probably still police there, and the house is surely locked."

The three of them smirked. "Oh, don't worry. A couple of police and a locked door won't keep us out."

Elaine took in their crafty looks and then said bluntly, "You three are kind of terrifying."

"Trust me," Dean smirked. "We know."

* * *

Needless to say, the three hunters got into Mark's house easily. They just waited until the police weren't looking, jumped the fence, picked the lock to the back door and strolled right in.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Julie asked as they began to search the kitchen.

"A video camera that got exclusive footage of Mark getting murdered that the police somehow missed?" Dean asked hopefully.

"Some clue as to who our mystery killer is and why they picked this guy," Sam replied, ignoring Dean.

"We know why, don't we?" she pointed out, searching through a cabinet.

"We do?" Sam frowned.

"Well, one of our old friends got murdered, and my guess is it was by a vampire. It would make sense that we must have done something to piss it off, and now it wants revenge."

"Or it could be completely unrelated," Sam pointed out.

"Either way, I vote we stop it and then get back to finding a way out of Julie's deal," Dean said firmly.

Sam and Julie exchanged looks at that. Both of them knew deep down there was no way to save her soul. Someone somewhere would have found it by now. And deep down, Dean knew it too. But he would never admit that to himself. He couldn't admit it. He'd spiral into a dark place full of depression and self-loathing and essentially return to the twisted, tormented, guilt-ridden man he had been when Julie had met him so long ago.

For a while, no one said anything. They searched the kitchen and the living room and even the bathroom. Julie frowned when she found a piece of toilet paper with lipstick prints on it lying on the bathroom floor. "Dean, do you remember Mark having a girlfriend?" she called, and he appeared in the doorway.

"What? No. Why?"

In answer, she held up the lipstick-stained toilet paper.

"Look for more stuff," he ordered. "If Mark had a woman living with him, you'll know. Trust me. They leave hair product and hair ties and makeup and their little pink razors everywhere and-"

Dean wisely shut up when he remembered he was talking to the woman he lived with and not his brother.

Despite what Dean had said, besides the one clue, they could find no other signs of a woman living in this nice house with Mark. Eventually, they headed upstairs to Mark's bedroom, where he had been found dead, and started to look around.

The police had done a good job, and the room had barely been touched since Mark had been found dead. Sam noticed Mark's clothes strewn out across the floor like he had pulled them off quickly, headed straight for the bed. That seemed suspicious enough, and when Dean finally found a wine bottle and two glasses, one with lipstick on it, they knew.

The night Mark had died, there had been a woman with him. And later that night, he had been found dead, naked and bled-out, most likely by a vampire.

"So…" Dean said slowly as they looked at their evidence.

"Looks like he was sleeping with a vampire," Sam said.

"And she then proceeded to murder him and leave," Julie said darkly, angry at the thought of some monster killing her old friend.

"So, we know the vamp is female," Dean said. "Or a man wearing lipstick. Either way, I don't judge."

Julie rolled her eyes. "Most likely, the vampire is a woman," she sighed. "If it is a vampire. We should probably check the body for teeth marks to be sure."

"Yeah, why don't we head back to Elaine's and then we can convince-" Dean was cut off by the sound of Julie's phone ringing.

Julie frowned and fished it out of her pocket. When she saw it was Elaine calling her, she answered quickly. "Hello? Elaine?"

"Julie?" her old friend asked, sounding panicked and upset.

"Yeah, it's me. Is everything okay?"

"No," Elaine admitted. "I just got called into work an hour early, because some woman got mauled in the park by an animal or something." Her voice was shaking, so this was clearly worse than she was letting on.

"Who was it?" Julie asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Megan," Elaine choked out. "You know, our old friend-?"

"Yeah, I know. Oh, God, Elaine, I'm so sorry. Is she going to be alright?"

The silence that followed was far too long. Julie's heart sank. "I need you to get here now," Elaine finally got out, and Julie said, "Of course."

She hung up and turned to Sam and Dean, who looked extremely concerned. "What's wrong? Is Elaine okay?" Dean asked, worried.

Julie took a deep breath and got her emotions back under control. Then she said flatly, "No. She's not okay. And neither is Megan."

"Megan? Our friend Megan?" Dean asked incredulously.

"She got mauled in the park, and she's badly hurt, and we need to get to the hospital now."

The three of them were so concerned about getting out of there quickly they almost got caught by one of the policemen as they jumped the fence. Still, they managed to escape and sprinted back to the Impala. Dean sped down the road, headed for the hospital where Julie had one worked and remembering Megan.

She had been a young, pretty redhead, a little obnoxious sometimes, and self-absorbed all the time. She had chased after Dean relentlessly, but she had still been kind to Julie almost always, and in the end, she was still a good person, if a bit rough around the edges. Dean found himself hoping against hope as he sped through town that she would be alright.

By the time Dean reached the parking lot, he was so full of adrenaline he almost needed to fight someone. He hastily parked the car and the three of them jumped out and ran inside.

The woman behind the desk, Nancy, stopped them, but then she recognized Julie. "Julie, sweetheart!" she cried sweetly. "Oh, it's been too long. And handsome Dean, too. We missed you two here in town. Where did you go?"

"Nancy, I'm so sorry, but we don't have time," Julie said quickly. "Is Megan here?"

Nancy's face fell. "Oh…you heard about that."

"Where is she?" Julie asked, a bit of panic coming into her voice.

"Julie," Sam said softly, and she looked up to see Elaine coming slowly towards them.

It only took one look at Elaine's pale face and red eyes to know what had happened. Julie's heart sank, and she whispered, "No."

She and Sam and Dean brushed past Nancy and her desk and hurried over to Elaine. "What happened?" Julie asked softly.

"Meg's dead," Elaine said in a shell-shocked voice, but Julie and Dean both flinched at those words.

"No…" Julie whispered. "Oh, Elaine, I'm so sorry…"

"She bled out," Elaine said flatly, just stating facts. "She had already lost so much blood when they brought her in…some animal attacked her neck or something."

Sam and Dean exchanged a look at that. Looks like the vampire had struck again.

"Megan wasn't making a lot of sense," Elaine admitted. "I mean…she was dying." A humorless laugh escaped her lips. "But she said…she said…"

Elaine suddenly locked her eyes on Dean and Julie and said, "She said all this was because of you two. These deaths…they're your fault."


	77. Chapter 77

**Chapter Seventy-Seven**

Greg, Heather, and Brian all happened to arrive outside the diner at exactly eleven. It wouldn't have been so bad if it had just been Greg and Brian. The two men still worked together at the mechanic's shop, and while they weren't nearly as close as they had been, they still considered themselves friends.

But then Heather was also there.

Brian's dark eyes widened as he saw Heather and Greg see each other. Greg's eyes flashed when he saw his ex-wife, and his jaw clenched. "What are you doing here?" he asked her coldly.

"Elaine invited me here to talk about the fact that two of our old friends have died in the past week," Heather shot back coldly. "Why are _you _here?"

"Same reason."

"Great!" Brian said quickly, trying to get them to quit glaring at each other. "Me too! Now why don't we all head inside and meet with Elaine?"

"I'm not going anywhere with that pig," Heather said indignantly.

"What did you just call me?" Greg half-shouted.

"Exactly what you are," she shot back, acid in her voice.

"Guys!" Brian snapped. "Please, don't do this right now. We all need to just go in there and talk, okay?"

"Why would I want to talk to her?" Greg snapped.

Heather opened her mouth to shoot back a retort, but Brian said loudly, "Because Mark and Meg are _dead_, guys. Two of our old best friends…they're _dead_. Now, I don't know about you two, but I know I need to sit down and talk about it with someone, and clearly Elaine does, too."

Greg and Heather looked down, ashamed and grief-stricken. "Come on, guys," he tried again. "Let's please just go inside and talk."

This time, they followed him silently into the diner and over to the table where Elaine was waiting.

But it wasn't just Elaine.

"Holy-" Greg started when he saw the other three people sitting with her.

"Oh my God," Heather breathed.

"Julie?! Dean?!" Brian cried, shocked.

Their two old friends smiled weakly at them. "Hey, guys," Julie said uneasily.

"Why are they here? The last time I saw them, we all almost got killed!" Greg snapped at Elaine.

"They're crazy," Heather said darkly, starting to back away.

Dean stood up. "Guys, calm down. We're here to help."

"Stay away from us!" Greg ordered sharply, backing away.

"For the love of God, Greg, would you just sit down?" Elaine snapped. "None of us are going to hurt you. They're here because they cared about Megan and Mark, too, and they want revenge on the thing that killed them. And so do I."

"The thing that killed them?" Brian frowned. "Megan got mauled by a bear or something, and Mark committed suicide."

"Mark got stabbed to death, and it was covered up," Dean said coldly. "And how many freaking bears have you seen in central Illinois?"

The three skeptics had no response to that.

"Who's that guy?" Brian finally asked, eying Sam uneasily.

"This is my little brother, Sam," Dean explained. Sam stood up to shake Brian's hand, and Brian watched as the guy just went up and up.

"'Little', huh?" he smirked even as he shook his hand.

"Brian, that man was with them the night that we got attacked and they disappeared," Heather said warningly.

"Right, we need to explain that, too," Sam sighed. "Look…clearly, I don't know any of you, and you don't know me. But you know Dean and Julie. They're good people, and they were your friends. You can trust them." The three of them still looked like they were on the fence, so he added, "They're here to help."

Finally, Brian gave in and sat down in the chair next to Elaine, across from Julie. Heather sighed and sat down next to Brian, across from Dean. And Greg finally gave in and carefully sat down next to Dean, watching him warily.

No one seemed to want to speak, so Brian finally smirked flirtatiously and said, "You look good, Julie."

"Really, Brian?" Dean sighed, rolling his eyes.

"What? I can't help it your girlfriend's hot, man!" Brian said defensively. But suddenly they were both smiling a little.

"It's good to see you, Brian," Dean finally admitted.

"You too, Dean," his old friend replied.

"Are you going to tell us what's going on or not?" Greg asked pointedly.

"We were getting there," Julie said, shooting him a look. "What do you want to know first?"

"How about what the hell happened the night you two disappeared? Who were those people who attacked us and burnt your house down? Who are you three really?"

Dean, Julie, and Sam exchanged a look. "Yeah, I'd like to hear this, too," Brian said. "I've heard from these three all sorts of crazy stuff, that black-eyed people dragged them out of their houses and used them to get you guys to surrender, but then you fought them like ninjas or something."

"Well, that is sort of what happened," Dean admitted. "Look, guys…I'm going to tell you guys the truth, and you'll think we're crazy, but we owe it to you to tell you the truth."

"We're listening," Heather said stiffly.

"Well…do you want the long version or the short version? I should warn you the long version spans over thirty years."

"Short?" Brian asked the others, and they nodded.

"Okay. I'll just…right." It seemed like Dean was never going to say anything, so Julie finally just snapped, "We're hunters."

"What?" Greg frowned.

"Those people that attacked you? Those were demons," Julie said flatly. "And yes, before you ask, demons are real. So are angel, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, wraiths, sirens, and just about any monster you can think of. And we hunt them and stop them from killing innocent people."

"You're serious," Brian said stupidly.

"Deadly."

"My brother, Sam, and I have been raised in the life, ever since my mom got killed by a demon when I was four," Dean explained.

"And I've been hunting ever since my dad got killed by vampires when I was fifteen," Julie added.

"You guys are serious," Brian repeated.

"You don't have to believe us," Dean said. "But you do need to know that you're in danger. Those demons only came and attacked you three because of us. In the thirty or so years I've been doing this, I've made a lot of enemies. When I found Julie, though, we decided we wanted to give a semi-normal life a chance. So we moved here and pretended to be normal people and got jobs and friends and had a life."

"So that's why you wouldn't talk about your old life…" Heather said slowly.

"You believe them?" Greg snapped.

"Well, what more proof do we need?" she snapped. "Those people who attacked us clearly weren't human. And he's right, they were only using us to get to them."

"I don't believe this," Greg said, exasperated.

"And you don't have to," Julie said flatly. "But you should know that something killed Megan and Mark, and it's not human. We think it's a vampire."

"A vampire!" Greg laughed mirthlessly. "You think they were killed by a vampire!"

Greg was really starting to piss them off. "Both bodies were drained of blood disproportionate to their wounds," Sam snapped. "And we've pissed off a lot of vampires in our day. It makes sense that Dean and Julie must have killed a vampire close to this one, and now it's seeking revenge by killed their friends."

"You mean…Meg and Mark died because of you two?" Brian asked slowly.

"We're so sorry," Julie said softly. "We thought for sure you guys were safe. We haven't spoken to any of you in over a year. You should have been safe."

"But you are now," Dean said firmly. "As long as you're with one of the three of us, you're safe. No vampire, or any monster for that matter, is going to be able to kill you when one of us is around."

"How are you going to stop a vampire? You're just people," Brian pointed out.

"Brian, these guys have defeated vampires, demons, angels, leviathans, and the devil himself," Julie said, looking almost proud. "One vampire isn't going to stand a chance against them. Or me, for that matter."

For a moment, everyone was silent. Then Brian finally asked, "Elaine? Do you believe them?"

Elaine studied the three so-called hunters for a moment and then said softly, "Yes. I do."

Julie gave her old best friend a smile, and Elaine returned it.

"I've had enough of this!" Greg snapped suddenly, standing up.

"Greg, where are you going?" Julie frowned as he began to walk away.

"Away from you crazy people!" he snapped.

"Greg, you're not safe," Dean started, standing up as well.

"Enough," he snarled. "Mark killed himself, and Megan was attacked by some animal. Both deaths are tragic, but they were just normal deaths. No monsters or demons killed them. Monsters and demons don't exist!"

"You've seen them with your own eyes," Dean pointed out. "You know they do."

"Those three might be stupid enough to believe you, but I'm not," Brian said coldly. "You're crazy, Dean, and so are Julie and your brother."

He tried to leave, and Dean moved to stop him. "If you come any closer to me, I'll call the cops!" Greg warned Dean, and he stepped back.

"Greg, we're just trying to help you," Dean tried one last time.

"Well, I don't need your help," the man snapped, and without another word, he stormed out of the diner.

Greg yanked his jacket off and threw it onto a nearby chair. He stomped through his house and into the kitchen, muttering angrily to himself. He found a beer in his fridge and began chugging it, trying to erase the stressful memories from that diner from his mind.

* * *

It had been bad enough seeing his ex-wife. And then to see Dean and Julie, his old friend and Dean's beautiful girlfriend. The thought of Julie was still painful. She had been the first woman he had coveted while he and Heather were together. That had begun to pull them apart, their marriage slowly crumbling, until Delilah finally came along.

Those two had ruined everything. Wanting Julie had started to ruin his marriage, and when they left, leaving them to struggle with the insanity of that night, everything had really fallen apart. His relationships with his friends, his relationship with his wife…everything had fallen apart.

Thank God for Delilah.

Speaking of…Greg set down his beer and went over to his bedroom door. He knocked, but there was no reply. Gingerly, he eased the door open, but there was no one inside.

He was just beginning to get a little worried when a high, seductive voice purred, "Looking for me?"

He turned around and smiled at Delilah. She had gotten dressed, which was a shame, wearing a pale, flowery dress. She had curly black hair that fell around her near-perfect face, caramel-colored skin, dark eyes, and full lips that, like always, were painted red with lipstick. She was about thirty, and her face was still young, her body fit and curvy.

And she was just so damn beautiful.

"Delilah," Greg sighed, and she fell into his arms and kissed him for a long, heated moment.

"Where were you?" she asked slyly when she pulled away.

"I went to a diner to talk with some old friends," Greg said darkly.

"Well, it can't have gone well. You look stressed."

"You have no idea," Greg sighed.

"Was _she _there?" Delilah guessed.

"Yeah. And not just her. You remember that couple I told you about, Dean and Julie? Well, they were there, too, pretending to care and spouting this crap about monsters and hunting…"

His voice trailed off when he saw Delilah smiling. "You're kidding," she said.

"No, they were there. Said I had to stay with them to be safe. But they're crazy."

"Probably," she agreed. "Poor thing. You're so tense," she added, moving behind him to massage his neck.

Greg sighed. "You like that?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah."

"So did Mark," she whispered into his ear.

Greg tensed back up, and then pulled away, turning to face her. "What?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Delilah smirked. "I've been cheating on you with your friend, Mark."

"That's not funny," he said coldly.

"Oh, it's not meant to be. But he was just as easy to seduce as you were. And I have my sights set on Brian next. He seems like he'll be easy to win over."

"Why are you saying this?" he snapped, backing away into the counter.

"Because it's true, Greg," she smirked. "You really think a beautiful, powerful immortal like myself could be tied down by some middle-aged, balding idiot?"

"But…you said you loved me," he said slowly. "I left my wife for you!"

"You would have left your wife for any woman under thirty who so much as looked at you," Delilah said coldly.

But Greg wasn't listening, because he had finally processed something she had said. "Immortal?" he repeated slowly.

"Oh, right," she smirked. "Your crazy friends who said vampires were real? Not so crazy."

"What?!"

"Dean Winchester is one of the most infamous vampire hunters of all time," Delilah said, slowly advancing on him. She still looked so beautiful, but now he was terrified of her. "And he and his little girlfriend murdered my mate almost two years ago. It took me awhile, but I finally traced them back to you six, and now I'll get my revenge on them by killing all their friends. And after I'm done with that, and I let them find me, I'll kill Winchester's girlfriend in front of him, and he can know my pain right before I end his pitiful life."

"You're crazy," Greg whispered, terrified.

"Maybe," she shrugged. "But I will have my revenge. And right now, Greg, you're next."

And without another word, she lunged forward, and Greg saw a flash of sharp fangs before suddenly she was tearing into his neck.

Greg screamed and struggled as the pain threatened to overwhelm him. Finally, it was all becoming too much, and he was losing consciousness when he heard a familiar voice shout, "Hey!"

Delilah dropped Greg and looked up to see three people standing just a few feet away, armed with machetes. A little thrill of fear went through her when she recognized the Winchesters. And that pretty, terrifying woman next to them must be Julie Carters.

For a moment, the vampires only thought was, _I'm screwed_.

"I'd appreciate it greatly if you quit trying to murder my friends," Dean Winchester said coldly.

"You deserve it, considering you killed my mate," she spat back, Greg's blood still staining her lips, even darker than her signature lipstick.

"Sweetheart, you've got to help me out," Winchester smirked. "I've killed a lot of vampires."

"His name was Patrick, and he was wonderful," she snarled. "He turned me and showed me this life, and then you took him away from me!"

"He was killing people," Winchester's pretty little girlfriend said coldly. "He needed to be stopped. Just like you."

"Go ahead and try," Delilah smirked. "I'll rip your pretty little head off, and then he can know how I've felt for almost two years."

"I'll kill you before you lay a hand on her," Dean Winchester growled, and then he lunged forward.

To her credit, Delilah put up a good fight. She punched and kicked at Dean, finally managing to knock the machete out of his hands. But by the time he did that, Sam had already gotten behind her, and in one swing, he decapitated the monster.

Greg, who was barely conscious, moaned in horror when he saw Delilah's beautiful head fall to the floor. But the three hunters ignored him.

"Not bad, Sammy," Dean smirked.

"Did better than you," Sam shot back. "You were getting your ass kicked."

"I was going easy on her," Dean said defensively. "Wanted to give somebody else a chance to save the day for once."

"Yeah, right."

"We can argue about who saves the day the most once this guy's not in danger of bleeding out," Julie pointed out, gesturing to Greg.

"She's right," Sam admitted.

"I'll stay behind and take care of this," Dean sighed, eying the dead vampire.

"We'll take him to the hospital," Julie replied.

Sam helped the wounded man to his feet, and Dean handed Julie the car keys. Just before Sam and Julie left, they heard Dean shout, "Greg, I swear to God, if you get so much as one drop of blood on my Baby, we are leaving you to die!"

* * *

Two hours later, a doctor told the waiting crowd of people that Greg would be fine.

Heather, Brian, and Elaine hugged each other in relief. Even though Greg had cheated on Heather and been a douche to her, she still hadn't wanted to see him dead. She had loved him, once, and that never really went away.

Dean, Sam, and Julie were relieved as well. They had heard enough of Delilah's conversation with Greg to realize that she was the one killing their friends. And now that she was taken care of, they should all be safe.

"It was a good thing you insisted on following him," Dean muttered to Julie.

"I thought this Delilah woman sounded suspicious," Julie admitted. "Plus, he wasn't safe on his own."

"Although, technically, we did leave the others alone to get attacked," Sam pointed out.

"Good thing the vampire was with Greg, then," Dean said, and they all had to agree.

Julie looked up as Elaine approached them uncertainly. "Um…I just wanted to thank you guys. You…you saved Greg and probably the rest of us from dying."

"You wouldn't have been in danger in the first place if it weren't for us," Dean pointed out flatly.

"Well…yeah. But you at least tried to protect us. So thank you."

Dean nodded at Elaine. He always had liked her. She had been a good friend to Julie, and she was a kind, sweet, smart girl. He hope that she had a long, happy, full life ahead of her.

Of course, that all depended on whether or not they could stop the apocalypse.

"Julie…do you mind if I talk with you for a minute?" Elaine asked carefully, and Julie agreed.

They stepped outside of the hospital. It was getting dark, and they stood together and watched the sun set.

Finally, Elaine admitted, "I miss you sometimes. You were a really good friend."

"You were, too," Julie assured her. "And I miss you, too."

"I kind of wish you had told me the truth about who you are, but I also know why you couldn't."

Julie nodded. "I just wish we had been able to keep all of you safe."

"Me too."

"I'm so sorry about everything going wrong," Julie said quietly. "All of you drifting apart, Greg and Heather's marriage crumbling…I feel like that's our fault."

"Well, you certainly weren't blameless," Elaine admitted. "But Greg and Heather would have gotten divorced eventually anyway. He was always going to cheat on her, and she was always going to be too self-absorbed for their relationship to really work. You guys and Delilah just sped up the process."

"Still, I'm sorry you all drifted apart," Julie said, and she really meant it.

"Who knows?" Elaine smiled. "Secrets this big tend to kind of force people to be close. I doubt things will ever be good between Greg and Heather, but I think Brian and Heather and I, at least, will be close again."

"I sure hope so," Julie smiled.

"You probably have to leave again, don't you?" Elaine asked after a moment.

"Yeah. We, uh…we have a lot going on. Something big is coming, and we don't have a lot of time to stop it. But coming here and saving you guys…that was worth losing a bit of time."

"Well, I'm glad you came," Elaine admitted. "And I really hope you guys can stop whatever big thing is coming." Julie nodded, and they were silent again for a long moment, and then Elaine finally just blurted out, "I'm glad you and Dean are still together."

"Yeah?" Julie asked.

"You guys always were really cute. And he practically worshipped you. Still does, I see. And this Sam guy…you guys seem really close, too."

"He's my best friend," Julie said, before realizing how insensitive that was to say to her old best friend.

"I'm glad," Elaine said, and she seemed to really mean it. "I always did hope you guys were happy, after you disappeared."

"I really hope you guys can be happy, too," Julie said earnestly.

"I'll miss you," Elaine admitted, and Julie said, "Me too." And without really meaning to, the old friends were hugging.

Eventually, Julie and Elaine walked back into the hospital to find Heather and Brian chatting with Sam and Dean. They all seemed to be getting along surprisingly well, and Brian and Heather both smiled at Julie when she walked in.

"Time to go?" Sam guessed, seeing Julie's expression, and she nodded.

Brian and Heather both thanked the three hunters for coming back and saving them. They assured Dean and Julie that they would explain everything to Greg and say bye to him for them. But they had work to get back to. There was an apocalypse to stop and a world to be saved.

"Will you guys be okay?" Dean asked his three old friends uncertainly.

The three of them exchanged looks, and then nodded. "You know, I really think we will," Elaine said with a smile.

"Good," Dean and Julie said in unison, and Sam smiled at the three of them.

And together, Elaine, Heather, and Brian watched as the three hunters left, Dean and Julie holding hands. For a moment, Elaine really did wish they would stay, but she understood. This life was a chapter in Dean and Julie's life that had come and gone, and they had a different life now.

Besides, it would be selfish to ask them to stay. Those three obviously had some pretty important work to do.


	78. Chapter 78

**Chapter Seventy-Eight**

When Julie woke up from a nightmare where Beelzebub had captured Sam, Dean, and Cas and was torturing them while Julie watched helplessly, she was alone in bed.

For a moment, Julie was even more panicked than she had been in the dream. Her heart was still racing and she was shaking, and she was sure she had been screaming or at least begging Beelzebub to stop aloud. And normally, when she woke up from a dream like that, Dean was there to wrap his arms around her and whisper soothing things into her hair. But instead, she was all alone.

"Dean…?" Julie whispered, reaching out for him. She needed to feel his warm, solid body under her fingers, needed to bury her face in his neck and breathe in the smell of him until she could finally remember how to breathe.

But Dean was nowhere to be found.

Ignoring how badly her fingers were trembling, Julie managed to crawl out of bed and find one of Dean's sweatshirts. It was massive on her, but at least it warmed her enough that she quit shaking as much. And it smelled just enough like him that she was finally able to banish the thought of a bleeding, broken Dean at Beelzebub's mercy, or lack there of. Feeling significantly calmer, Julie slipped out of her and Dean's bedroom and headed for the couch in the TV room.

Sure enough, her hunch had been right. Dean was sprawled across the couch, a thick volume in another language and a laptop sitting on his lap. Julie sighed wearily when she saw him. She hadn't gone to bed until after midnight, and he had been lying next to her when she had. So he must have waited until she had gone to sleep and then come out here to do more research.

Julie gently moved the book and the computer off of Dean's lap. She checked to see what he had been doing on the laptop, and sure enough, he had a translator open. He had been trying to translate this ancient volume, which would have been smart if Sam hadn't already done so over a month ago.

He was grasping at straws, and it was going to kill him. He barely slept two or three hours each night, and he drank far too much. He wasn't eating like he used to either. As Julie watched him sleep, she noticed that even in sleep, his brow was still furrowed.

She sighed and grabbed a blanket, throwing it over Dean. After a moment of hesitation, Julie reached out and smoothed his forehead with her thumb. Dean stirred slightly and his eyes fluttered open. "Jules?" he murmured when his green eyes locked on her.

"Go back to sleep," she sighed. "You need it."

But Dean was awake enough to see the haunted look in her eyes, and he knew she wasn't really okay. "Not without you," he said, shifting over so there was room for her on the couch.

Julie didn't really fight him on that. If she was being honest, she still needed his arms around her, because that nightmare was still clinging to her. So Julie crawled onto the couch next to him, and Dean threw the quilt over the both of them and pulled her close to him. And Julie was finally able to bury her face in Dean's neck and drift off to a peaceful sleep.

Two hours later, after Sam woke up, worked out, and took a shower, he made coffee, poured himself a bowl of cereal, and headed into the living room to watch some TV. He stopped, though, when he found Dean and Julie wrapped around each other under a quilt, asleep on the couch. Sam sighed and smiled a little at them before going back into the main hall to eat breakfast there instead.

He worried about his brother a lot lately. Dean wouldn't sleep, or he couldn't sleep, but either way, he desperately needed more rest. His eating and drinking habits were also wildly off. If it weren't for Julie, Dean would be even worse, to the point where he would literally be killing himself. But then again, if it weren't for Julie, he wouldn't be in this mess in the first place.

Sam was in the middle of a quiet, peaceful breakfast by himself when his phone began to ring.

He fished it out of his pocket and was surprised to see Matthew Bones' name flashing across the screen. He hadn't spoken to Matthew in a long while. However, it was probably important, and Sam answered quickly.

"Hello? Matthew?"

"Sam, is that you?"

"Yeah."

"Thank God," the hunter sighed. "I've been trying to get ahold of any hunter for the past twenty-four hours, but everyone's either working a case or has changed their numbers."

"What's up?" Sam frowned.

"I've mentioned Mitch and Ellie Nelson, right? They're newer hunters."

"Yeah, they were with you when you guys found Dean back when he was-" Sam's voice caught on the word "demon."

"Yeah, that's them."

"Well, what about them?"

"They've found a pretty powerful demon, but…Sam, they're in over their head. They need help, and they need it bad. But I'm in the middle of hunting a werewolf pack, and I can't just abandon this case."

"So you need us to go help them," Sam guessed.

"Not if you're already working a case," Matthew said quickly.

"Well, we're actually not working a case at the moment," the more experienced hunter admitted.

"Then could you help them? I know it's a lot to ask and I tried not to bother you guys, but…these guys are in over their heads, and I can't let anything happen to them."

"I understand," Sam said, thinking of poor Dean and Julie sleeping peacefully. He wished he could let them rest, but there were people in danger, people who needed help. And that was there job.

"Just give me an address and we'll be there soon."

* * *

Mitch Nelson sat on his motel bed, a disassembled gun in his lap. He was cleaning it out and checking each part to make sure it worked perfectly. He was not going to endanger his life, and especially not his little sister's, with faulty equipment.

Ellie sat on the other bed, finger-combing through her short, styled hair as she watched the news. Mitch smiled a little when as he looked at his beautiful little sister. She was tall and lithe, with a fit, curvy body and beautiful dark skin. A chunk of her black hair was dyed bright red, and it made her look less like the innocent, naïve girl he thought of her as. He supposed that was probably the point of why she had dyed it, but nothing would ever really convince him that she was anything but his sweet, innocent little sister who needed to be protected.

So when someone knocked on their motel door and Ellie got up to answer, Mitch snapped, "No. I'll answer it."

She rolled her eyes but stepped back. Mitch grabbed a fully assembled gun and tucked it into his belt before carefully unlocking and opening the door. "What do you want?" he asked gruffly.

"Mitch Nelson?" a familiar voice asked carefully, and he found himself staring at that horrible man.

Without thinking, Mitch's fist shot out and punched him in the nose. The man cried out in pain and surprise, and the two people with him cried out as well. "Ellie, get out of here!" Mitch yelled before trying to take another swing at that terrifying, evil man who he had met months ago.

"What the hell, man?!" Dean Winchester snapped, barely dodging his next swing and trying to stop his nose from bleeding. "We're here to help!"

"You stay the hell away from me and my sister," Mitch growled, throwing another punch.

"Alright, that's it," Winchester snapped, and he suddenly caught Mitch's fist, and the next thing he knew, Dean Winchester had Mitch pinned in a headlock.

"I'm not a demon," he said slowly through gritted teeth. The man and woman standing in the doorway, watching in concern, nodded in agreement.

"Prove it," Mitch growled.

"Gladly," Dean said. "Sammy?"

"Christo," the tall, buff man standing in the doorway said flatly, and the man pinning Mitch did not even flinch.

"See?" Dean said calmly, releasing Mitch. "Not a demon."

Ellie Nelson, who had been cowering in the back of the motel room edged forward. But before she could ask a question, Mitch suddenly whipped out a canteen of holy water and splashed it onto Dean's face.

The hunter stood perfectly still, eyes closed, clearly irritated. Ignoring the man and woman chuckling behind him, he wiped his face clean and snapped, "Really?"

"Had to be sure," Mitch said, unable to keep from smirking just a little. "So, you're not a demon. Fine. Then what the hell are you doing here, and who are those people with you?"

"And how did you become human again?" Ellie asked curiously, coming up to stand behind her brother.

"A lot of questions," Dean grumbled.

"I'm Julie Carters," the blond woman said as she stepped into the motel room. "And this is his brother, Sam Winchester. Matthew Bones called us and said you two needed some help with a case. And as for the rest of your questions…we can answer those once I get his nose to quit bleeding."

Five minutes later, the five hunters sat down to talk.

Dean was still muttering irritably about his bloody nose, even though Julie had gotten the bleeding to stop and convinced him to hold an ice pack up to his nose. "You're fine," she sighed as she sat down in-between him and Sam on the edge of one of the beds, facing Ellie and Mitch, who sat across from them on the other bed.

"Would have been better if he hadn't punched me in the face," Dean grumbled.

Sam and Julie both rolled their eyes. "We're sorry about him," Julie sighed. Dean opened his mouth to protest, but Julie patted him on the leg to calm him down and shut him up.

"Who are you again?" Mitch asked skeptically.

"Julie Carters, his girlfriend," she explained.

"Matt's mentioned you before," Ellie remembered. "And he's mentioned you, too." She nodded at Sam.

"All good things?" Sam asked hopefully.

"Yeah," she smiled. "He thinks the world of you two. I'm so glad you're here to help us."

"Hang on," Mitch warned his sister. "I'm not sure I really trust these three yet."

"What other proof do you guys want?" Dean snapped. "I could have killed you both, but I didn't. And I'm not a demon anymore. We're here to help."

"Look, Winchester, we don't know you," Mitch snapped. "We don't know any of you. So excuse me if we aren't exactly ready to jump into a hunt holding hands with you three just yet."

"Mitch, be nice," Ellie scolded her brother. "They're here to help us."

"Maybe we don't need their help," Mitch shot back.

"Well, if you don't need us, we'll be glad to head back home," Dean said. "I can think of about a dozen things I'd rather be doing with my time."

"Dean," Sam scolded his brother, and then turned back to the siblings across from him. "Look, guys, we'd love to get to know you better and prove to you guys that you can trust us. But that also does mean that you're going to need to give us a chance."

Ellie gave Mitch a pleading look, and he finally sighed and gave in. "Okay. Fine. We'll give you a chance."

"Great, thanks," Julie said with a smile.

"So, what do you want to know?" Sam asked politely.

But before Mitch could even answer, his phone began to buzz. He dug it out of his pocket and frowned.

"What is it?" Julie asked.

"Ellie here's a little genius," Mitch said proudly, but he looked concerned. "She tuned my phone in to any and all police alerts in town."

"What's the alert?" Dean asked darkly.

"A teenage girl was found dead outside a bar that she was way too young to get into in the first place," Mitch said slowly, reading his phone. He glanced over at his sister and sighed. "Looks like we've got work to do."

He stood up and grabbed a suit jacket that was hanging in the closet. But he stopped when he finally noticed that Ellie hadn't moved. "Elle, come on? Why aren't you getting ready?"

"Well, Mitch…we've been chasing after this demon for a week, watching it murder innocent people daily," she said softly.

"Yeah, what's your point?" he snapped irritably.

"Well…we've had no luck finding or stopping the thing," she pointed out. "But now here are three of the best hunters in the world, and I say we use their help!"

Mitch looked like he wanted to say no, but one look at his little sister's big, pleading eyes and he caved. "Alright, fine," he snapped. "You three want to prove yourself? Here's your chance."

* * *

"Agents Haden and Lambert," Dean said as he and his brother held up their FBI badges.

"_And _Agent Moore," Mitch said coldly, flashing his badge as well.

Right. Dean was having a hard time remembering that he and Sam weren't the only "feds" working this case.

"Good to meet you, agents," the local sheriff said. "Although I do have to say, I'm surprised to see so many agents working one case."

"Well, it's not just one case, is it?" Sam pointed out. "Your town has lost seven people in seven days. It seems pretty serious, and about time for the FBI to interfere."

"I'll say," another police officer grumbled as he walked past.

"Excuse me?" Dean frowned, eying the officer.

"Well, Agent Moore there has been on this case for four days, and nothing's changed," the officer said coldly. "Maybe a couple more agents on the case can help."

Mitch glared at the officer as he strode away. "Ignore him," the sheriff sighed. "Lowell's a bit of a loose cannon at the moment. His brother was the victim two days ago, and it hit him pretty hard."

Sam and Dean exchanged a quick glance, trying not to imagine what it would be like to lose their brother. Unfortunately, they knew all too well.

"The victim?" Mitch prompted flatly, and the officer led them to the scene of the crime.

It was after dark, and the bar would normally be thriving. However, the police had taken over, insisting on investigating everyone inside, while other tried to clean up the mess behind the bar.

"Whoever killed this poor girl was a psycho," the sheriff warned them. "When we found her, her head was facing the wrong way, and her guts were spread out six feet away from her."

Sam shook his head in disgust. "Who would do this?" the sheriff said softly.

"More like what," Dean grumbled.

The three hunters excused themselves from the police officers to talk amongst themselves. "Have the other victims looked like this?" Sam asked Mitch.

"Some," he shrugged. "One guy's head was on a stake. Another woman's limbs were completely severed from her body."

"Yikes," Dean muttered.

"And the first six victims all lost enough blood that they clearly were tortured for a while before they actually died," Mitch continued. "I haven't seen this girl, obviously, but I'd guess she's the same as them."

"That's sick," Sam muttered.

"Well, they are demons," Dean pointed out. "And there's no connection between the victims?"

"Nope," the less experienced hunter shrugged. "As far as we can tell, this demon is just killing whoever they happen upon."

"Awesome," Dean grumbled. "Alright, let's get to work. Sammy, you and I can look for sulfur, and Mitch, why don't you talk to the cops some more?"

"No way," Mitch snapped. "I still don't quite trust you, Winchester."

"Are you kidding me?" Dean snapped.

"No. And I'm not letting you out of my sight until you prove that I can trust you."

"Fine," Sam said quickly. "Dean, why don't you two look for sulfur? I'll probably have better luck interacting with people than either of you would."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Dean snapped.

"It means you both are in bad moods and would probably just snap at people and scare them off," Sam said flatly. Then he forced a smile. "Well, have fun!"

Although neither of them were very excited about it, Dean and Mitch went to work searching the crime scene for sulfur or some clue as to who the demon might be or where they could find it next. Eventually, they managed to find a thin layer of sulfur covering the grass where the girl's body had been found. And when they went inside the bar to look around, they found sulfur on the windowsill by one of the booths.

Dean called one of the bartenders over and asked if he remembered who had been sitting here. "Oh, yeah," the bartender chuckled. "This smoking hot redhead."

"Had you ever seen her around here before?" Dean frowned.

"Nope. And believe me, I would have remembered."

"Was anyone with her?" Mitch asked.

"A bunch of guys came and tried to hit on her, but she shot most of them down," he shrugged. Then he frowned. "At one point, she called that girl over and they talked for a while."

"What girl?" Dean asked.

"You know, the one who…" His voice trailed off and his eyes flitted over to the back of the bar, where her body had been found.

"And you didn't find that suspicious?" Dean snapped.

"The girl talked to a lot of people!" the bartender snapped. "She was having a great time! It was obviously her first time in a bar. She was way too young to be in here."

"But you let her be?" Mitch frowned.

"She put in the effort to get a fake ID and she was paying double for everything," the bartender snapped. "I thought, let the kid have her fun, kick her out by ten, it's all good."

"Clearly it wasn't," Dean snapped before dismissing the guy.

"So you think it's this redhead?" Mitch muttered.

"Could be," Dean said. "Wasn't that guy, though."

"How do you know?" Mitch frowned.

"Poured a little holy water on my hand before we shook hands," he shrugged. "Probably thought I had sweaty palms or something."

To his surprise, Mitch smirked a little. "Not bad."

Dean crossed his arms and studied the other hunter. "Why is it you don't want to trust me so badly? Or Sam and Julie?"

Mitch glared at him. "Well, when I met you, you were a demon who threatened to kill me and my sister and Matthew."

"Hey, I'm with you there," Dean said. "I hate that guy, too. But I'm not that guy anymore. And Sam and Julie? Two of the best people you'll ever meet. I just don't get why you're so unwilling to trust them."

Mitch seemed to deliberate for a moment, and then he finally said, "Ellie and I started hunting when a ghost killed our mother. We never knew our father, so she was all we had. Thankfully, there was another hunter in town after the thing, so it put the ghost to rest before it could kill Ellie, since she was its next target. He stuck around then to explain what had happened to us, because we clearly wanted to know…and that's how we started hunting."

"That hunter…was it Matthew?" Dean guessed.

To his surprise, Mitch shook his head. "No. His name was Jacob. He seemed like a really nice guy at first, and he taught us how to hunt. But then we came across this hunt, a vampire hunt, and the vampire only drank the blood of young women. So Jake, he, uh…he wanted to use Ellie as bait. I said no, of course. She was my little sister. I wasn't letting anything happen to her. But Jake wasn't taking no for an answer. So he knocked me out, and by the time I woke up and made it to the vampire's nest… he'd already gotten to Ellie."

"How bad was it?" Dean asked softly.

"By the time I got her to the hospital, she'd nearly bled to death. It was almost a week before she was okay again." Mitch's eyes were dark with rage.

"And Jacob?"

"The thing killed him. Good thing, too, because otherwise I might have ended up doing that myself, and I didn't want his blood on my hands. I went back and killed it, of course. Not for him, though. Because it was the right thing to do, and because it hurt Ellie."

"So…that's why you don't trust hunters, huh?" Dean finally said.

"It took Matthew almost a month to finally convince me to trust him," Mitch sighed. "Look, Winchester…you and your brother and your girl seem like nice enough people, and you're damn good at your job. But you have to understand that you have to earn my trust. And you should know that if you lay a finger on my little sister, I will kill you myself."

"Believe me, I get it," Dean said. "I've got a little brother myself that I'd die to protect. That I have died to protect."

Mitch frowned. "What…?"

"It's a long story," Dean smirked. "I'll tell you all about it later. You know, once we don't have a demon to kill."

Meanwhile, outside the bar, Ellie and Julie were talking with people as they finished their police questioning and left the bar. Mostly, they went after men. Guys tended to be a lot more likely to spill their darkest secrets to pretty young women.

Ellie and Julie met up after their fourth or fifth interrogation. "Anything?" Ellie asked Julie.

"Nothing new," the older, more experienced hunter sighed. "That guy knew the girl's dad, said she was a good kid, but he had no idea who would hurt her. And he was clean."

"So was my guy," Ellie sighed. "And he didn't know anything."

"So, are you enjoying this part of the job yet?" Julie smirked.

"Honestly, there's not much I enjoy about this job," Ellie sighed. "It's dangerous, and I see a lot of people get hurt."

"Then why do you do it?"

"I've got to," Ellie said softly. "If there aren't hunters, then a lot more people are going to get hurt. And I can't let what happened to me happen to other people."

Ellie had already told Julie the story of her mom's death and how their "friend" Jacob had used her as bait. The two women were already quickly bonding as they interrogated the eyewitnesses. Ellie seemed like a very sweet girl, and she was smart and brave, too. With a little bit of work and a lot of experience, she could become a real kickass hunter herself.

Julie looked around. The crowd was pretty much gone. The police were beginning to pack up and head out. Soon, Sam, Dean, and Mitch would be done with their FBI work, and it would be back to square one.

"Hey, you guys wouldn't happen to know what happened in there, would you?" a woman's voice called.

Julie and Ellie both looked up and saw a very pretty, curvy woman in tight jeans and a low-cut t-shirt headed towards them. She looked about Julie's age, and she had long waves of bright red hair.

"We were just wondering that ourselves," Julie said innocently, playing her part perfectly. "We came by to get a drink, and instead the place is like shut down, and there's a ton of police here."

"You know what I heard?" the red-haired woman said confidentially as she reached them. "I heard some girl got killed out back."

"No," Ellie whispered, horrified.

"Again? It's scary how many people are dying in town!" Julie said, wide-eyed.

"I know, right!" the woman said. "It's almost like…like there's a demon in town or something." Julie's eyes widened for real this time, and she went for her angel blade. "Isn't that right, Juliet?" the redhead smirked, and then suddenly her eyes flashed black.

"Ellie, run!" Julie yelled, pulling out her blade.

"Ellie, be a dear and stay put," the demon called, raising her hand, and Ellie was suddenly frozen in her tracks.

Julie lunged forward and tried to stab the demon, but she grabbed Julie's wrist and struggled against her. Julie managed to get a good hit in the demon's gut, but she popped right back up and head butted Julie. The hunter fell back, losing her grip on her angel blade, and the demon waved her hand lazily and the weapon flew into her hand.

"I must admit, I'm a bit surprised to see the infamous Julie Carters," the demon smirked. "I've been messing with Ellie here and her scary big brother, hoping they'd bring some help in. I just never dreamed it'd be as big as you and your boy toys. They've got to be around here somewhere, don't they?"

"They're not here," Julie smirked defiantly. "And you'll never find them."

"You're a little liar, you are," the demon smirked. "No wonder you're going to hell." Julie's jaw clenched, and Ellie gasped, but the demon wasn't done. "I happen to know for a fact that your Dean? He wouldn't let you out of his sight. And I'm sure Sammy's not far behind."

"And how would you know that?" Julie snapped. "Who the hell are you?"

"Someone important," the demon smirked. "Very important to the big guy downstairs."

"Beelzebub?" Julie guessed.

"The one and only."

"Good. Then maybe you'll be able to give us some information we need," Julie smirked.

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm afraid you'll be dead long before you can try to get any information out of me," the demon chuckled.

"I beg to differ," a low voice growled behind the demon, and she whirled around in time to see Dean throw a canteen of water in her face.

The demon wailed in agony, and Mitch and Sam looked nervously around. "The cops are gone," Dean told them. "It's just us and this bitch now."

By the time the demon recovered, she was surrounded by five, armed, pissed hunters. "I told you that you were lying," the demon smirked at Julie.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean snapped at the demon.

"Oh, Dean, you don't remember me? I'm hurt!" she said, mock-offended. "But we were so close downstairs!" Dean still looked confused, so she sighed, "I know it's been a while but…I doubt you can have possibly forgotten. After all, we were both apprentices for ten years under him."

Suddenly, Dean's eyes widened. "Vicki?" he asked, shocked.

"Oh, you do remember! How sweet," she crooned.

"How do you know her, Dean?" Sam frowned.

"She…" Dean's voice died.

"Dean and I were old pals down in hell," Vicki explained.

"You went to hell?" Mitch snapped.

"I said I was gonna tell you later," Dean muttered.

"We had the same master for ten years," the demon continued. "I had been there for eight years before Dean came along. But Dean Winchester…he was something else. The child prodigy, Alastair's prized student."

"Alastair?" Julie snapped, grabbing onto Dean's arm protectively. She knew just how badly even the memory of that monster hurt Dean.

"Yep. The master taught Dean and me everything he knew, and a handful of others as well. But Dean was by far the best pupil Alastair had," Vicki smirked maliciously. "He learned faster than any of the others, and he was better than any of us, too. Oh, the irony. Dean Winchester, the famed Righteous Man, was one of the best damn torturers hell had ever seen."

"What?" Ellie and Mitch both cried, stepping away from Dean.

"Shut up," he growled at Vicki.

"But then that pretty boy angel Castiel swooped in and saved you," Vicki said spitefully. "And you left me and all the others to rot until eventually, we finally became demons. And I could have been well on my way to being one of hell's best torturers, but then Sammy there had to go and kill my master. Don't worry, though. I'm still plenty good with a razor. I'm sure you five have seen some of my handiwork around town."

"I'll kill you," Mitch snarled.

"Go ahead," she smirked. "There are still plenty of torturers in hell, like good old Lord Beelzebub himself. And don't worry, Julie, dear. I'm sure he'll take good care of you downstairs."

That threat was the thing that finally sent Dean over the edge. Without hesitation, he moved forward and slammed the hilt of the demon-killing knife down on the demon's head, knocking her unconscious. After she collapsed, he looked up to find four pairs of eyes locked on him with varying degrees of shock, fear, and distrust.

Finally, Dean took a deep breath and said, "Clearly we've got a lot to talk about."

* * *

It had been a long drive, nearly three hours, to the nearest safe house. Sam, Dean, and Julie had rode in the Impala with a demon locked in the trunk, while Mitch and Ellie had followed behind them. But now that they had arrived, Julie wished the car ride had been longer.

Because now she had to do everything she could to block out the screams, and she was failing.

Sam watched his best friend sadly. She was curled up in a chair in the corner, her hood pulled up over her ears and her eyes squeezed shut as she attempted to block out Vicki's screams. The demon was horrible, and she deserved to die. Sam felt no pity for her. But they couldn't just kill her. She had confessed to being close to Beelzebub, and if she had any information at all that could help with stopping Beelzebub, saving the world, or saving Julie's soul, they had to get it.

Mitch was strong and tough, but he was still pretty new for a hunter. He knew how to kill, but he didn't know how to get answers from his victims yet. And Julie and Ellie were both far too gentle and sweet to ever torture someone. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Sam was pretty sure if Julie was given the chance, she would definitely torture Metatron for what he did to Dean, and any other monster who had dared to harm the man she loved. But she didn't have it in her to torture this demon. And even Sam, while he knew he was capable of torturing the demon, didn't think he had the strength or skill to get answers from a victim and student of Alastair's.

There was only one person who had any hope of getting answers from Vicki. And it was the very person that Sam wanted to protect the most from ever having to pick up a knife and torture again.

Ellie shuddered when Vicki screamed again, a high, horrible gurgle. Mitch's eyes flashed dangerously. "Your brother's something not human," he told Sam darkly. "No _person _should be that good at torture."

"You try going through forty years of hell, see what it does to you," Julie snapped defensively from her huddled position, and it was clear her efforts to block out noise really weren't doing much.

"Why doesn't he just kill her?" Ellie whispered.

"We need to know if she has any information, any at all," Sam explained. "The entire world could depend on it."

All four hunters were silent for a moment, and then Vicki screamed again, and this time her scream turned into a long string of furious swear words.

"I still don't like it," Mitch grumbled, trying to ignore how the pitiful noises that demon was making made his skin crawl.

"Me neither," Sam admitted.

Inside the cell, Dean turned away from his victim to clear his head for a moment. God, he hated this. This small, dark cell that stank of blood and sweat was eerily reminiscent of hell. And the way he had chained Vicki up, with her wrists dangling from the ceiling so she was always held upright, was a position he was all too familiar with. He wished to God he didn't have to be doing this. But his only other option would be to let Sam do it, because he was the only one who might have a prayer of breaking her. And Dean could net let his little brother in here to do this horrible job.

"You're…rusty," Vicki said behind him, her breaths ragged. "Any good torturer knows you start out slow, take them apart bit by bit. You're just hacking away at me, Dean. You need more practice."

"I don't have centuries of time on my hands," Dean pointed out, his back still turned to the demon who had been his roommate down in hell for many long, horrible years.

"That's right," she chuckled. "I heard about your little slut." Dean's fists clenched. "Poor, precious Juliet, soon to be back in hell. Again."

"Not happening," Dean said darkly, picking up a cup of holy water and trying to ignore how his shaking hands made the water threaten to spill out.

"But you've got no way to stop it!" Vicki cried. "Your girlfriend's going to go to hell, and then Beelzebub is going to take that pitiful little slut apart again and again until she takes up the blade, just like you, Dean, until she becomes a demon-"

And suddenly Vicki was screaming in agony, as Dean dumped a cup of holy water down her big, fat mouth. He clamped his hand over her mouth so she couldn't spit it out, and waited until she was forced to swallow. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she choked and gagged, and for a moment, Dean felt that little thrill of pleasure torture had once brought him.

And it scared the hell out of him.

Dean grabbed Vicki's hair and yanked her head back. "Tell me what you know!" he snapped, his face inches from hers.

"I told you, honey, I don't know a damn thing," she said weakly, still managing to stare coolly into his eyes.

"I don't believe you," Dean said coldly, pressing the demon-killing knife against her neck.

"Lord Beelzebub doesn't trust anybody, not after you and old king Crowley screwed him over," Vicki said bluntly. "He doesn't tell anyone anything, not even Apollyon. He and Lucifer just plot together and every day, our Lord grows closer to rising."

"Fine, maybe you don't know anything about Beelzebub's plans," he snapped. "But I bet you know a way out of a deal, don't you?"

"Oh, poor, pretty, pathetic Dean," Vicki crooned. "You still think there's a way to save your girlfriend? Dean, baby, you and I both know she's already dead. Just buying time. Now, tell me why you're in here with me when you should be spending your last few weeks with her?"

"No," Dean snarled, digging his knife in deeper, until it broke skin. "That's not good enough. How do I save her?"

"I suppose you could try taking her place," Vicki shrugged airily. "Beelzebub might take you up on that. Who knows? But that's the only chance you've got."

"There's a way. And you're going to tell me it, or I swear to God I will kill you now."

"Go ahead," Vicki smirked. "My Lord Lucifer will just bring me back, along with all the other demons, when he rises. And then I can watch him use your brother's body to kill you slowly." She laughed at the thought, and he dug his knife deep into her arm, causing her to wail again.

"You're many things, Vic, but you're not stupid," Dean smirked darkly. "You know Lucifer seeks to kill all demons. He won't bring you back. If you're still alive, he'll smite you the second he's done with us humans."

"Then at least I'll get to watch you all burn first," she snarled.

"Alright, last chance, bitch," he growled. "You tell me something, anything, or I'll kill you now."

"Fine!" Vicki conceded. "Okay, fine. I only know one thing. It's some rumor I heard. Something Beelzebub has been going around saying."

"What?" Dean asked eagerly, leaning a little to hear.

"About how once he gets your Juliet, he's going to chain that bitch up and have his way with her and then he's going to take her apart nice and slow and painful until she's begging for mercy-"

Julie flinched as she heard the horrible noise of a knife cutting through someone and the sickening noise Vicki made. And then the demon was silent.

Julie and Sam looked nervously at each other. It was too quiet in that cell, no voices, no screaming, nothing…

And then suddenly the door unlocked and Dean stepped calmly out of the cell. His hands and arms were stained red, and there were flecks of blood on his face and neck. The most horrifying thing about him, though, was the dead look in his eyes.

"Any luck?" Sam asked nervously, trying not to notice as Mitch moved protectively in front of Ellie.

"She didn't know anything," Dean said flatly.

"So…is she…?" Julie asked carefully, getting up and starting to move to him, but then realizing that probably wasn't wise..

"She's dead," he said flatly.

Julie knew she should be glad that horrible demon was dead. But she couldn't find it in her to be glad. In fact, if she was being honest, as she looked at this dark, twisted side of the man she loved she was almost…scared.

* * *

Sam knew something was wrong when Dean didn't want to drive back.

The three of them had already said goodbye to Mitch and Ellie Nelson. Ellie had hugged all three of them goodbye, even Dean, and seemed like she really did like and trust them. And Mitch clearly did trust them a lot more than he had before. He shook Sam and Julie's hands, but he only nodded at Dean. Sam knew that Mitch and Dean had bonded a little while they worked together, but seeing the dark side of Dean so soon after meeting him sure didn't help strengthen their bond.

Still, brother and sister had both agreed that they wouldn't mind working together again with the three hunters.

The demon was dead, new allies had been made, and they should have been celebrating. But Dean clearly wasn't in a celebrating mood. He was silent and surly, and when they had packed up and were headed to the Impala to drive home, he handed Sam the keys without a word and got into the passenger seat.

They rode in silence the whole ride back. Dean and Julie both closed their eyes and lay still, but Sam somehow doubted they were really asleep. Sure enough, when he finally got back to the bunker, the two of them both got right up, bright-eyed and alert, and took their stuff inside.

Dean headed straight for bed, but Sam grabbed Julie's elbow and pulled her back. "Hey, just…look after him, okay?" Sam said softly. "He's clearly not in a good place right now."

"Of course," she assured him, and they quickly said goodnight.

Julie crept timidly into her bedroom. Dean was already in bed, his shirt and pants abandoned on the floor. He lay on his back under the covers, staring blankly up at the ceiling.

For a moment, Julie debated whether or not she should get into bed with him. He seemed like he wanted to be alone, but if she acted like anything wasn't completely normal, that might just make things worse.

So Julie did what she would normally do: took off her jacket, jeans, and her bra and slipped into bed in her t-shirt and underwear next to Dean.

He was still lying on his back, but his eyes were now on her. Julie rolled onto her side and studied him. "How are you?" she asked him gently.

"Awesome," he said sarcastically.

Julie sighed and moved closer to him, draping an arm across his bare chest and resting her cheek on his shoulder. She was a little worried he might try to move away from her, but Dean gave in and put an arm around her, pulling her close.

"You did your best," she said softly. "There was no way any of us could have gotten anything out of her, if she even did know anything."

Dean had to agree with her, but that didn't make him feel any better. "That's not really what's bothering me," he admitted. "Although I do wish I could have gotten information on a way to save you."

"Well, what's bothering you?" she asked calmly, absently stroking his skin.

"I never wanted you to see that side of me," he admitted softly, and she knew exactly what he meant.

"Dean, I saw you as a demon. I've seen you at your worst, and I'm still here. I think that means something."

"But…I still didn't want you to see that," he said at a whisper.

"I know, honey," she sighed, pressing as close as she could to him. "I know."

And she held him tightly like that until, finally his guilt and pain eased enough that he could finally drift off to sleep.


	79. Chapter 79

**Chapter Seventy-Nine**

Things should have been gloomy around the bunker. They were two months and one day away from Julie's deadline, and they had made no progress. But the hunters couldn't help but be at least a bit more cheery than normal. After all, it was Christmas Eve.

Julie was practically beside herself. Since she was a child, she had always loved Christmas. And she, unlike the Winchesters, had some memories of actual family Christmas's. For the past two days she had been brighter and happier than normal, kissing Dean more, hugging Sam more, laughing at anything and everything. She baked for nearly every meal, and left the whole bunker smelling like gingerbread and sugar cookies. And she was always singing Christmas songs, all the time. Sam couldn't help but enjoy it. Dean had mentioned her beautiful voice before, but Sam had rarely ever heard it. It was high and clear and it echoed through the bunker and brought a smile to both the brothers' faces when they heard it.

Quite suddenly, Christmas Eve was upon them. It was after lunch, and Julie had gotten tired of just sitting around with Sam and Dean, who were both deep into their research. At a little before two in the afternoon, Julie suddenly stood up and announced, "I'm going to buy presents!"

"What?" Dean frowned.

"I'm going out, and I'm going to buy presents and some eggnog and more gingerbread, and we are going to have ourselves a proper Christmas," she said, just stating facts.

"Jules…I don't know…" Dean said weakly. "We've only got two months left before-"

"Nope! We're not talking about that, not on this most sacred of days," she said grandly, putting a finger to his lips. "Now, I'm going to borrow your car and drive into town and get you two presents. Don't go anywhere, okay?"

"Where would we go?" Dean sighed.

"Have fun, Julie," Sam sighed, smiling at her wistfully and half-wishing he could go along. But he had work to do. Funny how Sam and Dean seemed more worried about Julie staying alive than she did.

Julie rushed about the bunker, and in a few minutes she was ready, purse in hand, bundled up in the green, fur-trimmed coat Sam had bought her for her birthday, a red-and-black scarf, her combat boots, and jeans. She had to bundle up, because it had begun to snow, which launched her into a chorus of "White Christmas" as she headed out of the bunker.

Sam smiled fondly after her. It was too bad that Dean was so set on research. Because a part of him really wanted to be getting festive and happy with her.

But the moment Julie was gone, Dean slammed his book closed and stood up. "Alright, Sammy. I've got a big-ass tree under a tarp in the garage that I need your help hauling up here, and then we have a lot of decorating to get done in a very short amount of time."

Sam blinked. "What?"

"That girl obviously wants a full-blown Christmas, and that's what she'll get," Dean said firmly. "Now, are you going to help me get it ready or not?"

To his surprise, Sam stood up and started to smile at his big brother. "What?" Dean snapped.

"You really are a good boyfriend."

"Shut up, jerk."

The two brothers went to work, hauling a large pine tree out of the garage and into the wide, open main hall, where they set it up and decorated it with strings of lights and tinsel. Dean went to work putting mistletoe over nearly every door, while Sam wrapped the boxes that Dean had bought and placed them under the tree. The boys hung the extra strings of lights over doorways and placed the last plate of cookies out on the table, along with hot apple cider Dean had bought. And Sam put the presents he had secretly bought and wrapped under the tree as well.

Oh, Julie was going to love this.

When she returned nearly three hours later, Sam and Dean were both waiting at the door for her. Dean couldn't help but smile at her as she stepped into the bunker. She looked beautiful, with snowflakes on her long eyelashes and slowly melting into her gentle blond curls. She smiled and him as well and gave him a quick kiss before dumping her shopping bags into his arms.

"I bought presents, and you two are going to suck it up and accept them and enjoy it," she ordered them, and Sam and Dean exchanged sly looks.

But before either of them could reply, there was a familiar fluttering noise behind them.

"What do you know, a real live angel on Christmas Eve," Dean smirked as he turned to face Castiel. He set down the shopping bags and crossed his arms. "Cas, what are you doing here?"

"No time," the angel replied, and for the first time, Dean noticed how wide and worried his best friend's blue eyes were.

"What-?" Sam started to ask, but before he could even finish his question, Cas threw an arm around Dean and Julie and grabbed Sam's shoulder with his other hand, and then suddenly all four of them were gone, abandoning the Christmas surprise waiting in the main hall.

* * *

When Julie opened her eyes, she was no longer inside the bunker, but standing in the middle of a snowy street with Sam, Dean, and Cas all around her. She was the only one actually dressed for the weather, with Sam wearing a warm brown sweater and jeans, and Dean in a dark flannel and jeans. Cas was wearing his typical outfit, but she doubted angels really got cold.

"What the hell?" Dean spluttered. "Cas, where are we?"

"Minnesota," the angel said flatly, his blue eyes steely as he stared at something behind Dean. Julie turned to stare at the row of clearly abandoned, dark houses behind them, which were slowly falling into disrepair.

"Great. _Why_ are we here?" Dean snapped, drawing his arms around him. He was clearly freezing.

"Beelzebub," Castiel replied, and Dean forgot all about how cold he was, instinctively stepping closer to Julie. Sam did the same, and she immediately had the two brothers flanking her, like she _needed _protection.

"Where?" Sam snapped.

"I'm not certain. But I know that he was just in town."

"Why?" Julie frowned.

"To break a seal."

"Come on, Cas, we need actual answers here!" Dean snapped, exasperated.

"My angels found a lead on him," Cas explained. "He's here in town to complete a sacrifice. I don't understand the reasoning, but we must stop him."

"What's the sacrifice?" Julie asked softly, almost scared.

"Twenty-four innocent victims," the angel said softly.

"We've got to stop him," she said firmly.

"But we don't have any weapons," Sam pointed out.

"Right," Cas said, and then he was gone again.

The three hunters exchanged wide-eyed looks. They waited in silence for a few moments, but soon enough, Cas was back with a duffel bag full of weapons.

Dean strapped knives and flasks of holy water to his belt and the inside of his jacket. He loaded a gun full of devil's trap bullets and tucked it into his jacket as well, watching as Julie and Sam did the same. Sam took an angel blade, and so did Julie, and Dean grabbed the demon-killing knife Ruby had once given them. After a moment of deliberation, Dean took another gun loaded with normal bullets, and plenty of ammunition, and Sam and Julie followed his lead. Cas needed only his angel blade.

Once the hunters looked and felt ready for battle, they all turned to face the largest abandoned home that Cas had been watching. "Is he in there?" Julie asked softly.

"If my sources are correct," he replied.

The four of them exchanged looks. "Alright then," Dean said gravely. "Let's do this."

The door was locked, but it was rotting so badly that Dean barely even had to put any effort into his kick to knock it down. "You could have been a bit more subtle," Julie pointed out.

"Like he doesn't already know we're here," he shot back.

After that loud entrance, they crept silently through the rotting home, weapons at the ready. Dean and Cas took up the front, while Sam and Julie watched their backs. They slipped silently through the first floor of the house for a couple of minutes until they came into a large, empty room. Well, not completely empty.

"No," Julie gasped, bringing her hand up to her mouth.

Sam sighed in defeat. They were too late.

Twenty-four people lay in neat, orderly rows across the floor, eyes closed and skin pale. Each neck was sliced open and red with blood, each body perfectly still in death.

"Dammit," Dean growled. There were twelve men and twelve women, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from one of the women, a skinny, blond girl who couldn't be more than fifteen or sixteen. She was just a kid…

"We were too late," Castiel said slowly.

Julie knelt down next to the nearest victim, a college-age guy. She looked over his body for the markings of a spell, perhaps a clue on how to reverse the sacrifice, but there was nothing. As she did so, she accidentally brushed her hand through the pool of blood growing around him. She shuddered in disgust, but then she realized…the blood was still a little warm.

"Blood's still warm," she said sadly, wiping her hand clean on the stained, ruined carpet. "We were so close."

Her three companions shook their heads sadly. Julie started to stand up, wanting to get away from this poor, dead man.

And then his eyes flew open and his hand locked around her wrist.

Julie screamed in horror as the corpse tried to pull her back onto the ground. She watched as he reached underneath himself and pulled out a sharp, dangerous knife. He was armed. He was armed and undead, and he was trying to stab her in the heart.

They hadn't just failed to stop Beelzebub. They had walked right into his trap.

Suddenly Dean was there, and he shot the zombie, for that was clearly what this thing was, point blank in the head. Julie turned away from the gruesome sight, but at least the undead monster finally let go of her. Dean grabbed her and hauled her away from the headless zombie.

"Dean, he's out! A headshot kills a zombie! It's fine!" Julie cried, trying to pull free of Dean and figure out why he was so desperate to get her out of this room.

"Yeah, it kills _one _zombie," he said darkly, and she finally got turned around in time to see twenty-three zombies rising from the ground, armed with knives or guns or even axes.

Julie and Dean turned and ran for their lives.

Sam and Cas were already running out of the room. The four of them sprinted through the large house, headed for the front door. Once a zombie got your scent, it never quit following you until it was stopped. If they could get outside, the zombies would follow them out the door and they could gun them down one-by-one, easy targets.

But when Sam got to the broken-down door and tried to throw himself out of it, he was stopped by an invisible force.

"We can't get out!" he yelled desperately.

"Move!" Cas snapped, pushing the hunter aside and throwing his shoulder into the invisible wall. But the spell trapping them was strong enough that even an angel couldn't break through it.

"We're screwed," Julie whispered.

"No, we're not," Dean snapped, turning to face the army coming towards them. "Here, Cas," he said shortly, forcing one of the guns he'd brought into his best friend's hand. "Aim for the head."

The four of them lined up shoulder to shoulder and just started shooting. Sam had a shotgun, and he was definitely the best off for getting in head shots that stopped the zombies with one blow. But all the rest of them had only pistols that took more than one shot to really take down the nearly-invincible zombie.

The four of them held their own for as long as they could. But for every zombie they took down, two more seemed to appear. Twenty-three suddenly seemed like a ridiculously large number.

The first zombie to get to them had once been a large, burly, middle-aged man. He went for Julie, seeing her as the easiest target, but he was dead wrong. Even when he had her throat trapped in one hand, she still managed to raise her gun and blow his head clean off. His body toppled to the floor, and she saw Dean staring at her open-mouthed. He had lowered his gun when he saw her in danger, planning to help her, and now more zombies were dangerously close.

"Shoot, you moron!" she snapped at him, turning and shooting the nearest zombie over and over again until he fell.

Dean was snapped out of his shock, and he went back to shooting. "I was just trying to help!" he yelled over the sound of four guns being fired.

A zombie had gotten up behind him, and it grabbed his shooting arm and yanked it back so he could no longer fire. Dean struggled to get free, but the zombie was inhumanly strong, and its other hand was closing around his throat and squeezing…

Suddenly the tip of an angel blade appeared in the zombie's throat. It gurgled and released its hold on Dean. Then someone pulled the knife out of its neck and kicked it in the back, sending it sprawling. Dean watched as Julie calmly put her knife away and raised her gun to blow the zombie's head off.

When she had pulled the trigger and they had one less zombie to deal with, she lifted her head to stare coolly at him.

"Did it ever occur to you that I don't _need _help?" she pointed out, gesturing to the carnage around her. _Her_ victims. And she had taken them all down, with no help from anyone else.

Dean was suddenly aware of the fact that the sounds of fighting had stopped. He looked around and saw that the battle was over as suddenly as it had begun. Sam stood nearby, out of ammunition and nursing a bloody welt on his head. Castiel was splattered in blood, but he otherwise looked unharmed. In fact, all four of them were covered in the blood and gore that came from exploding zombie heads. Lovely.

But none of them looked as bad as the twenty-three bodies piled up in the hallway, all with bullet holes in their heads, or no heads. It was like a set of a horror movie, but it was all too real.

Julie looked like she was about to gag. "God, those poor people," she whispered.

"We couldn't help them," Sam sighed. "We had to stop them before somebody got hurt."

"Somebody else," she shot back, thinking of the twenty-four innocent victims who had all died today, slaughtered so Beelzebub could break yet another seal.

"We need to find the shrine of dark magic that brought these corpses to life," Castiel said darkly. "Hopefully when we do, we can break the spell that is trapping us in this house."

"And we'd better do it fast," Dean pointed out. "Beelzebub could be back any second. He knew we'd be coming, so he set a trap."

The four of them split up to quickly search all of the house they hadn't already seen. As Julie searched closets and dark corners, she walked past an old, dusty mirror and was horrified by her own appearance. Her face was splattered with blood, and so was her beloved coat and boots and jeans. There was even blood in her hair. She looked disgusting, and she wanted nothing more than to take a hot shower and wash herself clean.

But she had bigger problems right now. So she kept searching.

Castiel was the one to finally find the shrine. It was up in the attic, and along with it was the spell trapping them in the house. He destroyed both shrines quickly, breaking the spells, and then teleported to where Dean was.

"Find Sam and Julie," he told his best friend. "It's time to go."

By the time they found Julie on the first floor and Sam in the basement, something was clearly bothering Cas. "Something's coming," he said suddenly.

"What?" Sam asked nervously.

"Something powerful, and evil," the angel warned them, and it was clear from his expression who it was.

"We need to get out of here now!" Dean snapped, and no one wanted to argue. The four grabbed onto each other, and then they all vanished with the sound of flapping wings.

Thirty seconds later, a man with dark blond hair and green eyes in an all-black suit walked calmly up to the broken-down house. He stepped through the hole where the door had once been and blinked in surprise when he saw the hallway littered with headless corpses.

"Not bad, boys…" he had to admit after a moment. He could already sense that there was no one there. Oh, well. So they had gotten away. So what? He'd find them again. He had nothing but time. Julie Carters, on the other hand…

Beelzebub shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away from the house, whistling contentedly. Even though the Winchesters and his favorite toy had gotten away, it didn't really matter. He had still broken the seal. And now he was one step closer to raising his lord Lucifer.

Beelzebub was having a pretty good day.

* * *

Julie was having an awful day.

It was a little better now that the four of them were safely just inside the entrance of the bunker. And it got even better when Cas touched each of them on the forehead and the blood on their clothes and faces vanished. Once everyone was clean and no longer in danger, the mood lifted a bit.

But it was still there in the air, the thing that no one wanted to say. The fact that they had failed. The fact that twenty-four innocent people were dead, and another seal was broken.

The three hunters were feeling worn-down and defeated, and Cas didn't look much better. No one said a word as they walked down the stairs and into the main hall. Julie planned to go into the kitchen, get some beer, or maybe even whiskey, and drink herself into unconsciousness in true Dean Winchester fashion.

She had completely forgotten that it was Christmas Eve until she stepped into the main hall.

It was beautiful. Twinkling lights were strung over doorways, and clumps of mistletoe were cleverly positioned over every door, Dean's doing for sure. There were cookies and eggnog out on the table, and even an enormous, beautiful, lit-up Christmas tree.

Julie gasped when she saw all of it, unable to speak. Sam and Dean were both surprised when they saw the decorations. They too had forgotten what day it was and what they had been doing right before Cas arrived to take them on that disastrous mission.

"What…?" the angel asked, bewildered.

"Oh, right," Dean said. "It's Christmas Eve."

"Who…?" Julie finally got out.

"We did," Sam admitted wearily. "Dean's idea."

Everyone was silent for a moment, and then Julie threw an arm around each of the brothers and dragged them in for a tight hug. They were both surprised at first, but then they smiled a little and hugged her back.

"This is amazing, guys," she admitted when she pulled away, beaming. "Thanks."

"You mean…you really want to celebrate Christmas after what just happened?" Dean frowned.

Julie sobered a little. "Well…I'm looking at it like this. We failed, plain and simple, and we can't change that. Now we can sit around moping and drinking ourselves unconscious, or we can decide to move on and celebrate Christmas together."

"I'm surprised how well you're handling this," Sam admitted.

"Well…this could very well be my last Christmas, guys," she pointed out. "And I think we should make it count."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks, and then nodded. "She's right," Sam said firmly. "Let's have the family Christmas we never had."

"Come on, Cas!" Julie grinned, grabbing the angel's hand and hauling him towards the Christmas tree. "I bought you presents, too."

"Us too," Sam said for him and Dean.

"I…" the angel said, at a loss for words.

"Cas, so help me God, you are going to loosen up and celebrate Christmas with us!" Dean barked. "Come on, take your coat off! You're staying for a while, aren't you?"

"I guess…?"

"Suit jacket and tie off," Julie added. "This is a casual party."

The angel went along with them, starting to smile. Julie disappeared for a couple minutes while Dean poured glasses of eggnog for everyone, and then she reappeared in a festive, tight-fitting Christmas sweater. The four of them sat down to eggnog and cookies and to talk and laugh together, trying to put the disaster from just a few minutes ago out of their mind.

After about an hour of chatting, Julie got up and made a ham for dinner. She and Dean prepared salad and pudding and pie whatever else Sam and Cas requested. Dinner was large and extravagant, at least for their standards, and Dean ate more than twice what Julie managed to cram into her mouth. By this point, liquor had eased their pain, and they were able to really have fun now.

Cas told anecdotes of how adorably incompetent some of his younger angels were, and the three hunters told funny stories from the bunker, almost all of which featured Dean doing something stupid or goofy. By the end of dinner, everyone was laughing hard and feeling warm and content.

Then came presents. They went by person, piling all the presents for each person in front of them and then letting them open all of them. Cas went first. Sam bought him a new phone, because he had managed to lose the old one he had used to call the hunters. "Maybe now you'll quit just popping up all the time," Sam smirked as Cas thanked him.

They all laughed. "He's kidding, of course. You're welcome anytime," Julie assured the angel.

Julie bought him a Christmas sweater, a pair of jeans, and warm, fuzzy socks. "In case you ever feel like dressing down a little," she smirked.

He grinned at her, and then suddenly he was wearing the clothes she had bought him. "They are quite comfortable!" he remarked, mildly surprised. "Thank you!"

Julie laughed. Dean was shocked to see his best friend in anything but his trench coat and suit look, but it wasn't a bad look. It made him look a lot more human.

And as for Dean, his present to Cas was a large box full of _Busty Asian Beauties _magazines. "My gift to you is also a gift to Julie," Dean said grandly. "You get the gift of naked women, and she now knows for certain that I'm not reading them all the time when she's not looking."

"He totally is," Julie muttered to Sam.

Cas looked incredibly uncomfortable with the porn magazines, so Dean sighed and took them back. "Look at him, pretending he doesn't want to keep them," Sam smirked in Julie's ear, and she laughed.

He shot them a look and then gave Cas his real present. It was a car key to one of the classic cars in the garage. "In case you ever want to start travelling like a normal person," Dean explained.

Castiel thanked them all repeatedly for their gifts. He felt incredibly guilty for not getting them anything, so he left and returned with a wad of cash worth about five thousand dollars each. "Well, this is the best gift I'm getting!" Dean laughed, quickly stuffing his cash into his pocket.

Next was Sam. Dean had gotten his brother a laptop cover to protect Sam's most prized possession, and Julie had gotten him three thick novels she had loved and knew he would love and a Christmas sweater to match Cas's and hers. "We're all going to match, aren't we?" Dean groaned as Sam pulled off his old sweater and put on the new one.

"Suck it up, Winchester," she smirked.

Dean's presents were next. From Sam, he had gotten a new gun-cleaning kit and a set of silver knives. And from Julie he got more tools to take care of his Baby, a solid iron ring that would now allow him to literally punch ghosts in the face if need be, and, of course, a Christmas sweater. With a lot of teasing and whining and kissing, she finally convinced him to change into the sweater, and then all four of them were matching, causing Dean to be in almost physical pain.

Finally, it was Julie's turn. Sam had also gotten her a thick novel that he had loved and knew she would love, plus a new set of throwing knives, some silver, some bronze, and some iron. She loved them, of course, and then it was time for Dean's present to Julie.

Dean reached into his jacket, and his fingers brushed against the wooden box he had almost forgotten was tucked away in there. No, that was a lie. He could never forget the rings that Jasper Carters had left Dean in his will. Wouldn't that be something, if Dean proposed to Julie right here and now? What a present!

But no. He knew what she would say. And she would be right in saying it. Now was not the time, and at this rate, there may never be a time where it would be right.

He quickly shook off those dark thoughts and instead grabbed the black jewelry box he had tucked away to give to her. "I'm not much of a jewelry person," he admitted, a little pink. "But I thought it looked pretty."

Julie opened it, and there, lying in crushed velvet, was a beautiful silver pendant with one large diamond in the center of it. The pendant was small and subtle, but she loved it the moment she saw it.

"Oh, Dean…it's beautiful," she exclaimed, and she truly meant it.

"Well, it couldn't just be pretty, so…" He flipped it over with a finger, and she saw a small anti-possession symbol scratched into the silver.

"Pretty _and _practical," she smirked.

Sam watched the starry-eyed way the two of them were staring at each other, and he knew he needed to get out of here before they started just doing it on the table.

"Well, it's getting late!" Sam said loudly. "Thanks, guys. This was truly the best Christmas Eve celebration I've ever had."

"Mine too," Castiel said, standing up as well. "But I should probably return to heaven."

"Dressed like that?" Dean smirked, eying his dorky Christmas sweater.

The angel thought about it, then nodded. "Yep."

Dean grinned at him. "Alright. Thanks for staying, Cas. It wouldn't have been nearly as fun without you."

The three hunters all hugged the angel goodnight, and then he was gone, taking his old clothes with him. "What if that becomes his new signature outfit?" Dean smirked.

"Then I will be proud to have designed it," Julie replied, eyes twinkling.

"I'm gonna head to bed, guys," Sam sighed. He actually was pretty sleepy, and he could tell those two needed some alone time. Julie hugged him, and Dean even gave him a quick one-armed hug. Everyone was feeling oddly affectionate tonight.

Speaking of affectionate…Dean laced his fingers through Julie's and asked, "Want to head to our bedroom so you can try that necklace on in front of a mirror?"

"Smooth, Winchester," she smirked.

"I know."

Still, she picked up the jewelry box and walked with him, saying, "You know, you look really hot in that Christmas sweater."

"If by 'hot', you mean overheated and stuffy, then yeah."

"Shut up," she laughed as she shouldered him jokingly.

They reached their bedroom and Dean opened the door for her. Julie walked over to the mirror and watched through it as Dean shut the door behind them, walked over to her, and gently brushed her blond curls to the side.

He slowly lifted the necklace and put it around her neck. As he clasped it, his fingertips brushed the back of her neck, and she closed her eyes and smiled. When Julie opened them, she saw the beautiful, twinkling necklace hanging around her thin neck and smiled wider.

"It's beautiful," she whispered.

Dean's hand was still on her neck as he whispered, "You're beautiful."

She turned around and kissed him for a long moment, until she was in desperate need of air. "What was that for?" Dean asked. "There's not even any mistletoe in here!"

"Shut up," she laughed, gently starting to push him towards their bed. She kissed him again, hungrier this time, but when they pulled apart, he said, "Really, I just don't see any mistletoe, so why on earth are you kissing me?"

"Shut up and take that sweater off," she ordered.

"I thought I looked hot in it!"

"Yeah, and you'll look even hotter without it."

Dean grinned and leaned in to kiss Julie, letting her pull his sweater off of him. He did the same to her, and soon the rest of their clothes were falling to the floor and they were collapsing onto the bed, kissing and wrapping around each other, getting tangled together under the sheets…

By the time they finally lay still, still tangled together, it was after one in the morning. Julie's head was on Dean's forearm, her slow, regular breaths on his chest. For a moment, Dean just focused on how pleasant this felt, and how beautiful Julie looked wearing nothing but her new necklace.

Then he pressed his lips to the top of her head and whispered, "Merry Christmas," knowing she couldn't hear him.

And then Dean drifted off to sleep as well.


	80. Chapter 80

**Chapter Eighty**

When Julie woke up at two in the morning, she was once again alone in bed.

This was happening more and more often as her time ran out. Days seemed to be flying by, and no progress was being made. She now had only seven weeks left to live, and she was still damned.

Sam had finally given up on finding any way to save her in any book or online. There was simply nowhere else to search. He had checked everything, and Dean had double and triple checked everything at least. There was simply no way to save her soul, and Sam, at least, had finally accepted that.

Over the past week or so, Sam and Julie had found two small hunts and asked Dean to come with them, but he had stayed in the bunker, researching and scrambling for answers like his life depended on it. Which, in a way, it kind of did. Because if Julie died, a pretty huge part of him would die with her. Julie and Sam had enjoyed hunting together and getting out of the bunker, and both cases had been easily solved, but Julie had found herself wishing that Dean was there. She had very little time left, and she wanted to spend it all with him.

Now that she was back at the bunker with Dean, she at least got to sleep in the same bed as him. They had sex an almost ridiculous amount, as each day their deadline grew closer. But most mornings she would wake up naked and cold and alone, which had always been a fear of hers, that she would love someone, but they would leave her. Of course, he wasn't really leaving her. After all, he was always in the same place when she woke up.

Julie got out of bed and pulled on some pajamas before slipping out of her bedroom. She walked through the main hall until she reached Dean's favorite spot at the table. It was right by the kitchen, so he could always make a quick snack or booze run. It was clear he'd already made both tonight, judging by the empty plate and the empty beer bottle by his laptop. And judging by the dark circles under Dean's eyes, while Julie had gotten at least a couple hours of sleep, he hadn't slept a wink tonight. Or the past couple of nights.

She sighed audibly, and his muscles tensed a little. So he knew she was here. But he didn't turn to face her, just kept searching for a loophole that wasn't there.

When Julie reached Dean, she put a hand on his shoulder, and was surprised by how tense and knotted his muscles were. "God, you're tense," she remarked, but he didn't reply. When she got no response, Julie gently began to massage his neck and shoulders until slowly, against his will, he relaxed and his eyes closed.

"You need sleep," she whispered, rubbing at his tense shoulders.

"What I need is to save you," he shot back, his eyes opening again.

"Dean, if there is a way to save me on that computer, it will still be there in the morning," she pointed out. "But if you keep up this no-sleep routine you're going to end up killing yourself."

He looked up at her through his long, thick, blond eyelashes and said almost wryly, "I can think of a lot worse things happening than me dying."

And just like that, Julie was transported back over two years now, to a late night after a hunt in a shed that smelled like sawdust and disinfectant. A night where Julie had stitched up Dean's wounds for the first time, reprimanding him for being so reckless on a werewolf hunt, the night he had first said those words to her. The night she had found out the truth of who he really was. The night she had first kissed him and admitted to herself she was falling for him.

Julie slowly traced her thumb over his forehead, smoothing out his furrowed brow. "Come on," she whispered, gently closing the laptop and taking his hand.

Dean sighed and gave in, knowing he had no hope of resisting her, and knowing he really did need sleep. She led him back to their bedroom, her hand still in his, and closed the door behind them.

Julie sat Dean down on the bed and pulled his shirt off of him. Dean was a little surprised. He had though Julie was going to try to get him to sleep, not have sex with her. But he was never one to say no to sex with a hot woman…

But instead of kissing him, Julie sat down behind him on the bed and started massaging him again. Dean couldn't help to relax as she slowly forced his muscles to loosen up.

One Dean's muscles were no longer tense and coiled so tight they might snap, Julie leaned in and trailed her lips over his freckled shoulders and his shoulder bones. Dean held perfectly still as she massaged his forearms as well and then trailed her hands up and down his arms until she had lulled Dean into a blissful, peaceful kind of state.

Then, finally, she guided him back under the covers and curled up close to him, tracing her fingers over his chest. Just before Dean drifted off, he trailed his fingers over the side of her face, down her slender neck, to rest over the silver diamond pendant he had bought her for Christmas.

Dean drifted off smiling at the sight of the woman he loved wearing his necklace.

Once Dean was deep asleep, Julie smiled to herself and pressed as close as she could to him, wrapping her arms around him. She had actually managed to get him to go to sleep for once. Filled with pride and relief that Dean was actually getting some rest, she drifted off to sleep as well.

* * *

When Julie woke up that morning, she thought things would be better. But no. Once again, she woke up alone.

It was much later than she normally slept, almost ten o'clock in the morning. Julie hurried out of bed and got dressed, brushed her hair and teeth, and walked out into the main hall to search for Sam and Dean.

She found Sam in the library, reading one of the novels she had got him for Christmas. After a quick discussion about where Dean was (Sam had seen him on the phone about half an hour ago), Julie made herself some cereal and coffee and sat down with her own book in a chair next to Sam. They read in silence for almost an hour, content just to be in each other's presence, until Dean suddenly appeared in the doorway.

"There you are!" Julie said, relieved. "Why didn't you get me up earlier when you got up?"

"I got up at six, and you still needed sleep," he shrugged. "Besides, I just had a bunch of boring research to do."

Julie sighed internally. She had gotten him into bed and asleep by two-thirty, but he had been back up and working at six. Still, three-and-a-half hours was better than no sleep at all.

"What kind of research?" Sam frowned, noticing a light in his brother's eyes he hadn't seen in a while. Hope.

"I'll tell you soon," he promised, smiling a little. "But first, I'm making burgers for lunch."

Sam and Julie took their books into the main hall and read and chatted while Dean cooked. Once the food was ready, the three of them sat down to a pleasant meal together. The food was great, the conversation casual and lighthearted, and the atmosphere was bright, with the Christmas lights from a week or so ago still up over the doorways. Julie was actually feeling pretty content, until Dean started to talk.

"So, I've been researching a way to save Julie, right? And I've had no luck, obviously."

Sam and Julie exchanged looks, but said nothing. They didn't like where this was going…

"So then this morning, I called up Crowley to see if he had made any progress on finding some magical solution," Dean continued.

"And let me guess, he had nothing," Julie said flatly.

"Not exactly," Dean said, and despite her best wishes, Julie started to hope.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"He did have one lead," Dean said eagerly. "A witch that used to work for him for a while. She's very powerful, and very old, and she knows a lot about demon deals. He thinks if anyone could find a way out of Julie's deal, it's her."

"A witch?" Julie asked skeptically. "But those are usually the bad guys. Especially the ones that work with demons."

"Well, Jules, we're kind of running out of options. And time," he pointed out irritably.

"I see your point," she muttered, unsure why she was so against this idea. It was just a gut feeling that this wasn't going to end well.

"Do we have a name?" Sam asked.

"Ivanna," Dean said. "And I've got an address, too. Crowley even set up an appointment for us. Eight o'clock. Her place."

"How far away is it?" Sam inquired.

"About four hours."

"So, leave by three-thirty?"

"Yep."

The brothers seemed to be on the same page, but Julie was still hesitant. "Dean…I'm not so sure about this."

"Julie, it's a shot at saving your soul," he snapped. "We're taking this."

"How do we know we can trust this witch?" she pointed out.

"Well, Crowley directed me to her, and he's got nothing to benefit from selling us out," Dean replied.

Julie still looked displeased. "What?" Dean snapped. "Julie, this is the first real lead we've had on a way to save you, and we've only got seven weeks left! We'd be idiots not to take this."

"I know," she murmured. "I just…I don't feel good about it."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Sammy, you're with me, right?"

"I think we've got to try," his brother said softly, studying Julie.

"Thank you!" Dean sighed.

"But we should be very careful, and prepared for a fight," Sam continued.

"Thank you," Julie said.

"Fine, we'll be careful," Dean snapped. "But we are going!" No one argued any further, so he warned them, "Be ready to leave by three. With a witch this powerful, I do not want to piss her off by being late."

* * *

"What about that girl with the dark hair and the bangs?" Julie asked eagerly, leaning forward from her seat in the backseat of the car to get a better look at Sam. "What was her name?"

"Paige?" Sam sighed wearily.

"Yeah, her!" Julie cried.

"Julie, she was like twenty," he protested.

"And super into you," his best friend pointed out, grinning. "Why does it have to matter how old she is?"

"Because when I turned eighteen and became a legal adult, she was _six_," Sam replied.

"Fine, whatever," Julie sighed. "How about…the bartender? You know, the redhead? Cassie, maybe?"

"Carrie," he sighed, knowing he was just making his life worse by playing along, but unable to resist her enthusiasm.

"Yeah, Carrie!" she laughed. "She gave you her number and everything. Sam, she even told you when she got off work! What else could you possibly be waiting for?"

"Someone who doesn't look like a walking STD?" he suggested.

"God, you're impossible," Julie moaned. "How the hell am I supposed to find you a girl if you won't give me any help?"

"You're not supposed to find me a girl," he shot back.

But Julie wasn't listening. "Let's see…so you don't like Paige because she was too young, and you didn't like Carrie because she was too slutty…and on our last hunt together, you didn't like that Mimi girl even though she was at least my age _and _really pretty."

"Not my type," he shrugged.

"God, what is your type, Sam?!" Julie moaned overdramatically.

Sam considered it for a moment. "I like blondes. Smart, pretty blondes."

For the first time in over an hour, Dean took his eyes off the road and engaged in their conversation enough to shoot Sam a look that was almost territorial, thinking back to a time when Sam had been very into Dean's smart, pretty blonde girlfriend. Sam didn't miss Dean's look, and his eyes widened.

"Oh, God, I didn't mean…I just…" he spluttered, turning red in embarrassment.

But to both brothers' surprise, Julie just laughed. "Oh, calm down, Sam. I knew what you meant. Like…Jessica, right? She was blonde, and smart, and pretty."

"Yeah," Sam said softly, looking down.

Julie noticed that Sam clearly didn't want to be talking about his long-dead girlfriend, so she quickly changed the subject, and the two of them began dissecting their last hunt together, a quick shape shifter hunt. Dean tuned out of their conversation, because listening to his brother and girlfriend bonding over the time they had spent together without him would not improve his already dismal mood.

It was his fault they had been hunting without him. He wouldn't leave the bunker. He just kept searching for a way out that they both believed didn't exist. So, while the two of them wandered around, hunting things and getting hit on and having fun, he sat in the Men of Letters bunker and read the same boring books and websites, accomplishing nothing. But he couldn't stop, not with Julie still damned and her time so close to running out.

Still, he was grateful when he finally reached the address Crowley had given him. Listening to Sam and Julie talking and laughing like nothing was wrong was driving him crazy.

The three hunters got out of the Impala and approached the large, beautiful white house this Ivanna witch was supposedly living in. Dean was the tiniest bit surprised when Julie walked over to stand next to him instead of Sam, and she slipped her hand into his and squeezed it reassuringly.

"You ready?" she asked him softly, looking up at him with concerned blue eyes.

Looking down at her, Dean felt incredibly guilty. He had been acting extremely distant and borderline disinterested in her lately, and that must feel horrible considering she only had seven week to live. Truth be told, Dean wanted to spend every waking moment with Julie, talking to her and kissing her and having sex with her and just being near her. But he could either spend the next seven weeks making the most of their time, of he could devote himself to making sure they had more than seven weeks left. And the choice seemed obvious to him.

Dean nodded at Julie, and she forced a smile for him. Then the three hunters walked calmly up to the front door, and Dean rang the doorbell.

For a long moment nothing happened, and then the door swung open smoothly. In the doorway stood a woman with smooth, dark skin, a tall, curvy, leggy body, and wild dark curls. She wore a sleek black dress and black heels, and she was nearly as tall as Dean in them. But the most surprising thing about her was her eyes. They were lavender, and they looked positively inhuman. Julie suppressed a shudder as those lavender eyes landed on her.

"Dean Winchester, I presume?" the woman asked in a low, smooth voice.

"Ivanna?" Dean asked shortly.

"Well, you're nearly as pretty as Crowley described you," the witch smirked before stepping aside. "Please, come in. All of you."

Sam and Julie exchanged looks and smirked at the idea of Crowley describing Dean as pretty, and then followed Dean inside. Julie hesitated for half a second before stepping inside. There was something about this woman that unnerved her. She wasn't nearly as ready to trust her as Sam or Dean.

Still, the three hunters followed Ivanna down the hall into a large, oak-paneled room that was nearly empty except for exotic-looking rugs on the floor and ornately carved cabinets along one of the walls.

"Nice house," Dean muttered, eying some ancient-looking spell books on a nearby shelf. Julie was more focused on a nearby jar of eyeballs floating in a green liquid.

"Well, when you've got magic as powerful as I do, money really is no object," the witch said smugly. She crossed her arms and studied the three hunters. "So." Her eerie eyes focused on Sam. "You must be Lucifer's vessel, then."

All three hunters tensed. "I prefer Sam," he said shortly.

"Of course," Ivanna said soothingly. "I apologize, Sam." Then her eyes shifted to Julie. "And you're the damned girl. Oh, I can see that. Your soul is waning, dear. You must not have long at all."

"Seven weeks," Julie said shortly. "So hopefully whatever spell you've got to save me won't take longer than that."

"Oh, certainly not," the witch assured her. Then she frowned. "But your soul…how odd. It's already darker and more twisted than it should be. Of course, compared to those boys' souls, it looks practically spotless. But unless I'm mistaken, you've been to hell before, haven't you, dear?"

"Yes," Julie said flatly, crossing her arms. "For ten years."

"And yet you're still human? Impressive." Ivanna's lavender eyes were alight with curiosity. "Now, how did you possibly get free from hell?"

"An angel," she replied shortly.

"An angel…" Ivanna said wistfully. "Oh, how I would _love _to get my hands on one of those. Do you know how many incredibly powerful spells require an angel's wings? And, oh, the magic you can do with an angel's grace-"

"Yeah, well, you're never laying a finger on this angel, lady," Dean snapped. "You'd be dead before you could even try."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Ivanna assured him. Then her expression changed into something darker. "Although, you should watch yourself, Dean Winchester. Threatening a witch as old and powerful as me is not a wise decision."

"Look, why don't we just cut to the chase," Sam said shortly, not liking the rising tension in the room. "Ivanna, do you have a spell that can save Julie's soul?"

"I do," the witch said calmly. "And I have all of the ingredients I need. But my prices for these kind of spells are very steep. Beelzebub will be furious if I save her soul, and he shall hunt me. What can you possibly offer me that is worth risking that?"

Dean frowned. "Crowley said he already dealt with paying you."

"Oh, he paid me well in money and rare ingredients, for sure," Ivanna sighed. "But I'm afraid I'll be wanting something a little more than that."

And without any warning she suddenly began to chant in a foreign, ancient language. Sam, Dean, and Julie all cried out in pain and collapsed to their knees, clutching their heads in pain. Julie felt like her skull was literally splitting open, and Ivanna's words were bouncing around in her brain, causing searing pain until finally everything went black.

* * *

When Julie woke up, she found herself in what looked like a dungeon, chained lying down on a table. And, as if that wasn't bad enough, Sam and Dean were chained up similar to her on tables on either side of her.

Julie made eye contact with Sam and he mouthed, "Are you okay?" She nodded at him, but after straining against her bonds for a moment, she felt like retracting that statement. She was pretty damn far from okay.

It got worse when she turned her head the other way and met Dean's green eyes. There was so much guilt in his expression, and she knew he blamed himself for this. "I'm going to get you out of here," he whispered, and she just smiled sadly at him. He was as powerless as she was.

Julie became aware of an odd smell coming from a few feet away and looked up to see Ivanna standing over a bowl that she was clearly preparing a spell in, humming an eerie tune in a minor key to herself. She had no idea what spell it could be, but she doubted it was really to save her soul from damnation.

"Why are you doing this?" Dean barked at Ivanna as he struggled against his chains. "You used to work for Crowley! He said we could trust you."

"Oh, silly, naïve, little Dean," Ivanna chided him. "I don't work for _Crowley_. I work for the king of hell. And a new demon has claimed that throne, and my loyalties have adjusted as such."

"So what's your plan, then?" Sam asked darkly. "Kill us? Use us as ingredients for your spells?"

"An interesting idea," Ivanna mused. "But no. You're much too valuable to be spare parts, Sam Winchester. You're Lucifer's vessel."

"All the more reason to let us go," Dean pointed out. "If you let Beelzebub get his hands on Sam, when big, bad, Lucy rises and possesses Sam, he'll destroy everyone. Including you."

"You clearly don't know a thing about our lord," Ivanna chuckled. "Lucifer rewards those who are faithful to him. When he rises and possesses your brother. I will be showered with immeasurable blessings."

"Have you ever actually met Lucifer?" Sam asked darkly.

"Well, no," Ivanna muttered. "But no one has."

"We have," Dean said darkly. "And you're wrong. Lucifer freaking invented lying! And he hates humans. You may be a witch, but you're still human, and he'll slaughter you along with the rest of the planet. And then the demons will be next."

"You're wrong," the witch snapped.

"He's not," Sam said firmly. "I know Lucifer better than anyone. He was inside my head, and I could see his thoughts. And he wants to destroy all humans and demons and make a new world, his world. And you're not in it."

"Enough!" Ivanna snapped, and her lavender eyes were suddenly blazing. Sam and Dean both wisely shut up.

"What are you going to do to us?" Julie asked carefully after a moment of silence.

"Well, first I'm going to get all the good I can out of you three," the witch said calmly. "Unfortunately, I can't take you apart; Beelzebub wants to do that himself. But there are a few useful ingredients I should be able to get from you three."

She picked up a sharp, silver, curved knife and brought a bowl over to the table Dean was strapped down on. For the first time, Julie noticed grooves in the table right by the wrist restraints that led down to the place where Ivanna set the bowl. Dean struggled to break free as the witch came at him with a knife, but he was trapped.

"Relax, Dean," Ivanna sighed. "I'm not going to kill you. Beelzebub would have my head if I let you die that easily." Ivanna traced the tip of her knife over Dean's cheek, studying him almost sadly. "I pity you," she said softly. "The horrors he's got planned for you…well, you're going to wish I had just killed you now."

"If you hurt him I swear-" Sam snarled, but before he could finish his threat, Ivanna sliced Dean's wrist open. Julie cried out angrily, but Dean just hissed through his teeth. It wasn't a terribly deep cut, but his blood started to flow, a thick, red stream, down the grooves and into the waiting bowl.

"Why are you doing this?" Dean asked through gritted teeth as Ivanna prepared to do the same to Sam.

"The blood of a Man of Letters can be used in countless spells, and it would be a waste not to grab some of the only blood left while I can," she smirked. "And there are a handful of rare spells that require the blood of a righteous man. I think you know a little something about that, huh, Dean?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "And as for your brother, his blood can also be used in place of demon blood if need be," she continued. "Not for a very powerful spell, but for simple ones, the little demon blood that remains in him could be very useful."

Dean swore angrily at the witch as she cut Sam's wrist open and let him bleed into another bowl, but there was nothing he could do. Dean feared she would head for Julie, but the witch left her alone until she had collected enough blood from Sam and Dean.

"That should be plenty," Ivanna sighed, removing her bowls and setting them aside. "Now, which of you wants to offer up their blood so I can summon Beelzebub?"

"Don't do this," Julie begged Ivanna. "You don't understand what he'll do to us if he gets his hands on us."

"That's where you're wrong," the witch said darkly. "I know exactly what he's going to do to you, girl. He's been telling lots of demons, hoping they'll spread it around until word reaches your boyfriend. And I must tell you, I would hate to be you."

"How can you turn us in then?" Julie cried. "You know what he's going to do to Dean, and to Sam. They're good men, Ivanna. How can you sentence them to that?!"

"You forget, girl, that I work for demons," Ivanna said shortly. "Appealing to my sense of pity and mercy is going to get you nowhere."

"Please," Dean begged the witch. "At least let Julie go. You can say we didn't bring her or something like that. But if you hand her over to Beelzebub, she will go to hell."

"Oh, she's going to hell for certain," Ivanna said offhandedly.

"There's got to be some way-" Dean protested.

"Crowley wasn't lying when he told you I'm an expert on demon deals," the witch said darkly. "For centuries, I have helped demons make deals or helped them carry them out. I even have a deal myself. As soon as I cease to be useful, I'm going to hell myself. So I have to turn you three in. It's you three or myself."

"But surely there's some spell-" Sam tried desperately.

"There's _nothing_," Ivanna snapped. "I've searched for over three hundred years, and there is nothing. A deal is a deal, and there is no escaping it. Julie here is going to hell, just as sure as I am."

There was moment of silence as those words sank in, and then a familiar voice said, "You'll just be going a few weeks earlier."

And then Crowley drove a knife through Ivanna's heart.

The witch gasped in pain and then collapsed, dead, as he pulled the knife out of her. The three trapped hunters stared at their savior in shock. "Crowley?" Dean finally got out. "The hell are you doing here?!"

"Saving your ungrateful ass," the demon replied. He searched for a key to their chains for a few seconds, before finally just getting bored and snapping his fingers. The chains vanished, and the three hunters sat up, Sam and Dean cradling their bleeding arms.

"How did you know-?" Julie started to ask, even as she got up to go to Dean.

"That you three were in trouble? I didn't," he admitted. "I was stopping by to see how things were going, and when I found you three chained up in what looks like a sex-torture-dungeon getting threatened, I figured it was about time to step in."

"Thank God you found us," she sighed, just now realizing how close they had almost come to being handed right over to Beelzebub.

"Not sure God is the right word…" the demon said wryly.

"Come on," Dean sighed, standing up on his own and ignoring Julie trying to help him. "Let's get out of here before Beelzebub really does come."

* * *

"That was too close," Sam finally said.

The three hunters had been pretty much silent as Sam and Dean sat on the oak table in the main hall of the bunker and let Julie stitch up their wounds. Crowley had been considerate enough to drop them here before disappearing with a couple smart ass insults for parting gifts. After arriving back home, no one had spoken much, not wanting to talk about what had happened…at least until Sam finally brought it up.

Dean looked over at his brother, but remained silent.

"No kidding," Julie finally said. "Beelzebub almost finally got ahold of us."

They were all silent for a moment as Julie finished bandaging Sam's hurt arm. Then Dean sighed and said, "I'm sorry, guys. Is that what you want to hear? I'm sorry that didn't go well!"

"'Didn't go well'?" Sam repeated incredulously. "Dean, that witch almost handed us over to Beelzebub. She would have if freaking _Crowley _hadn't saved us! Dean, if it weren't for Crowley, Beelzebub would have Julie right now."

"You think I don't know that?" Dean snapped, standing up.

"No, I'm sure you do, but you clearly understand what that means," Sam shot back, standing as well.

"Believe me, Sam, I've got an all-too-vivid idea of what that means," Dean growled, but there was pain in his eyes.

"But you still don't get it!" his brother cried. "Your crazy search to find a way to save Julie almost got her killed! You've got to stop."

"So she can just die anyway? No, Sam! I can't let that happen."

"I'm not asking you to lie down and let her die, because I sure as hell am not doing that," Sam snapped. "But I'm asking you to tone down the crazy a bit. You're ignoring her, Dean. You don't spend much time with her, and she doesn't have a whole lot of that left. And you're killing yourself with your crazy search. And now you're putting her in danger too!"

"I didn't know that was going to happen!" Dean shot back.

"But it did, and shouldn't that make you realize this has gone too far?"

Julie watched the two of them continue to bicker about her fate and Dean's crazy mission to save her like she wasn't even there. She knew she should be participating in this argument, but she had nothing to say.

Finally, Sam noticed Julie just standing there calmly, watching the brothers fighting and stopped. "Julie?" he asked softly.

Dean finally quit glaring at his brother and turned to look at the woman he loved. Her arms was crossed and her face was blank, betraying no emotion. Any normal observer would think she looked calm and composed, tough and perfectly fine. But Dean knew that woman. He knew how she stood when she was hurt, and not a physical kind of hurt. Her shoulders were low like they had been when he had sent her away to keep her safe, and he could tell from one look at her that she was hurting badly. All he had to do was actually look at her.

"Jules?" Dean asked in a voice barely above a whisper, his eyes full of guilt and concern and pain that mirrored hers.

"Please don't fight," she said quietly. "I…I've got seven weeks to live, and I don't want to waste any more of that time watching you two fight."

"Julie…" Sam said sadly, not sure what else to say to that.

"You won't die," Dean said firmly. "We won't let you."

Julie uncrossed her arms and stepped forward. She reached out and touched Dean's cheek, staring wistfully at him. "I'm going to die in seven weeks," she said quietly but firmly. "And I don't want to waste any more of that time fighting."

Dean pulled away from her hand roughly, his eyes growing angry. "You're not dying!" he snapped. "We'll find a way-"

"There is no way," she said flatly. "And I'm very sorry for that. I'm sorry that I'm leaving you."

"You're not," Dean snapped, turning away from her. "I'm going to find a way to save you!"

"_There is no way_," Julie repeated, and while her voice wasn't loud, it was so intense that Dean stopped in his tracks. "I wish there was," she continued in a gentler voice. "Because I love you, both of you, and I don't want to leave you two, or Cas, or Tay or James or any of our friends. And I sure don't want to go to hell. But we've searched everywhere and everything. Dean, just admit it. There is no way to save me."

Dean suddenly turned around, and his eyes were fiery. "No! _No, _Julie! I can't just accept that! Don't you get it? I quit searching and I'm going to lose you!"

"You're losing me anyway, Dean!" she cried desperately. "You're pushing me away and you're driving yourself crazy searching for a way out that doesn't exist! And you're literally killing yourself! If you keep this up, we're all going to end up dead and Lucifer will rise and the world will end."

"So, what? I just give up and let you die?!"

"Dean, there's nothing you can do!" she cried.

"I can't just give up!"

"I'm not asking you to give up," Julie said carefully. "I am asking you to accept that we are not going to find some magical loophole. I am asking you to focus on saving the world instead of saving one girl." Dean opened his mouth to protest, but she wasn't done. "And I am asking you to spend these last seven weeks with me. Because, if we can't stop my deal, and I really only have seven weeks, I don't want to waste them fighting. I want to spend them being as happy as I can be with the two of you."

Dean looked in-between his brother's puppy dog eyes and Julie's desperate, pleading eyes and he crumbled. Besides, he knew deep down that his searching was pointless, and he had known all along. But he couldn't just stand by and watch Julie's time disappear…

"I can't just sit around while your time runs out," he warned Julie after a long moment of silence.

"Of course not," she said, starting to smile. "But Sam and I have found a couple cases that can keep us busy."

"We can worry about all that tomorrow," Sam said kindly. "But tonight…you two should just have some fun." He gave Dean a pointed look and added, "You need it."

He hugged Julie goodnight and nodded at his older brother before heading off to bed himself. That left Dean and Julie alone…

The two of them stared at each other for a long moment, and then Dean finally admitted gruffly, "I'm sorry I've been so…distant lately."

"Don't be sorry," Julie replied. "Change."

"I was just trying to-" he started to protest.

"Save me, yeah, I know," she sighed, stepping close to him. "And I'm so grateful, and I love you for that. But it wasn't working. So now it's time to focus on something else. You can save me by taking out Beelzebub, stopping Lucifer's rise, and saving the world. If Beelzebub's dead, my deal may be broken."

"Or it might not," Dean pointed out.

"True, but then he won't be able to torture me in hell if he's dead. And the world will be saved, which would be a nice bonus."

"But Beelzebub can't even be killed without the Mark and the-"

"We can worry about the details later," Julie interrupted him. "Sam's right, though. All of our problems will still be there in the morning. I say tonight…we have some fun."

She grinned up at him, and Dean couldn't help but smile at her. He let Julie drag him towards their bedroom. And he had to admit, a large part was relieved and glad to finally give up what he knew was a pointless search.

But as he stared at this beautiful woman, he knew he wasn't really giving up on saving her. Sure, he'd stop with the fruitless research and wasted effort. But he was going to save Julie's soul, even if that meant taking her place.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This marks a pretty big turning point in the story. We're getting very close to Julie's deadline, and Dean has finally accepted there's not really anything that he can do (except maybe make a deal himself...). And Beelzebub is getting very close to freeing Lucifer...however, we're going to take a little break from all the drama in these next few chapters with the return of one of my (many) favorite characters. Hopefully it should be some good times. And one more thing... ONLY TWENTY CHAPTERS LEFT! The climax of A Different Road is going to be Chapter 100. I'm currently considering a sequel, and let me know in the reviews if that's something you would be interested in. There will be more details as we get closer to the end. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! There's a lot more coming soon!


	81. Chapter 81

**Author's Note: **In this chapter, I'm finally getting to bring back one of the most fun characters in my humble opinion. I've been excited for this for a while! I hope you enjoy. Now, without further ado...

* * *

**Chapter Eighty-One**

Dean had been up late last night. Yesterday had been surprisingly light-hearted considering it marked exactly six weeks until Julie's time ran out. She had known that the boys would be miserable, so she had planned a Harry Potter marathon. Throughout the week, they had made time to watch the first five movies, and so that morning, they sat down and watch the three final Harry Potter movies, eating popcorn and candy and chocolate and just having fun. At least until Snape died. From that point on, Julie was pretty much continually sitting there sniffling or full out crying. At first, Dean rolled his eyes at her. This was the third time he had watched this movie with her, and she cried every damn time. But he pulled her close to him and comforted her anyway, because he was physically incapable of not doing so.

After the movie marathon, Sam and Julie had gone on and on about Harry Potter for at least half an hour. Those nerds both practically worshipped the series, and even Dean had read a couple of the books and had to admit they weren't bad. But eventually they had moved on and finalized their plans for the next day over a nice dinner.

Sam had discovered a case that looked like a Wendigo. However, unlike most Wendigos, this one wasn't living in the woods. No, of course not. That would have been too freaking easy. No, this one just had to live up in the mountains, picking off hikers. However, it was the middle of winter, and hiking around in snowy mountains trying to light a monster on fire was not Dean's idea of fun.

But there were people that needed saving. And if he spent one more day sitting around doing nothing, he was going to explode.

But after a busy, fun night with Sam and Julie that bled into an even longer, amazing night with Julie, Dean had fallen asleep very late, and that had caused him to sleep in late. Julie did the same, and so it wasn't until after nine o'clock when Julie finally stirred, waking Dean, even though they had planned to get up at eight.

Dean opened his eyes as he felt someone stirring against his chest. The warmth of Julie's skin pressed up against him suddenly left him, and he looked over to see her sitting up and drawing one of the sheets up to cover herself as she looked blearily around.

"What time is it?" she asked in a sleepy voice, and Dean reached out and turned the clock to see what time it was without sitting up.

"Nine-twelve," he read.

"Crap," Julie groaned. "We overslept."

"And Sammy must have, too," Dean pointed out. "Otherwise he'd be banging the door down right now, yelling at us to get our lazy asses out of bed."

"That sounds a lot more like something you would say," she pointed out, smiling at him. He grinned back at her, mesmerized by her adorable, sleepy smile.

"Five more minutes," he said with a look she knew very well, gently taking her hand and trying to pull her back down.

"But we're running late-" she protested.

"And five more minutes isn't going to hurt," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but with you it's never just five minutes-"

She gave up halfway through whatever she was going to say. That man had his bedroom eyes on and she was lost. Five minutes couldn't possibly hurt…

Her sheet fell away and Julie laid back down next to Dean. He rolled over to gently pin her body down with his and he leaned down to kiss her, smiling into her lips.

A few seconds later, all promises of only five more minutes were forgotten, and Julie had one hand tangled in Dean's hair while her other hand was gripping his powerful arm, her hand resting over the faded handprint Castiel had left on Dean. She was quickly losing any desire to ever leave this bed, since there couldn't possibly be anything out there better than this when-

Dean's phone started to ring. And, once again, they were interrupted in the middle of something great by a phone call.

Dean pulled away from her, but so slightly that his lips brushed hers when he spoke. "Is that-?"

"Yours? Yeah." She exhaled, sliding her hands down his arms and letting go. "You should answer."

"If it's important, they'll call back," he said indifferently, and by the word "back," his lips were already on hers again.

For a moment, Julie indulged him, but then she put a hand on Dean's chest and gently pushed him away. "Answer," she told him softly. "It might be important."

Grumbling irritably to himself, Dean got off of her and sat on the edge of the bed, grabbing his phone. He was still muttering angrily when he saw the name on his screen, and then his eyes widened.

"No way," he gasped, and then he answered without a second of hesitation.

"What's up, bitch?" a familiar voice said as soon as he answered.

"It can't be," he said, grinning.

"Kind of thought you weren't going to pick up on me there, Winchester," Charlie Bradbury answered wryly, and he smiled at the sound of her voice.

"I wasn't actually," Dean informed one of his closest friends. "I've got this smoking hot chick in bed right now, and you kind of interrupted something." He heard Julie laugh softly behind him and shuddered slightly in pleasure when she ran a finger down his spine.

"Oh, well, I would never want to tear anyone away from a hot girl in bed," she said quickly.

"Charlie, I'm kidding! It's been over two years since I've heard from you!" Dean cried. "Of course I'd pick up!"

"I missed you too, Dean," Charlie laughed fondly, just as Julie's head popped up next to Dean, eyes wide. "Charlie?" she mouthed in surprise. He nodded, grinning, and Julie couldn't help but smile at his adorable excitement at getting to talk to his old friend again.

"Wait, how are you calling me? You went to Oz to hook up with Dorothy!" Dean frowned.

"I went to Oz to have an adventure and go on a quest," Charlie corrected irritably, but he could hear a smile in her voice.

"And I suppose you were just a nun this whole time, huh?" he smirked.

"Are you kidding me? Dean, I wish you could see the witches there. I mean, sure, you've seen the old hags, but the good witches? Oh, I was in heaven!"

Dean chuckled and shook his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Julie getting up and pulling on some underwear, and for a moment, he wanted to stop her and pick up where they left off. But they had work to get done, and he had an old friend to catch up with. While he talked, she threw him some underwear and pants and he got dressed while he talked to Charlie.

For a little while, he and Charlie talked about Oz, and how she and Dorothy had led a rebellion against the wizard. It sounded like a dark time with a lot of death, but in the end they had won. However, it hadn't been exactly like Charlie had hoped, and she missed her world. So she had said goodbye to Dorothy and had just managed to get back to this world yesterday.

"Where are you?" Charlie asked Dean. "I want to see you and Sam. I'm sure we've got a lot to catch up on."

"Well…we were actually about to head out on a Wendigo hunt," Dean said, now wishing they could just stay here and catch up with Charlie.

"Perfect!" she said brightly. "I'll meet you boys. Just give me an address."

"Charlie…these things aren't exactly safe," Dean warned her.

"And I've spent the last two years fighting for my life against things you've never even seen before, Winchester," she shot back. "I can handle a Wendigo, Dean. Just give me an address and I'll be there to help you boys out."

Dean gave in and told her the address. She assured him she'd be there by the end of the day, and promised to see him soon. The second she hung up, he turned to Julie, who smiled at him.

"So Charlie's joining us?" Julie guessed with a smile.

"Yep," Dean grinned. "And we'd better get there fast. I can't wait for you to meet her."

* * *

"Wow," Julie breathed, as Dean pulled the Impala into the parking lot of the hotel they would be staying in tonight before their long hike up the mountain to find and kill a wendigo. Hotel was probably the wrong word though. It was a huge, four-story cabin with gorgeous wood paneling, surrounded by scenic pine trees that were frosted with snow. Warm yellow light was seeping out of the windows, and it looked like something you'd find on a Christmas card.

"This place is amazing," she said in awe.

"Well, considering the world could end pretty much any day now, we might as well splurge," Dean shrugged.

"Cheery," Sam muttered, shooting his brother a look. But Dean's moment of darkness passed quickly, his gloomy expression replaced by an eager one. It made Sam smile, seeing how eager his brother was to see their old friend Charlie Bradbury again.

The three hunters got out of the car, and Julie was grateful for her thick coat. The air was strong and chilly, and it seemed to tear straight through her jeans. Clearly she would have to wear warmer clothes tomorrow on their hike.

Dean saw Julie shivering and said, "Jules, why don't you go check us in? I already called ahead and made a reservation, so just say we're the Harrisons."

She nodded, pulled Dean's wallet containing all of his fake credit cards from his back pocket without asking, and then hurried inside to escape the cold while Dean and Sam unloaded their bags from the car.

It was an easy fifty degrees warmer inside, and Julie shed her coat only seconds after the door closed behind her. The cabin smelled like a pleasant mix of gingerbread and pine, and she practically melted with happiness when she saw a roaring fireplace surrounded by cushy chairs and thick, soft rugs. As she looked around the oak-paneled, beautiful lobby, she saw a coffee, hot chocolate, and hot apple cider bar complete with cookies, and she grinned.

This place was amazing! She could live here!

Finally, Julie headed over to the main desk, where another woman was already checking in. She had short, choppy, bright red hair, pale skin, and she was wearing dark, tight-fitting pants and a neon-striped shirt that almost hurt to look at. The woman fit Dean's description exactly, but Julie felt weird just walking up to her and asking, "Are you Charlie Bradbury?"

Instead, Julie got in line behind the woman, who had just gotten her room key. She turned to Julie and, after doing a double-take, grinned.

"Hey," the woman said slyly. "You staying here as well?"

"Why else would I be here?" Julie pointed out, but she smiled to assure the woman that she wasn't trying to be rude.

She got it, though. The stranger laughed and looked Julie over again. "How long are you staying?"

"I'm not sure," Julie shrugged. "I'm here to do some hiking, and I'm not sure how long that'll take, so…"

"Me too!" the woman said brightly. "We should go together sometime, if you want."

Before Julie could answer, though, the door opened, and two cold, snow-covered, irritable men stomped inside, each carrying a couple duffel bags. The red-haired woman grinned when she saw them.

"I am so sorry to break up this little chat, but I think I see some friends of mine," the woman told Julie, and she really did look like she regretted having to leave.

But that was the last bit of confirmation Julie needed. "Charlie?" she guessed, and the woman looked at her quizzically.

"How do you-?" she started.

"My name's Julie," she explained quickly. "I came here with Sam and Dean. I'm a hunter too."

"Oh. Wow!" Charlie grinned. "Oh, that's great!" She looked Julie up and down again and a slow smile spread across her face. "So…you're a hunter, too…"

Before she could continue what Julie was sure would be quite the pickup line, Charlie finally made eye contact with the Winchester brothers, and they both started to smile. She flashed a peace sign and called, "What's up, bitches?"

Both brothers dropped their bags and headed over towards Charlie. Dean got there first and lifted her off the ground in a tight bear hug. Charlie hugged him back tightly, and Julie smiled as she watched.

"You cut your hair," Dean remarked when he finally let Charlie go.

"I see Sam didn't," Charlie laughed, eying Sam's shaggy hair.

"Shut up," Sam laughed, even as he pulled Charlie into a hug.

"Oh, I missed you guys!" Charlie said brightly as she studied the brothers. "I mean, Oz was great, but I missed saving the world with the Winchesters."

"We missed you too, kiddo," Dean said truthfully. "It's been so boring without you."

"You know it," she smirked cockily. Then she asked eagerly, "Well? What did I miss?"

"Not much, right, Sammy?" Dean shrugged.

Sam rolled his eyes. "A lot. Dean got the Mark of Cain from Cain, it made him go kill-crazy, he ended up getting murdered by this angel Metatron and coming back as a demon-"

"Wait, what?!"

"-And then he got cured, but five Knights of Hell came back, and even though Dean killed three of them, there's still two out there, Beelzebub and Apollyon, and Beelzebub's trying to raise Lucifer again and get the apocalypse going. Again." Sam stopped for a breath.

"Okay, Dean, you need to rethink your definition of 'not much'," Charlie said, looking a little dazed.

"I'm going to go get us checked in while you three catch up," Julie informed Sam and Dean.

"Wait, Jules, have you met Charlie yet?" Dean called as she started to leave.

"Oh, yeah," Charlie said quickly. "We go way back."

Julie laughed as she walked over to the main desk. Charlie leaned in and asked the brothers softly, "Who is she?" But before Dean could answer that she was his girlfriend, Charlie added, "Because she said she's a hunter, and she's _smoking_ hot, and I think I was making some pretty good progress with her right before you two clowns showed up."

Sam opened his mouth to tell Charlie that Dean and Julie were in a very serious relationship, but Dean stomped on his foot to shut him up. "She's a hunter we met a while back who's been traveling and training with us," he said, trying not to smirk as he spoke. "She's pretty cool, too. You should go for it!"

"Yeah?" Charlie asked eagerly, turning to check out Julie's ass.

Sam shot Dean a look, and he winked at his younger brother. Sam rolled his eyes, but he gave in and went along with his brother as he tried to mess with Charlie and Julie.

Julie checked in and got their two room keys. Sam would have his own room, per his own request, because he wasn't stupid. He hadn't missed how much sex his brother and best friend had been having lately, and he was pretty sure he'd rather die than have to sleep in the same room as them while they were having sex all night.

By the time Julie thanked the kind, older lady behind the counter and took their room keys, Dean, Sam, and Charlie were already laughing and chatting like old friends. Julie couldn't help smiling at the obvious happiness in Dean's eyes as he talked with Charlie.

Julie walked over to Dean and started to put an arm around his waist, but to her surprise, he shifted away from her. Julie shot him a confused, slightly wounded look, and Dean smiled apologetically at her, hoping Charlie hadn't noticed. Thankfully, Charlie wasn't even looking. By the time she turned away from Sam to look at Dean and Julie, they were standing a few inches apart, wearing neutral expressions.

"So, Julie, you're a hunter, huh?" Charlie asked once she had spotted Julie again.

"Yep."

"How long have you been one?" Charlie asked, genuinely curious.

"Since I was fifteen," Julie replied.

"Really? That's impressive!" Charlie said, casually moving a bit closer to Julie as they began to chat about hunting and Julie's family and their pasts. Dean made eye contact with his brother over the girls' heads and smirked at the very one-sided sexual tension building in this conversation. Pretty soon, Charlie suggested to Sam and Dean that they should get settled in to their rooms, and they left the two women alone, Dean snickering quietly.

After unpacking their stuff and demon-proofing their large, comfy, wood-paneled rooms, Sam and Dean returned to the lobby to find Charlie and Julie sitting together on one of the couches by the fireplace. They were sitting so close their legs were touching, and as Charlie laughed, she leaned in and casually touched Julie's arm in what could be taken as a friendly gesture, but Dean knew that it wasn't. Even though he was the one who had released Charlie on Julie, he felt a little swell of jealousy rising up in him at seeing anyone that close to his girlfriend.

Sam noticed Dean's clenched jaw and smirked. "Wow, those two are close. You regretting pairing them up yet?"

"Shut up," Dean grumbled before heading over to Charlie and Julie.

"Oh, Dean, you were right," Julie called when she saw the brothers headed over. "Charlie's great!"

"You're not too bad yourself," Charlie smirked, eying Julie in a way that Dean definitely didn't like. He felt stupid. He knew pretty damn well that Julie was most definitely into guys, but that didn't mean she couldn't also be into women as well, and those two seemed really close…

Wow, he was being stupid. He had set all this up to prank those two women, and now he was jealous of them? He needed to get away for a minute. "Does anybody want a drink?" he asked loudly.

"I'll take some hot chocolate and one of those cookies," Charlie said, smiling smugly. Julie was talking with Sam about what their rooms looked like, and while she was distracted, Charlie mouthed, "I think I might get lucky tonight," with a wink at Dean.

Dean smiled encouragingly at her, although he was thinking to himself that the only person getting lucky tonight would be him.

"I'll take a hot cider," Julie replied once she and Sam were done talking. "It smells amazing."

"Sammy, why don't you help me out?" Dean asked his brother, and the two of them headed over to the drinks bar.

Meanwhile, Charlie and Julie were still talking through their pasts. Julie had finally gotten up to the part of her story where she met Dean. "So I'm on a demon hunt with my uncle and my cousin, and Jasper's insisting that Taylor and I stay out of the way to protect us or some shit like that," Julie said. "But then I hear Jasper cry out, and I ran to help him, but the demon took me down. It was stupid, really. I should have been able to take the thing out, but instead it got me pinned and was about to stab me and then…someone killed it."

"Who?" Charlie asked eagerly, leaning in to hear better. Julie was a good story teller, and she smelled really good, and Charlie wanted to be closer to her…

"Dean," Julie admitted. "Of course, I didn't know him at the time, but I figured it out pretty fast. We went to a bar afterwards, and I started to get to know him, and over the next few days we worked another hunt with him and I finally figured out who he really was."

"Wasn't Sam kind of a dead giveaway?" Charlie pointed out.

"Well, actually…not too long after you left for Oz, Dean got the Mark of Cain, and it made him go kill-crazy," Julie admitted. "He went pretty dark, and eventually Sam and Cas had to leave him to make him realize he had to stop. When I met him, he was living alone."

"So then what?" Charlie asked, honestly curious.

"Well…after he told me the truth, he admitted he was tired of being alone, and, uh…well, we kissed." Charlie's eyes widened. "We fell for each other over the next few days."

"Wait, what?" Charlie asked, a little shocked. "You and Dean…"

"Oh, yeah," Julie said, frowning a little. "We've been together for over two years. Didn't he tell you?"

Charlie laughed a little uncomfortably. "No, he, uh…he failed to mention that."

"Oh. Well, yeah. I've been living with him pretty much ever since then, and a few months later, Sam came back, and we've all been living and hunting together since then."

Charlie nodded, her voice carefully controlled. "Cool. Listen, um…I'm gonna go talk to Dean really quick. I'll be right back."

"Okay," Julie said with a smile as Charlie walked away.

Dean had just finished pouring some coffee for himself and had set it down when a familiar voice barked, "Winchester!" He and Sam both turned around, and he turned just in time for a fist to go flying into his gut and knock the wind out of him.

Dean let out an "oof" and doubled over a bit, trying to recover, while Sam snickered. Charlie glared at Dean and snapped, "She's your _girlfriend?_!"

Sam chuckled, and as Dean straightened up, he chuckled as well. "Sorry, Charlie. I wasn't going to mess with you, but then you were hitting on her, and I saw the opportunity, and I just couldn't pass that up."

"You're a jerk, you know that?" Charlie snapped, shoving him in the chest, but he just laughed.

"You got tougher, kiddo," Dean commented, rubbing his sore stomach. "That actually hurt."

"Good," Charlie snapped, but she was starting to smile a little now.

"Sorry for messing with you, Charlie," Sam said, although he too was smiling.

"Oh, it's okay," she sighed. "Although it's too bad that girl's straight, because _damn_, would I hit that!"

"Me too," Dean smirked.

Charlie shook her head. "I'm kind of glad she's with you, though. You deserve somebody good like her."

Dean smiled at his friend. "Thanks, Charlie."

By the time the three of them brought the drinks back, Julie, who had been watching Charlie beat up Dean while Sam laughed, had figured out what had happened. She was a little ticked off at Dean for a couple of minutes, but she moved on pretty quickly. By that time, it was getting close to dinnertime. The cabin was out in the middle of the nowhere, so finding a restaurant would take a long time, but the cabin had a private kitchen that provided breakfast and dinner for its guests. The four of them sat down to steak and soup, and they enjoyed it immensely. During dinner, they talked about the case, but after the meal, they returned to the couches by the fireplace and talked about simpler, happier things.

As much as Charlie wished Julie was into her, she had to admit that Julie Carters and Dean Winchester were very cute together. Dean sat in a large comfortable armchair with Julie curled up in his lap, her hands wrapped around a mug to keep them warm. Julie spent most of her time talking to Sam or Charlie, and she didn't say too much to Dean, but she didn't need to. Charlie couldn't believe she hadn't realized they were a couple earlier, because they clearly had a very deep, intimate bond. And he clearly worshipped her. Every moment he wasn't talking, Dean was just watching Julie, staring starry-eyed at the woman on his lap.

The night wore on, and Charlie was enjoying being with the Winchesters again. She missed just hanging out with them. And she and Julie were becoming fast friends as well. However, their peaceful chat was interrupted when the owner of the cabin walked into the lobby to ask them how they were doing, and a large husky trotted along behind him.

In an instant, Julie and Sam were both on their feet and headed over to the dog. The owner, a kindly man in his late fifties, asked them if they were allergic, and when they said no, he allowed them to pet the dog. Dean watched fondly as Julie and Sam, who were both dog-crazy and had often bugged him about getting a dog in the bunker, sat down on the floor next to the husky and pet it. Dean smiled when the dog licked Sam's face, and both Sam and Julie started laughing.

Charlie watched Sam, Julie, and the dog interacting and smiled as well. "Those two are so cute together," she sighed, and Dean stiffened a little. "Oh, I didn't mean like-"

"I know what you meant," he sighed. "And yeah, they're really close. He makes her happy, and vice versa."

"I get the feeling there used to be something between them…" Charlie said carefully.

"Yeah," Dean admitted. "Right before Julie died, Sam admitted he was in love with her, and she had feelings for him, but she loved me too, and it was a mess, and then-"

"She died, and you realized you couldn't live without her, and Sam managed to move on," Charlie guessed.

"Pretty much."

"She really loves you, though," Charlie assured her friend, now worried she had upset him.

"You have no idea," Dean muttered.

At about ten o'clock, they realized they were the only ones still in the lobby, besides the poor woman behind the counter who was trying to gently prompt them to go to bed. The four hunters said their goodnights, and there was a lot of hugging considering they would be seeing each other in the morning. Then they split up and went to their separate bedrooms so the staff could finally go to bed.

Julie and Dean's bedroom was beautiful, all dark, wood paneling, with a king-sized bed covered in thick blankets that looked like if Julie laid down on it, she would just sink into it. The whole room smelled like pine, and there were thick, soft rugs covering the floor, so Julie stripped her shoes and socks off and sank her toes into the rug. She sighed as her feet sank into the warm, soft rug.

When Julie turned to face Dean, she saw a very familiar look in his eyes. And it wasn't long before the rest of her clothes were hitting the ground next to her shoes.

A while later, they lay nestled under the thick, warm blankets, lying on their sides and facing each other. Julie absently traced a finger over the anti-possession tattoo on Dean's chest as she spoke. "I like Charlie."

"You _like_ her?" he asked skeptically, and it was clear what he was implying.

"Yes, Dean," she said, rolling her eyes. "Immediately after having sex with you, the first thing I'm going to tell you is that I'm actually gay for your friend."

"Hey, just making sure," he said defensively, but his eyes were twinkling. "You two were getting pretty close earlier."

"And whose fault is that?" she pointed out, and he grinned, unashamed.

"Really though," Julie sighed, "she's great. She's really funny and cool and she makes you happy. In fact, today's the happiest I've seen you in...way too long."

"I haven't had a lot of cause to celebrate lately," he pointed out, and there was a dark tone creeping into his voice that she didn't want. They had been doing so well, and Julie didn't want to ruin this moment.

"I know," she said softly, brushing her fingers over his stubbly jaw. "Which is why I'm so glad that she was able to make you happy today. And not just you, but Sam, too. And me." She smiled at him, and Dean gave in and softened, smiling a little back at her.

"I'm glad you two get along," Dean admitted after a moment. "I really wanted you to like her."

"I do," Julie assured him, shifting even closer to him. She was so close she could feel the heat radiating from his skin, taste the breath escaping his lips, which were so close to hers…

"I like you more, though," she added in a whisper, and then finally their lips met and his powerful hands dragged her closer, his fingers digging into her back as he held her as close as possible, until they were so close they were practically one person, and Julie found herself wishing that this would never end…

But, like all good things, that night had to end. Eventually, Julie drifted off to sleep hopelessly entangled with Dean, and when she woke up a couple fitful hours of sleep later, he stroked her hair and whispered soothing things until she finally was able to fall asleep again.

And only a few short hours after that, Sam was knocking at their door and telling them it was time to get up and start yet another hunt.

* * *

"How is it even possible to be this cold?!" Charlie practically screamed to be heard over the howling wind.

Sam kind of had to agree with her. He was seriously regretting ever getting out of bed today. He had been smart and dressed warmly, wearing a thick, thermal coat, snow pants and snow boots, thick gloves, and a warm hat, and he still felt like he was freezing to death. Why anyone would willingly go hiking on this mountain in the middle of winter was beyond his comprehension.

Charlie had been complaining through the thick scarf over her mouth for a while, but she was still nothing compared to Dean. Julie and Dean were both a few feet behind Sam and Charlie, and Julie was having to half-drag Dean through the snow and he whined and moaned and swore almost constantly. He hadn't wanted to wear a thick, thermal jacket like the others, opting for a fleece-lined hunting jacket of his, and Julie had literally had to wrestle him into the snow gear. It had been pretty damn hysterical to watch. Clearly, his wounded pride had not recovered since then, and two hours of hiking in miserable, cold weather had not improving his mood much.

"Oh my God, Dean, just walk!" Sam heard Julie's muffled voice yelling. "You can literally just walk in Sam's footprints! You're fine!"

"If I had known when Sammy made me haul my ass out of bed this morning that _this _was what was coming, I would have stayed in bed!" he yelled back, his angry voice muffled by a scarf Julie had put a lot of effort into wrestling onto him. It had taken Sam stepping in and holding Dean's arms down to force him to actually dress properly for the below-freezing weather.

"You knew exactly what was coming, Dean!" Sam yelled back.

"I knew it was going to be cold, not a freaking second ice age!"

"Dude, you're such a drama queen," Sam shot back, rolling his eyes even though Dean couldn't see him.

"What did you call me?" Dean yelled. There was a beat, and he added, "No, really, what did you call me? I think my ears have frozen solid!"

"Well if you had just worn the earmuffs I was trying to give you-" Julie started.

"No self-respecting man wears earmuffs!"

"Oh my God, would you stop whining before you bring the Wendigo down on us?" Charlie cried, exasperated.

"That would be great, actually!" Dean yelled. "Then we could light the bastard up, actually get some warmth-"

"From a burning corpse," Julie interjected.

"-And then we could get the hell out of here and back into our nice warm cabin," Dean finished wistfully.

Charlie and Dean continued to bicker, while Julie hauled Dean along against his will, but Sam was distracted by something that he had noticed in the face of the mountain that they were approaching.

"Guys, would you stop fighting and look at this?" he yelled as they got closer, and the bickering finally ceased as all four hunters observed the small, nearly hidden opening in the mountain.

"It looks like a cave," Charlie said.

"And a person could easily fit inside," Julie pointed out.

"Or a monster that's roughly the size of a human," Dean added darkly.

"So you think that's its lair?" Sam asked.

"Only one way to find out," Dean said coolly, and without another word he finally took the lead and marched towards the cave, Julie right by his side.

Sam and Charlie followed a few steps behind them. But as they reached the cave entrance, Sam thought he saw a flash of movement a few dozen feet above them on the rock wall. He grabbed Charlie's arm instinctively, stopping her in her tracks, as he squinted to find the movement again.

When he did, his stomach dropped out of him in horror.

He'd seen a Wendigo before, and that hideous, deformed, almost human figure was definitely one. But that wasn't the horrifying thing. The most horrifying thing was the large boulder it was pushing off of the cliff a few dozen feet above them.

"Dean, look out!" Sam roared, grabbing ahold of Charlie and throwing himself as far from the falling rock as he could, taking her light form with him. They both landed face-first in the snow right as the rock hit the ground with a loud, ear-shattering noise. Thankfully, they had gotten far enough away that it hadn't landed on them.

For a moment, Sam lay still in the snow, taking inventory on all of his body parts. He sat up in the snow and pulled Charlie up with him. He looked her over and saw that she, too, looked unharmed. Which left…

"Dean," Sam breathed, scrambling to his feet, which was difficult considering the little traction the snow gave him. But once he was finally up, he turned to see snow raining down on the massive boulder, which had completely covered the entrance to the cave.

He looked around for the Wendigo, but it had vanished. But that wasn't really his main concern. That would be the two people who had been standing in the cave entrance when the boulder fell. The two people who were nowhere to be seen.

"Julie!" Sam all but screamed, staggering over to the snow-covered boulder and trying to dig through the snow and rock to reach the other side and see if they were alright, knowing it was futile. "Dean!" he cried desperately, his heart pounding painfully fast.

It was okay, he told himself. They were just on the other side of the rock. And they would hear him yelling their names, and they would call back to him that they were alright.

And so Sam kept screaming their names over and over, beating at the rock that was keeping him from getting to them. But no matter how loud or long he shouted, there was never any reply.

They were gone.


	82. Chapter 82

**Chapter Eighty-Two**

When Julie woke up, the first thing she noticed, besides the throbbing pain in her head and the freezing snow she was lying in, was the blood staining the snow red.

She did a quick mental inventory of herself, but other than a bit of sticky blood on her forehead where her head had cracked against a rock, she was mostly fine, just cold and sore. And her little bump on the head could not have made that much blood.

As soon as her vision had cleared up a bit though, she could see exactly what could.

Dean was sprawled out on his chest, his arms outstretched towards her like he had just shoved her. Which, in fact, he had. It was coming back to her in flashes now, Sam screaming a warning, the shadow of something huge falling towards them, Dean yelling her name and tackling her, shoving her out of harm's way. And at first glance, it looked like he had made it out of harm's way as well.

But then she noticed the jagged, deep cut in his left arm and the jagged rock he had sliced it open on as he fell. That was bad enough, considering how much he had already bled, and it didn't seem to be slowing. But then she noticed how his right leg was turned at a horribly wrong angle and part of it was pinned under a smaller rock that had fallen. And by smaller, she meant roughly half the size of her.

"Oh, God," Julie choked out as she dragged herself into a sitting position. His leg was badly broken and pinned under a rock, and his arm was sliced open and bleeding pretty heavily. And they were trapped inside this cave by a massive boulder that they couldn't have moved even if Dean was actually going to physically capable of standing on his own.

Panic was beginning to build in her, so she took a deep breath, ignoring how the freezing air hurt her lungs when she sucked it in. She just had to calm down and think. It was the only way she was getting him out of here alive.

What did she need to do first? She needed to stop the bleeding, that much was clear. But to be able to do that and any other first aid he may need, she had to get that damn rock off of him. And that was not going to be an easy task.

It took at least five minutes of straining, heaving, and sweating so much that the cold didn't even seem to bother her anymore before she finally managed to tip the rock off of him and quickly roll his leg out of the way before it fell back. As she did so, a pained moan escaped his lips, and Julie felt incredibly guilty. But it had to be done.

"Dean?" she asked softly, quickly moving over to kneel by his head. "Dean, honey, can you hear me?"

To her surprise, his eyelids fluttered, and she got a quick glimpse of dull, unfocused, pain-glazed green eyes. "…Jules?" he finally got out, and it was clear that had taken a lot of effort.

"It's okay, honey, I'm here," she whispered soothingly, stroking his hear. There was snow in his hair and it was slowly freezing into light brown icicles. His skin was pale, getting dangerously close to blue. Great. And she also needed to keep him from freezing to death, too.

"My leg…" he moaned.

"I know, baby, I know," she whispered, because her throat was so tight she couldn't speak any louder.

To her surprise, he was able to lift the corner of his mouth the tiniest bit and ask skeptically, "'Baby'?"

She laughed, which then became dangerously close to crying. "Just hold still," she told him. "I'm going to fix you up and then Sam and Charlie will get us out of here, okay?"

He grunted, which could be in assent or in pain. It was hard to tell. But he went along with her as she gently rolled him over, making sure to hold his leg in place so it hurt less. She was a trained medical professional, and she could tell his femur had all but shattered as she held it. She wouldn't be surprised if his bone had broken through his skin. Oh, if she ever got her hands on that Wendigo, it was going to wish it had never been born…

Julie focused on her work. She pulled off her thick winter coat, to Dean's protest, and used it to prop him up so she could work on his arm. She had to pull his coat off as well, and he began to shiver uncontrollably when she did so. But she had to get the bleeding to at least slow before he bled out and she lost him. Again.

Working feverishly, she cut the shirt sleeve off of his wounded arm so she could get a better look. Julie hadn't brought a first aid kit, like a complete moron, so she had to make do with pulling off the flannel she had been wearing under the winter coat, leaving her in nothing but a tank top. She was now shivering uncontrollably as well, and Dean reached out his gloved hand and put it over hers.

"Stop," he said softly. "You'll freeze to death."

"You're going to bleed out a lot sooner than I'll freeze," Julie shot back darkly, and she cut up her shirt into bandages and tightly bound his wounded arm. It wasn't enough, but it would keep him alive. Then she forced his winter coat back onto him and pulled hers back on as well.

There was really nothing Julie could do about Dean's leg, so she propped him up against a smooth rock and tried to get it in a comfortable position. Then she drew close to him, trying to spread what little body warmth she had to him.

As she did so, she finally noticed a buzzing in her coat pocket.

When Julie finally fished out her phone, she saw that Sam was calling, and that she had three missed calls from him already. Thank God her phone worked! She answered as quickly as her numb fingers could manage and practically shouted, "Sam?!" into the phone.

She heard a deep sigh of relief, and then tense laughter on the other side. "Oh, God, you're alive," Sam said breathlessly.

"And you are too," she replied. "Charlie?"

"She's fine. We're both fine. But Dean? Is he…?"

"He's alive," Julie assured Sam. "Just hang on a second." She put the phone on speakerphone and told Dean, "Say hi to your brother."

"Knew I should have stayed in bed today," Dean grumbled, and Sam laughed heartily at the sound of his brother's voice.

"Are you guys okay?" Sam asked desperately.

"Well…not exactly," Julie admitted. "Dean's leg is pretty badly broken, and he had a bad cut on his arm that I bandaged up, but it's not enough."

"Julie's exaggerating," Dean sighed. "I'm fine, Sammy."

"The pretty obvious pain in your voice says otherwise, Dean," Sam shot back. "Listen, we were going to call for help to get you guys out of there, but a Wendigo pushed that boulder down, and I lost eyes on it. I can't just bring innocent people up here while a monster's on the loose."

"Of course," Dean said tensely. "Cas?"

"I tried," Sam replied. "But I got nothing."

"Guy's probably busy," Dean said, and he sounded like he had just run a marathon. Julie saw how pale he was and how his eyelids were drooping and knew he was going to pass out within the next couple of minutes.

"Listen, Sam, Dean's about to pass out," Julie said flatly. "I'm going to stay with him, make sure he doesn't go critical. But we're in this cave, probably the Wendigo's lair. My guess is there's another way in here, so that he can try to come and eat us. Otherwise, what's the point in trapping us in here if he doesn't get a meal out of it?"

She could practically see Sam nodding in her mind's eye, snow frosting his eyebrows and eyelashes, lips turning blue from the cold. "So try to find another entrance, hopefully not a booby-trapped one, and we'll try to stay alive."

"Okay. Stay alive," he said, and his voice was thick with desperation. They had to stay alive. She couldn't even imagine what it would do to Sam if they didn't make it…

Julie turned to Dean, but he was already out cold. Now that he couldn't protest because he was asleep, she put her own hat on him, trying to keep him warm, and then curled up as close to him as she could with their thick puffy coats in the way. She had to lay on her side though, watching the dark, narrow cave beyond them, her gloved hand curled around a gun. She couldn't risk falling asleep, because any second, a Wendigo could appear and try to eat Dean.

And she would rather die than let that happen.

As time wore on, though, she was finding it increasingly difficult to keep her eyes open. Her body felt heavy with exhaustion, and because of the cold, her heart was beating so slowly that it took all of her willpower to keep her eyelids from dropping closed. Julie focused on the sound of Dean's slow, ragged breathing behind her and reminded herself that if she drifted off even for a minute, it could end in his death.

And it was a good thing she managed to stay awake. Because not ten minutes after settling down to wait, Julie heard something moving in the dark, endless passageway before her.

Moving as silently as possible, Julie sat up and crouched defensively in front of Dean, gun raised. Keeping one hand pointing her gun at the cave, she reached onto her belt and pulled off her flamethrower as well. She would need to be pretty close to set the Wendigo on fire, and she wanted to shoot it and wound it first, but she wouldn't be able to kill it without any fire.

The cave was silent again. Julie waited, tense and ready to fire, for a minute, but nothing happened. Maybe she had imagined the noise. After all, it had been the softest of noises, a slight stirring of snow. It could have been wind blowing through the cave for all she knew.

Behind her, Dean stirred slightly. "Julie…?" he groaned. "What are you doing?"

"I thought I heard something," she replied, now realizing she had probably overreacted. And as she spoke to Dean, she made the mistake of turning her head towards him a little so her focus wasn't completely on the darkness before her.

Dean didn't even have time to cry out in horror as the creature leapt out of the shadows. It moved so quickly all he saw was a grayish blur, but he saw the flash of movement, heard its unearthly cry, and he heard Julie cry out in pain as it tackled her. Dean yelled her name as the Wendigo snarled and suddenly blood was staining the snow red. Julie's blood.

Julie was struggling and swearing as she tried to wrestle the thing off of her, but it was too big and strong for her to overpower it. And its sharp claws were tearing through her coat and her skin, shredding her left forearm, the skin over her ribs. Tears of pain were welling up in her eyes, and she knew she was about to die. She tried to reach for the gun that it had knocked out of her hands, but it was just a couple inches out of her reach…

The monster had stopped tearing into her with its claws, but now its horrible, sunken, rotting face was right over hers. There wasn't even a spark of humanity in its eyes, and when it opened its mouth to tear her throat wide open, its horrible, rotting breath overwhelmed her.

And then suddenly the sound of a gun firing shattered her eardrums, and the Wendigo pinning Julie screamed in agony.

Julie felt something thick and warm dripping onto her, and the Wendigo's hold on her slackened enough that she wedged her leg up under its chest and kicked it away, sending it crashing into the stone wall. It cried out in pain again and then dragged itself up into a crouched position. Blood was dripping from a bullet hole in its head, but it was still about to come after her again.

Two more bullet holes appeared in its chest, splattering more blood everywhere. "Get behind me," Dean growled, and despite her wounds, Julie managed to scramble behind the protection of her incredibly pissed boyfriend.

This time, when the Wendigo managed to get up on all fours and start to come at them, he didn't shoot. He let it get dangerously close, and then he whipped out his flamethrower and lit the monster on fire.

Ignoring the way his leg and arm were screaming in protest, Dean grabbed Julie around the waist and heaved both of them up and over the large rock that had pinned his leg. They took cover behind the rock, not wanting to watch as the Wendigo screamed and howled in agony, flailing around. The cave began to reek of burning flesh, and Julie buried her head in Dean's chest until the monster had finally quit screaming.

When Julie finally emerged from Dean's coat, Dean cupped her face in his gloved hands. "Are you gonna be okay?" he asked her, concerned. There was a lot of blood in the snow, and not all of it was the Wendigo's…

"The scratches weren't too deep," she assured him. "I won't bleed out any time soon. It just hurts. A lot."

"Let me help," Dean protested as Julie gathered up the scraps of her shirt that were left and started trying to bandage up her bleeding side.

"Dean, honey, I am so very grateful to you very for saving me, and that was amazing…but you're barely staying conscious right now. Trust me, you're still a whole lot worse off than I am. Just rest."

The agony he was in due to his broken leg wasn't letting him forget that he really was in bad shape, so Dean gave in and sat by, feeling useless, while Julie bandaged up her side. She had finished with her side and was about to start on her arm when Dean thought he heard movement in the darkness beyond them.

It was silly, really. He knew the Wendigo was dead. He had killed it himself. But he could have sworn he heard something moving in the part of the cave they couldn't see.

He must just be imagining things. Dean turned back to Julie, but just as an extra precaution, he started to reach for his gun.

Something collided with the back of his head with inhuman force, and he was unconscious before his fingers could even graze the handle of his gun.

* * *

Charlie would have given up searching from sheer exhaustion and cold if she weren't so desperate. She and Sam had been searching for at least two hours for any kind of opening in the rock walls all around them, but they had found nothing. And with every minute that Dean and Julie were in danger and Sam couldn't reach them, he was growing increasingly more desperate and angry.

She was pretty worried herself. She barely knew Julie, but she seemed like a wonderful woman, and they were already becoming good friends. And Dean was probably one of her closest friends still alive, even if it had been far too long since she'd last seen him. Charlie had no idea what she would do if they weren't able to save them…

"Dammit!" Sam growled as he backed away from the smooth, seamless stone wall in front of him. "There's got to be another way in!"

"There is," Charlie assured Sam quickly. "And we'll find it."

"But what if it's too late?!" he cried over the howling wind. "Charlie, I've been calling Julie for the last hour at least, and she hasn't picked up once. Something has to be wrong."

She had to admit, that probably wasn't a good sign. But she refused to think about what that might mean for Dean and Julie…

"We'll find them," Charlie finally said, squeezing Sam's arm with her gloved hand. "It's gonna be okay, Sam."

He stared down at her for a long time, took a deep breath, and then nodded. "You're right."

"Of course I am," she smirked. "It's me after all. Now come on. Let's keep looking."

Charlie began to walk along the steep mountainside, running her hand along the icy stone to feel for any indication of a secret entrance. Sam followed behind her, and after a minute or so of walking, he called, "A lot's changed with you, huh?"

"What do you mean?" she replied, unsure where this was going.

"I mean…when Dean and I met you, you were just some Harry Potter-crazed hacker who had no idea how to fight," Sam pointed out. "That girl would need me to be comforting her right now, not the other way around."

"True," Charlie sighed. "A lot did change in Oz."

"Hopefully not too much, though," Sam said, and she could hear a smile in his voice. "I really liked that Potterhead."

"Oh, trust me, Sam, I am still very much a Potterhead," Charlie laughed. She was surprised that she could laugh right now, considering how worried she was for her friends. But there was something so calming about Sam that could always make her smile even in the worst of times.

Suddenly, the stone wall under Charlie's hand vanished.

She turned, wide-eyed, and saw that what had looked like nothing more than a shadow cast by the looming mountain was actually a narrow passageway in the stone. "Sam," she gasped, her spirits lifting.

He appeared beside her and peered into the darkness. "It's pretty narrow…" he said skeptically, but she could hear the hope in his voice.

"Yeah, but you could squeeze through, so I'm sure any old monster could too," she smirked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That you're humongous, Sam. I mean, I wasn't very subtle."

"Yeah, yeah…" he muttered, his expression becoming more determined. Sam's fingers curled around the flamethrower on his belt and he looked down at Charlie. "You ready for this?"

"Hell yeah," she said bravely. "Let's go kick some Wendigo ass and save our friends."

* * *

When Dean woke up, he was in so much pain he instantly regretted it.

Dean had broken countless bones before, so it wasn't exactly a new sensation, but that didn't make the agony in his leg any more bearable. Add that to his wounded arm and the throbbing pain in his head and he found himself missing the peaceful darkness that unconsciousness brought.

But almost immediately, he forgot all thoughts of slipping back into unconsciousness. Because by then, Dean's vision had come into focus enough that he was able to make out through the dim light a figure dangling by bound wrists from the ceiling. A very familiar figure…

"Jules," Dean croaked, trying to move towards her. But he was quickly pulled back by his wrists, which were similarly tied.

Julie looked up, and he realized she was actually conscious. "Dean," she breathed, turning towards him as best she could. "Thank God you're okay," she whispered, her eyes searching his face hungrily for a sign that he really wasn't okay, besides the obvious wounds.

"Relatively," he muttered. Then Dean made the mistake of looking around the cave they were in.

The cave was rather small, and there wasn't room for more than ten people in the space that they were in. But judging by the bones littering the snowy ground at Dean's feet, there had definitely been at least ten people in here.

"Oh, God," Dean moaned when he noticed a corpse that hadn't been completely picked clean yet. "Well, we're definitely in the right place…"

Then he frowned. "Wait. What the hell captured us and tied us up? Because we already killed the Wendigo…"

"There must be another one," Julie whispered.

"But they don't normally hunt in packs," Dean said, confused.

"I think there's only two," she whispered. "Maybe they were a couple before they became monsters."

"Why are you whispering?" he frowned, just now noticing how quiet she was keeping her voice even though they were completely alone.

"I don't want it knowing we're awake," she hissed, but Dean's eyes had just landed on a shape moving in the darkness beyond Julie.

"I think it's a little late for that," he said darkly as the Wendigo emerged.

Yep. Julie's couple theory was right. Because, deformed though it was, this Wendigo had clearly once been a woman. It was smaller and curvier than the other Wendigo Dean had killed, and it had more delicate features, even if they were sunken and rotting. It was hideous, but at least it was less hideous than the male.

Dean doubted it was any less dangerous, though.

The monster moved slowly towards Julie, its head cocked almost curiously. It sniffed at her, getting dangerously close to the woman he loved. Julie held perfectly still, trying to keep her breaths even and stay calm. But as the Wendigo brought its horrible mouth and sharp fangs close to her neck, she finally lost her cool and kicked it as hard as she could, sending the Wendigo crashing into the cave wall.

In an instant, the monster was up, and its eyes were furious. The Wendigo started towards Julie, snarling angrily, but Dean yelled, "Hey, ugly! Over here, bitch!" The monster turned to face him, still looking murderous. "Wouldn't you rather eat me?" he pointed out, trying to keep its attention. "I've got more meat on my bones than that twig."

It worked. The Wendigo forgot all about Julie, and instead started towards Dean, and it looked pretty hungry…

Julie opened her mouth to scream Dean's name as the Wendigo prepared to tear into her already wounded boyfriend, but before she could even make a sound, a gun went off. The monster howled in pain and collapsed, and the next second, two people ran into the small cave.

"Sam!" Julie cried, relieved.

"And Charlie," the other hunter added, mock-hurt.

Sam started to rush to help his brother, but the Wendigo was clearly not as hurt as it had looked. Suddenly, the monster was back on its feet and about to sink its claws into Sam's unprotected back. Dean roared, "Sammy, look out!" but it turned out Sam had nothing to worry about.

The Wendigo howled in agony as it suddenly was doused in fire. It collapsed to the ground as it was consumed, and Sam scrambled away from the dying monster. Sam, Dean, and Julie all stared at Charlie as she stood calmly by, watching her handiwork.

Finally, when the monster lay dead at her feet, she looked up at Sam and said calmly, "You're welcome."

Dean would have smirked, but now that the threat was gone, all of his pain hit him like a ton of bricks. By the time Sam cut his brother free of the ropes holding up, Dean collapsed into his arms, unable to stand.

Charlie had just cut Julie free and, while she was unstable on her feet, she still staggered over Sam and began talking quickly. "He's got a broken leg and a wounded arm and it looks like he might have a serious head wound, too. I've got a bad cut on my side and my arm, and both of us are going to need medical attention and soon."

"I'll call for help," Charlie assured them, pulling out her phone and starting out of the cave to get better service.

Sam wedged his shoulder under Dean's good arm, and Julie rushed to his other side and put her arm around his waist to help him walk. He tried to shake them off, insisting he would be fine, but neither of them bought that crap for a second. They started through the long, winding, dark cave passageways after Charlie, and Dean was soon grateful for the support. He was so weak he knew he wouldn't have made it ten steps without them.

By the time they finally made it out of the caves in the mountain, Dean was so weak that Julie and Sam were practically dragging him. Or rather, Sam was. Julie too was growing weak from blood loss and pain and cold, and she wasn't much help in moving Dean along. She was having a hard time carrying on herself. But eventually, the three hunters finally emerged from the mountain and stepped right into freezing, windy, dismal weather. Charlie had just gotten off the phone with a medic, and she assured them that someone was coming in a chopper to get them out of here.

And so, the four hunters huddled together as close to the cover of the mountain as they could get to wait until, finally, a helicopter arrived to take them to safety.


	83. Chapter 83

**Chapter Eighty-Three**

Charlie stopped in the doorway of Dean's room when she saw the two of them.

Most of the time, Charlie found couples nauseating. Especially if they were straight couples. And especially if she wasn't a part of the couple. But the sight of Julie Carters curled up next to Dean Winchester on his hospital bed didn't make her want to gag. In fact, it made her want to go, "Aww…" but she knew Dean would climb out of his bed and throttle her if he found out she thought he was cute around Julie.

Charlie hesitated in the doorway, not entirely sure she should enter. She had coffee for the two of them, but she didn't want to interrupt the moment they were having.

Julie had gotten her wounds stitched up yesterday and, after a blood transfusion and being monitored for twenty-four hours, she had been allowed to get out of bed and walk around. The idea had been that she would stretch out her muscles, get a little exercise in, and return to her bed. But clearly the people running this hospital did not know Julie.

She had made a beeline straight for Dean's hospital room and she hadn't left since. Over the past few hours, several nurses had come into the room to gently suggest that she head back to her room, and every time she had smiled sweetly and said, "Try and make me."

Right then, Dean had his good arm around Julie and they were leaning back on his bed, watching the crappy daytime TV on the small television mounted on the wall. As Charlie watched, Dean smirked at one of the dumb jokes on the TV show, and Julie beamed at him. She took his hand and he absently traced his thumb over the back of her hand.

Finally, Charlie decided she'd been standing creepily in the door for long enough. "Please tell me you two aren't doing anything horribly embarrassing for me to walk in on!" Charlie called loudly as she walked in the door, eyes squeezed shut, like she didn't already know what they had been doing.

Dean chuckled. "You're fine, Charlie. It's not like I could do much with my leg in this friggin' cast anyway."

"Yeah, he's really upset about it," Julie laughed. She noticed the coffees in Charlie's hands and smiled gratefully. "Did you get those for us?"

"Yep," she said brightly, handing a cup to each of her friends. "Figured you two could use a pick-me-up."

"Then you should have got me a beer," Dean replied wryly, which got him a dirty look from Julie. Normally she would have jokingly shoved him or elbowed his side, but he was still pretty fragile, and she wasn't going to risk hurting him.

"I'm not a waitress, Dean," Charlie shot back, settling into the uncomfortable hospital chair next to the bed.

Dean smirked fondly at her. "I know you're not," he said warmly. He took a sip of his coffee, and then smiled at her gratefully. "Thanks, Charlie."

"Well, it's pretty clear you're not getting out of bed anytime soon," she pointed out, gesturing towards his leg. "And it would take a small army to drag your girlfriend out of here, so…"

"True," Julie smirked before brushing a kiss on Dean's stubbly cheek.

Charlie smiled warmly at the two of them. But before she could make a comment on how adorable they were, she heard a strange sound that sounded almost like a bird flapping its wings…and then a dark-haired man in a trench coat appeared two feet away from her.

Charlie jumped about half a foot in the air, and Dean jumped as well and sloshed hot coffee all over his chest. "Dammit, Cas!" Dean snapped as Julie slipped out of Dean's bed, moaning and griping about the coffee that had splashed on her arm.

The man in the trench coat blinked in confusion. "What? I just came here to answer your prayers for help."

"A bit late," Dean muttered, trying and failing to wipe his chest clean. "And you made me spill coffee all over myself."

"Nobody made you do that but you, Dean," Julie pointed out, even as she walked over to Cas and wrapped an arm around his side to hug him. The angel automatically hugged her back and asked gently, "Are you alright?"

"We made it out in one piece," she said. "But we could use a little angel mojo so we don't have to sit around in a hospital any longer."

"Angel?!" Charlie repeated incredulously, finally snapping out of her shock and standing up. "Does that mean…is he…?"

"Charlie, meet Castiel," Dean said bluntly. "Cas, Charlie. She's cool."

Cas put his hand out in a somewhat awkward gesture towards Charlie, but to his surprise, she leapt forward and threw her arms around him. He stood stiff as a board, eyes wide and confused, while Dean and Julie stifled their laughter.

When Charlie finally released Cas, she was grinning. "Wow. A real live angel. You have no idea how cool this is for me. Could you like…show your wings or something epic like that?"

"How about he heals up Dean and me?" Julie suggested gently, trying to calm Charlie down a bit.

"Gladly," the angel said guiltily. "I regret not getting here in time to prevent whatever happened to you two."

"A Wendigo nabbed us," Dean said gruffly. "Two of them, actually. But we can talk more about that when I'm not in a stupid cast anymore."

At that moment, though, someone walked into the room. Thankfully, it was only Sam. "So I talked to the doctor and he thinks you two will be able to leave in-" Sam stopped talking when he finally processed that Cas was standing there. "Cas?" he asked incredulously.

"Yep, he finally got here," Dean said quickly. "And we're all very happy to see him. All further questions can be held until he has gotten my leg out of this friggin' cast."

Cas couldn't resist a small smile at Dean's impatience. He touched two fingers to Dean's forehead, and when he removed his fingers, Dean was fully healed. Without hesitation, Dean borrowed his brother's knife and started hacking through his cast while Cas healed Julie's wounds.

Charlie watched, wide-eyed, as Julie's bruises and cuts faded away before her eyes. Julie smiled gratefully at Cas and thanked him. But her reaction was nothing compared to Charlie's.

"Dude?" she grinned. "That was freaking awesome!"

Castiel smiled uncertainly, unsure how to handle Charlie. Thankfully, he didn't have to reply, because Dean finally got his cast off, and he hopped to his feet to stretch out his newly healed leg.

"Finally!" he sighed in relief. Charlie, Sam, Julie, and Cas smirked as he started parading around the room and stretching his healthy, strong leg.

"We should probably get out of here before a nurse walks in and sees him strutting around like that," Sam pointed out after he was done laughing at his ridiculous brother.

"He's got a point," Julie admitted.

"And I need to get out of this coffee-stained hospital gown and into some real clothes," Dean said firmly.

"Where do you want me to take you?" Castiel asked.

Sam, Dean, and Julie exchanged a look and then smiled a little. "Home," they all said as one.

* * *

Julie threw a punch at Charlie with every ounce of strength she had. The other woman just barely managed to dodge her swing, but in an instant, Charlie retaliated, driving her elbow into Julie's gut.

Julie doubled over, winded and surprised. She had underestimated her opponent. But she wouldn't be making that mistake again.

Charlie stopped to take a breath but Julie had already recovered from that blow. Julie swept Charlie's legs out from underneath her and Charlie landed on her butt, stunned. But before Julie could pin her down, Charlie grabbed her opponent's leg and pulled it out from underneath her, and then they were both wrestling on the ground.

There was a lot of punching and kicking and some pretty underhand moves from both women before Charlie finally got free for a moment and scrambled to her feet. Julie got up as well, but instead of scrambling up like Charlie had, she flipped herself up into a standing position. Charlie's jaw dropped. She'd only ever seen something like that in an action movie.

"Damn," one of the bystanders breathed, and Julie grinned fiercely, knowing even after all these years, she had just impressed him.

From then on, Julie effortlessly blocked each punch Charlie threw at her. Charlie went in for a kick at her side, but Julie leapt up and over Charlie's leg as it went sailing by.

"You've got to be kidding me," Charlie moaned.

"Getting tired?" Julie asked cockily, shifting into an offensive stance.

"Yeah, actually," Charlie panted, sounding winded. "But you're not. You seem like you've just now hit your stride."

"That's because I have," Julie grinned, and then she attacked.

The three bystanders watched wide-eyed as Julie sent a dozen punches and kicks Charlie's direction. At least half of them hit, but it was clear Julie was holding back, and they shouldn't hurt too much. Eventually, Julie finally got tired of showing off, and she performed a fancy move that started with her hitting Charlie in the gut and ended with her behind her victim. Julie kicked Charlie in the back, and the poor woman went sprawling.

Julie stood over Charlie, grinning victoriously and catching her breath. Charlie rolled onto her back and moaned, "Damn, Wonder Woman! How did you learn to fight like that?"

"Years of experience," Julie shrugged before putting out a hand to help her friend up off of the mat they had been sparring on.

"_I _didn't even know you could do that!" Dean admitted, looking awed and more than a little turned-on.

"Well then, you haven't been paying much attention," Sam smirked. "My first memory of Julie is her taking me down, not once, but twice."

Julie laughed and bumped shoulders with Sam as she walked over to Sam, Cas, and Dean. Charlie followed her, pushing her sweaty, short hair off of her forehead. She felt gross, but Julie still looked pretty great, with her blond curls pulled back in a ponytail, wearing a sporty tank and running shorts. And judging by the look on Dean's face, he was thinking pretty similar thoughts about Julie's appearance.

"That was some pretty good fighting from you, Charlie," Dean commented. "Oz made you tough."

"You have no idea," Charlie sighed before grabbing a water bottle and chugging it.

"Still, you're not Winchester tough," he smirked cockily. "I doubt Julie could take me down."

She raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms. "You wanna bet? Because we can go right here, right now."

"You're on," Dean smirked, shrugging off his jacket and kicking his boots off as well to take away that extra advantage.

Sam rolled his eyes as Dean and Julie both moved to the mat and shifted into fighter's stances. "This ought to be good," he muttered to Cas.

"Julie will win," Cas said calmly, no hint of doubt in his voice.

Charlie frowned. "Don't get me wrong, that girl is badass, but…I mean, have you seen Dean? He's got at least six inches on her, and about eighty more pounds of pure muscle than she has. And he's _Dean Winchester._"

"Oh, Dean's definitely the stronger of the two of them, and definitely the better fighter," Sam assured her. "Hell, he's probably a better fighter than I am! But trust me, Julie will win."

Charlie shot them a skeptical look, but she settled down to watch the fight with the two men anyway. "You ready?" Dean smirked at Julie.

In answer, she caught him in the side of the head with an impressive spinning kick. Sam roared with laughter, and even Cas and Charlie couldn't help sniggering at Dean's stupefied expression.

"Hey!" Dean protested, straightening up and cupping his ear, which was still ringing from the blow. "No one said go yet!"

"Bummer," his girlfriend said flatly before springing forward and taking a swing at him.

This time, Dean was ready. He blocked her first punch and dodged the second. Then he took a swing at Julie, and she had to bend backwards to avoid getting hit in the face.

For a few tense seconds, Sam, Cas, and Charlie watched intently as the two of them punched and kicked and dodged and blocked relentlessly. They were moving so quickly it was hard to follow, and so when they finally heard the sound of skin hitting skin, it was hard to tell who was hit until Julie stumbled backwards, looking dazed from a blow to the head.

Immediately Dean's guard went down. He slipped out of his fighting stance and rushed to her side. "Hey, are you-?" he asked, eyes full of guilt and concern. He reached out a hand to comfort her, but before he could touch her, he suddenly found himself being flipped onto the ground.

Sam laughed again as Dean was judo-flipped onto the floor. Julie smirked, ignoring her stinging cheek. That hit from Dean really had hurt, but she was quite used to pain, and she could easily fight through it, something Dean constantly forgot. In his eyes, she was fragile and breakable, and she could use that.

All the air went out of Dean when Julie pinned him to the ground by driving her knee into his gut. "That was low," he groaned, lying helplessly on the ground.

"I've warned you a hundred times not to underestimate me," she pointed out with a smirk.

"Then I won't," he shot back, and before she quite knew what was going on, he managed to throw her off of him and roll so he was pinning her underneath him.

"But you shouldn't underestimate me either," he breathed, his face barely an inch from hers.

Charlie smirked at Sam and Cas. "See? Told you he'd win?"

"Just wait," Sam smirked, still confident in his best friend, even though she was pinned and had no hope of throwing Dean off of her.

"Are they going to fight or kiss?" Cas frowned. "I honestly can't tell."

To answer his question, Julie closed the almost non-existent space between her and Dean, and then the two of them were locked in a heated embrace.

"Wow, I am incredibly uncomfortable right now," Charlie remarked drily. "Did they forget we were here or something?"

Dean had completely forgotten all about showing up Julie the moment her lips had met his, and he was so caught up in their kiss he barely noticed what was happening until suddenly he was flat on his back and Julie had him pinned, her forearm pressed tight on his throat. "What the-?!" he barely managed to get out due to the pressure on his neck.

Julie grinned at him. "You shouldn't let yourself get distracted," she told him, and he stared at her incredulously, just now realizing what she had done.

Sam laughed long and hard at his brother's face. Dean struggled valiantly for a while, but Julie had him pinned and that wasn't going to change. Finally he gave up and groaned, "Fine. You win."

"I know," Julie smirked before removing her arm from his neck and kissing his pouty lips.

"You were right," Charlie admitted to Sam and Cas. "Both of you."

"Well, we know those two," Sam shrugged. "Dean's got it in his head that Julie needs to be protected, and she knows that he underestimates her, and she knows just how to use it."

"Yep," Julie said, and the three of them looked up to see Julie and Dean coming over to join them. "I'm not stupid. I know I could never overpower Dean. But I can outsmart him."

"You tricked me," he muttered sullenly.

"Yep," she said, smiling and unashamed.

Julie turned to Sam. "Who's next? Sam, you want to go?"

He laughed. "I'm good for now. I think the humiliation of one Winchester was enough for today."

"I wasn't humiliated-" Dean started, looking humiliated.

"Cas?" Julie interrupted him.

"I'm alright for now, Julie," he said politely.

She smiled at him. "Suit yourself. Well, if everybody's done getting their asses kicked, then I'm going to go get cleaned up. I need a shower after that."

"Me too," Dean said quickly, and the two of them headed off to their bathroom.

"So we won't be seeing them for a few hours," Charlie guessed, and Sam snorted.

"You're probably right," he admitted. "Well, in the meantime, does anybody want food?"

"I don't require-" Cas started.

"You don't require food, yeah, I know," Sam finished. "Okay, Charlie, then."

"I could eat," she shrugged, trying to play it like she wasn't starving.

The three of them left the gym that Sam had created and headed to the kitchen. Sam fixed up sandwiches and found beers for himself and Charlie, and he went ahead and made food for Dean and Julie as well. When he returned from the kitchen, he found Charlie bombarding Cas with questions. The poor angel looked a little overwhelmed, but it was clear he didn't really mind. He, like everyone else, couldn't help but like Charlie.

A few minutes later, when Julie and Dean arrived, in fresh clothes with wet hair, the three of them were sitting at the table, laughing and chatting happily. Julie and Dean joined them, settling into chairs next to each other and digging in.

Things had been going really well since Cas healed them up and they had all returned to the bunker. Charlie got along well with all four of them, and they all couldn't help but like her. They had decided to take an off day and just relax, and Dean found himself enjoying the day for the first time in a long while. He had Julie by his side, his brother and his best friend, and he had been reunited with an old friend. And despite the fact that Julie's time was running out, he really was having a good day.

At least until Cas finally admitted why he had been unreachable during the Wendigo attack.

Charlie had gotten up to go to the bathroom, and the angel took the opportunity to tell his friends the truth. Almost the moment she was gone, he announced, "There's a reason I wasn't able to come help you three earlier."

Sam and Julie frowned and exchanged looks. "We figured, considering you usually don't bail on us when we're in trouble," Dean said.

"An angel was murdered," Cas said softly, looking down. "Joseph. He was a friend."

"Cas, I'm so sorry…" Julie said softly, reaching out and touching his arm.

"Why? Who did this?" Dean snapped protectively, the pain in his best friend's eyes filling him with rage.

"Beelzebub," Castiel admitted. "Apparently, when Julie stopped him from sacrificing Hannah or I to break a seal, that didn't prevent him from capturing another one of my angels and sacrificing him."

"You mean…not only is an angel dead, but another seal is broken?" Sam asked in despair.

Cas just nodded. "I am truly sorry," he sighed. "I have been enjoying myself all day with you four, and I did not want to ruin the fun, but…I have to return to heaven soon, and I thought I should warn you that nightmares will no doubt be coming from Lucifer and Michael tonight."

"Awesome," Dean grumbled. "There goes my chances of actually sleeping tonight."

"_Your_ chances? At least you won't have the literal devil invading your brain," Sam said darkly.

Dean clearly looked like he wished the devil was going into his brain and not his little brother's. But, as in everything that seemed to be happening, he was powerless to stop it. From Julie's deal to the apocalypse, Dean couldn't prevent a damn thing from going wrong.

"And there's nothing we can do to prevent that?" Julie asked, already knowing the answer.

"I'm sorry," the angel said truthfully. "I wish I had any kind of good news to give you."

"Don't sweat it, Cas," Dean sighed. "You've got enough problems without worrying about us. Now why don't you get back to heaven, if you need to go."

"I probably should," he admitted, and they all said their goodbyes.

By the time Charlie returned, Castiel was gone, and the three hunters were sitting at the table in silence, expressions grave.

She frowned as she approached them. "Okay, what the hell happened while I was in the bathroom?" she asked skeptically.

Sam, Dean, and Julie lifted their heads and exchanged looks. "Should we tell her?" Sam asked softly, but Charlie still heard it.

"Tell me what?" she snapped, arms crossed.

Julie took a deep breath. "An angel was murdered, bringing us one step closer to the world ending, and Michael and Lucifer are about to be set free from the cage and are going to torment Sam and Dean in their dreams tonight. Oh, and I sold my soul to make Dean human again and I've got six weeks to live."

Charlie blinked. "Okay. So maybe I wasn't ready for you to tell me."

Charlie sat down, and they explained all of the darker details of their lives they had left out so far. By the end of it, all of the earlier levity and happiness of the day was gone, and Julie doubted it was coming back anytime soon. For a moment after they were done talking, Charlie was silent, just thinking.

"Wow," she said softly after a long moment of silence. "I…wow. I get now why you guys didn't tell me that right away."

"These boys were happy for the first time in weeks," Julie said sadly. "I didn't want to take that away."

"It's a lot," Charlie admitted. "A hell of a lot more than I'm ready for."

"I'm sorry, Charlie," Dean sighed. "You don't have to stick around. That's too much to ask from anyone, and-"

"Oh, no, I'm staying," Charlie said firmly. "You three clearly are going to need some help, and right now it seems like I'm all you've got."

"But you just said you weren't ready," Sam pointed out.

"And now I will be, because you guys need me," she said brightly. "Clearly, you do not have enough joy in your life. And so tonight, we are going to have fun. We are going to watch some classic movies and eat a ton of junk food and you are going to have so much fun you'll forget all about the crazy archangels trying to invade your minds."

"You just reminded us," Dean pointed out, but he smirked very slightly.

"Shut up," she smirked, standing up. "Come on, bitches. Let's go find a movie to watch."

It ended up not being too bad of a night, thanks to Charlie. She picked great movies she knew that both she and Dean loved, and the four of them stuffed themselves with popcorn and beers, occasionally even laughing at the funnier jokes. But by the end of their second movie, when Charlie looked over at the seat where Dean and Julie were sitting, she saw that Julie had passed out on Dean's chest.

Dean caught Charlie's eye and nodded. "I'm gonna call it a night," he said softly. "If she sleeps all night like that, she'll get an awful crick in her neck, and I'll have to hear about it all day." It was clear he was speaking from experience.

Charlie watched fondly as Dean expertly maneuvered his way out from underneath Julie, which caused her to stir, but not wake up fully. Then he easily scooped her up and nodded at his brother and friend before heading to his bedroom, cradling a sleeping Julie to his chest.

"He's very different now," Charlie said softly once Dean was gone.

Sam nodded. "Julie's changed him, that's for sure."

"It's a good change," she smiled.

"But not a permanent one. Trust me, I'm speaking from experience, if she dies again, he'll completely lose it. He won't survive it a second time." Sam swallowed. "I probably won't, either."

"So you won't lose her," Charlie said firmly. "Look, I know you guys. You'll find your way out of this mess. It will all turn out in the end."

"I don't know, Charlie," Sam admitted. "I'm not so sure. I think this time might just be too much for us…"

* * *

_Dean knew he had to be dreaming. He had stayed up next to Julie for hours, watching her sleep, and every time he drew anywhere near sleep, the fear of what could be coming snapped him back awake. But as the hours wore on, his body must have finally shut down. Because now he was standing outside the bunker's dungeon next to Sam, and he had no idea how he'd gotten there._

_Dean frowned in confusion. He had expected Michael, not his brother. So maybe this really was just a normal dream…_

_Sam looked horrible. His eyes were full of worry and pain, and he looked pale and tired. His hair was unbrushed, his shirt was buttoned wrong, and grief was etched into every line of his face. Dean recognized this Sam. This had been the man he had seen as a demon when Sam walked into that bar and saw him alive and demonic for the first time. This was the listless man that had gone through the motions of life that month that Julie had been dead. But Dean wasn't dead right now which meant..._

_She was._

_So maybe this really was Michael, sending him a vision of the future. In just a few weeks, this very well could be his life. Maybe this was a warning from the archangel what would happen if he didn't say yes by the time Michael rose._

_"__Are you sure you're going to be able to handle going in there?" Sam frowned, his eyes searching Dean's._

_Dean frowned. "The dungeon? Sure. Believe me, Sammy, I can handle anything."_

_"__I'm really sorry to ask you to do this, but I just couldn't handle her anymore," Sam admitted guiltily, looking down. "That demon…she knows just what buttons to push to set me off."_

_So there was a demon in there. And clearly a pretty nasty one if she could unhinge Sam like this._

_"__I'll take care of her," Dean said darkly, pulling out his demon-killing knife. He could feel Sam's worried eyes on him as he opened the door to the dungeon, stepped inside, and shut it behind him._

_He wasn't sure why his brother was so worried until he looked up and saw the demon before him._

_She was tied to a chair that was bolted to the floor in the middle of a devil's trap. She was wearing tight, ripped jeans, an incredibly low-cut, sexy red tank top, and a black leather jacket. The same leather jacket Sam had given her. She had the same blond curls, the same beautiful face, the same big, blue eyes. But they weren't innocent and sweet anymore. They were cold and cruel and terrifying._

_Dean was frozen in place, just staring at her. "Hello, handsome," the demon purred. "I was wondering when you were going to come visit little old me."_

_"__Julie?" he finally choked out, hoping that somehow this was all a trick._

_"__Not exactly," she smirked, and then her blue eyes flashed completely black._

_That horrific sight finally snapped him out of his stupor. In an instant, Dean had crossed the room and was pressing the knife to her throat, eyes murderous. "Who are you?" he growled._

_"__Julie," she replied, smiling calmly despite the fact that, with just a little more pressure, he could slice her neck wide open._

_"__No, you're not," Dean growled. "You're some sick demon who thought it would be funny to possess her body and mess with me. But in reality, it's just going to end with me killing you. Now who are you?"_

_"__Julie," she repeated, smiling angelically at him._

_"__She's dead," Dean said, because he knew in this dream world she really was. "Now who are you?"_

_She leaned forward, and Dean moved the knife with her, not willing to cut her throat yet. She stopped with her face a couple inches from his and whispered, "Julie."_

_"__She's dead!" he roared._

_"__I was," she agreed. "And then I was tortured for a hundred years by Beelzebub in hell, while you sat on your ass for a year and failed to save me. But eventually I broke. I said yes to Beelzebub, and then he and Lucifer trained me up to be one of the best damn demons there is."_

_"__You're not her," Dean said, but he sounded a lot less convinced now._

_"__Oh, you wish that was true," she smirked. "Because then you wouldn't have to live with the fact that the woman you loved is now a demon all because of you."_

_Dean pulled his knife away from her throat and turned away from the demon, running his hands through his hair in a desperate attempt to stay calm. He just had to keep breathing, he just had to think of a way out of this…_

_"__Oh, poor Dean," the demon behind him crooned. "You really didn't know, did you?"_

_"__This isn't real," Dean gasped suddenly, remembering that this was just a dream. Julie wasn't a demon. She was asleep next to him, his real body, not this dream one. And she was safe…for now at least._

_But this demon in front of her looked and talked like her, and it was near impossible to ignore. And she wouldn't just leave him alone._

_"__Oh, trust me, honey, it is very, very real," the demon smirked suggestively._

_"__Don't call me that," he snapped, finally turning back around to face her._

_She laughed, and it was Julie's high, clear laugh, but it was mocking and cruel at the same time. "Oh, how pathetic are you? I've been dead for a year and a half and you still haven't even started to move on, have you?"_

_"__Shut up," he growled._

_"__Ooh, I like it when you get all bossy and aggressive like that," the demon laughed. "Do it again."_

_"__I said shut up!" Dean snarled, and before he quite knew what he was doing, he had stormed over to the demon and he had his demon-killing knife pointed right at her heart._

_"__Oh, Dean…" she said seductively, smiling up at him, but there was darkness in her eyes that overshadowed his attraction to her. "I forgot how sexy you can be."_

_He hadn't realized how close he was to her until he felt her hand, which was tied to the arm of the chair, groping at his side. "Get off me!" he said gruffly, pulling away from her and staggering out of the devil's trap._

_"__Oh, I think you want me to do just the opposite, don't you?" she called._

_Dean couldn't take it anymore. Every time he looked at her, love swelled up in him, and then she opened her mouth, and he was filled with hatred for the monster she was, but also hatred for himself in letting her become that. He needed to get out of here, he needed to clear his head, he needed to be away from her…_

_He had almost reached the door when she called, "Oh, are you going to get Sam? Oh, goodie! You know, if you're too good to sleep with me now that I'm a demon, maybe he will. He's got a history of that, you know, and I always have wanted to have sex with him…"_

_Dean stiffened. He knew the demon was toying with him, that she knew every word to say and button to press to unhinge him. But hearing those words out of Julie, his Julie, even if she wasn't anymore, still filled him with pain and rage._

_He didn't even notice that his fists were clenched painfully tight until she commented, "Well, that made you angry, didn't it, Dean?"_

_There were a few other things he hadn't noticed, too. Like how, when the demon had been groping at his side, she had managed to swipe a small knife off of his belt. And while he was turned away, she had easily cut herself free and then scraped a line through the devil's trap spray-painted on the floor…_

_Dean was about to open the door and leave when her voice snapped, "You know what makes me angry, Dean?" And her voice was dangerously close…_

_Dean whirled around, but he was too late. In an instant, the demon had him pinned against the wall, a hand clamped over his mouth, and her other hand pointing the knife she had stolen at his heart._

_"__It made me angry when the man I loved failed me," she growled, her voice quiet and deadly. "It made me angry when he let me die, and then let me suffer in endless agony for a century."_

_Dean wasn't sure if this demon was making him feel guilty or terrified. But either way, he knew he was in deep trouble._

_"__But thankfully, my Lord Beelzebub and my master were able to use that anger," she continued at a whisper, leaning in closer to him. "They taught me to focus it so it could make me stronger. They said to focus all my anger and pain and hate on one thing. And I chose you."_

_She pulled her hand away from his mouth, but Dean just stared her down, jaw clenched. The demon popped a couple of buttons off of his shirt with the knife and then pushed the fabric aside so the knife tip rested over his anti-possession tattoo. "Go ahead, Dean," she said nastily. "Beg. Beg me not to torture you for as long as they tortured me. Beg me not to kill you." Dean stayed stoically silent, but she only grinned. "Beg me not to peel this symbol off of your skin and possess you and walk into that other room and carve the flesh off of your little brother."_

_"__Don't touch him," Dean growled, trying to throw her off of him._

_The demon grinned. "Looks like you just decided his fate," she smirked, and she began to cut his tattooed skin._

_And Dean yelled at the top of his lungs, "Sammy, she's free, run-"_

_"__Bad move, Dean," the demon snarled, her beautiful eyes flashing black. And then the broken shell of the woman he loved drove a knife through his heart._

* * *

_Dean woke with a start, sitting straight up in bed. His skin was slick with sweat and his heart was pounding, pumping blood through his body so quickly he could hear a dull roar. But none of that was as bad as the sight of a murderous, black-eyed Julie driving a blade through his heart._

_"…__Dean?" a familiar voice moaned sleepily, and Dean flinched at the sound of her voice. Julie noticed how he jumped, and she reached out and touched his arm, causing him to flinch again._

_Julie sat up in bed, pushing her curls out of her face so she could study him better. "Honey, what's wrong?" she asked gently._

_Dean studied her beautiful, open, sweet face for a moment. This was Julie. Not that twisted, broken, demonic shell of her. And she would never become that thing. He wouldn't let her._

_"__Bad dream," he finally got out._

_"__I'm so sorry," she whispered, drawing close to him and hugging him tightly. Dean sighed and relaxed into her touch for a long moment._

_When Julie pulled away from Dean, she stroked his arm and asked softly, "Can I ask what it was about?"_

_"__You," he admitted after a moment. "I…I hadn't managed to save you, and…"_

_"__I went to hell," she guessed._

_"__Worse," Dean said flatly. "You survived hell. And you…you…"_

_"__Became a demon?" she asked, and there was something strange in her voice._

_Dean nodded mutely, unable to speak._

_"__You sure that was a dream?" Julie smirked, and when he turned to face her, her eyes were black as night._

_Dean scrambled away from her, rolling very ungracefully out of bed and grabbing the holy water he kept by the side of his bed. But by the time he had it in hand, the woman in his bed had vanished._

_Dean looked around wildly, but she had simply vanished. But someone else was now standing a few feet away from him._

_Dean jumped, and then groaned. "So it was you this whole time."_

_"__I apologize for my rather crude methods, Dean," Michael sighed. "But words didn't seem to be getting through to you. So I thought I'd show you instead."_

_"__You really thought putting me through hell by forcing me to see the woman I love a demon is going to get me on your side?" Dean snapped angrily, putting down the holy water so he had his hands free to punch this smug bastard._

_"__You won't be the one going through hell," Michael pointed out calmly. "She will." And suddenly Julie was standing next to him, in tattered clothes, with blood matting her hair and coating her skin and despair in her eyes._

_"__Dean, please, help me…" she sobbed, reaching out for him, and he saw that she was missing fingers._

_Dean turned away in disgust. "You sick son of a bitch-" he snarled._

_"__I am showing you reality, Dean Winchester!" Michael snapped. "And reality is that if you do not say yes when I rise, I will not be able to save her soul, and your girlfriend will become victim to my brother and his abominations. And considering how much my brother despises you, she will suffer like few have ever suffered just because you care for her."_

_"__Then why wouldn't you save her anyway?" Dean cried desperately, turning back to face him, and he was grateful to see that hellish vision of Julie was gone. "You're supposed to be one of the good guys!"_

_"__I serve the wishes of God and the laws of heaven, not one sinful human's wishes," the archangel said coldly._

_"__Well, if God is any kind of decent, he wouldn't let the best woman in the world go to hell because she had made the mistake of caring about me," Dean pleaded._

_"__Humans are given the right to free will, and your human chose to make that deal," Michael said flatly. "I will not break the laws of nature without a good reason. But if you agree to do me a service, I will do the same for you."_

_"__Michael…I can't just say yes to you!" Dean said desperately. "If I do, and Sam does too, the world ends. Billions of innocent people will die. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"_

_"__I serve God and heaven, not man," was his only reply._

_For a long moment, the two of them just glared at each other. "I will rise soon, and you are going to have to make a choice once and for all. And know that the fate of her soul rests in the balance. Because I doubt my brother will be so kind as to offer her release from hell." Michael's eyes were cold and deadly. "If you do not say yes on the day I rise, your Julie will go to hell, and before long, the dream I showed you? That will become reality."_

_And with that, he was gone._


	84. Chapter 84

**Chapter Eighty-Four**

Charlie woke up in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room, and for a moment, she thought she was in danger. But then she remembered the events of the last few days: being reunited with Sam and Dean, meeting Julie, almost losing Dean and Julie, killing a Wendigo, meeting an angel, and finding out that Julie had little over a month to live and then the world was going to end.

Once she remembered, she couldn't believe she had forgotten.

Charlie dragged herself out of bed and pulled on a sweatshirt over the tank top she had been sleeping in. Then she forced a comb through her bedhead before leaving the guest bedroom and heading to the kitchen for coffee.

She didn't even make it that far. She stopped in the main hall and stared at the three hunters who were already there. Sam and Dean both looked horrible, with pale skin, circles under their eyes, and wearing clearly haunted expressions. Julie didn't look much better as she fretted over them. Charlie watched in concern as Julie pressed a mug of coffee into Sam's hands, gently curling his fingers around the mug, and then squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. Sam hardly seemed to notice.

"You three don't look so good," Charlie said carefully, walking further into the hall. Neither brother looked up, but Julie met Charlie's eyes, her expression filled with worry and pain.

"They're not doing so well," Julie admitted softly when Charlie reached her side. "Lucifer and Michael have been bothering them for a while, but this time must have been intense. I've never seen them this shaken up."

Charlie stared intently at Dean. His eyes were unfocused, and his muscles were extremely tense. His hands were balled into fists, and they were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white.

Julie followed Charlie's line of sight and sighed. She settled into the chair next to Dean and gently took one of his hands in both of hers. "Dean," she said softly, and his eyes slowly came into focus, although they were still focused on the wall. "Dean, relax," Julie said gently, slowly prying his fingers apart. When she finally got his hand to relax, she saw deep marks from his nails digging into his palm.

"Dean, look at me," Julie whispered, stroking the side of his face gently. Dean finally tore his eyes away from the wall and looked at her, but he visibly flinched when his eyes met hers. Charlie frowned, confused why the sight of her would make him flinch, but apparently Julie knew.

"Hey, look at me," Julie insisted. "Actually look at me. Blue eyes, see? Not a demon."

"Not a…" Charlie repeated slowly, confused.

"That…that was the dream Michael gave me," Dean got out, and he was barely keeping his voice steady. "She was a demon."

"Oh," Charlie said softly.

"But I'm not," Julie said firmly. "And you know that."

Dean nodded a few times, although he didn't look entirely convinced. Julie stood up and kissed Dean's forehead. "Good, because I have to go help your brother now. You keep talking to Charlie, okay?"

Charlie sat down carefully next to Dean and started asking him arbitrary questions about what he wanted for breakfast and what he got for last Christmas. While Charlie kept Dean talking and engaged, Julie walked over to Sam and sat down in the chair next to him.

"Hi, Sam," Julie said gently. He didn't reply or acknowledge her at all, so she moved a little closer and said, "Sam, over here. Come on, Sam. Look at me."

Still, he didn't seem to notice her presence. Julie put her hand on his knee, and he seemed to notice she was there for the first time. "Sam, it's okay. Whatever he showed you…it's not real. Just look at me. I'm real."

And Sam did look at her. His eyes finally landed on her, and they were filled with pain. "He wouldn't kill you," Sam choked out.

Julie frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Normally he gets bored eventually and he just kills you and Dean," Sam whispered. "But he wouldn't. Not this time. He just kept…kept taking you apart, and he made Dean and me watch, and he wouldn't…he wouldn't just kill you…"

Julie took Sam's hands in hers and said firmly, "Sam, look at me. I'm fine. I'm fine, and so is Dean, and so are you. It was just a dream."

"For now," her best friend said darkly, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Julie and Charlie exchanged looks. "Alright, enough of that crap," Julie said firmly, standing up. "We're not going to sit around here feeling miserable and sorry for ourselves. We're going to do something."

"What exactly did you have in mind?" Dean asked wearily.

Julie looked to Charlie for help. Last night, Charlie had been able to cheer them up like even Julie couldn't. And right now, she needed that magic Charlie touch again.

"Alright, boys, get your lazy asses out of those chairs!" Charlie said brightly, standing up and clapping loudly. "We've got food to make before we can start our _Game of Thrones_ season two marathon."

Dean groaned. "But I can't even remember what happened in season one! It's been so long."

"Oh, I can give you a recap," Charlie said, a dangerous look in her eye, and Dean groaned again.

Dean and Charlie left the room, talking and bickering, but Sam stayed in his seat. Julie put a hand on his arm and said softly, "Sam, come on. Get up. Let's go do something."

"Julie, you're going to die," he said suddenly, and his voice was so intense and full of pain that she gasped a little.

"Sam, I…" she started after a moment, but she was at a loss for words.

Sam met her eyes, and there was so much pain in his beautiful, hazel eyes. "Lucifer was right. We've got no way to save you. You're going to die, and unless we figure out another way, you're going to go to hell."

"Then we'll find a way," she whispered, trying to hide her own fear.

"There is no way," her best friend said brokenly. "The only way is if I say yes, and-"

"Sam, if that is the only way, then I will rot in hell for the rest of eternity with a smile on my face," Julie said sharply. "You are not going to say yes to Lucifer and let him murder seven billion people just to save me."

"It would save Charlie, too," he whispered. "And Lucifer would bring back Bobby and my parents and Jess…everyone we've ever lost. He could bring back your parents and Jasper and you would all be safe…"

"For how long? For how long, Sam? You know his end game, you know it better than anyone! He wants to wipe out humanity, and he's not going to make any exceptions. He's just lying to you, trying to trick you, and you're starting to make me think it's working…"

"I just…I can't lose you," Sam got out brokenly. "Not again. And neither can Dean. If you die-"

"I know," Julie whispered, and there were tears in her eyes. "I know, Sam. But is you say yes-"

"I know," he whispered. "I won't."

And then the two of them sat in silence, leaning into each other and trying their best not to cry.

The day went better after that. Hard to see how it could go worse. But Charlie got everyone settled down and watching _Game of Thrones_ until that became too depressing, and then they watched old _Friends _episodes and laughed while Charlie messed around on her computer.

For lunch, Julie made sandwiches. For dinner, they left the bunker and drove to a pizza place in a nearby town and then went putt-putt golfing after that. When it got late enough, they even went to a bar and hung out there late into the night, actually laughing and having fun.

Dean slept better that night. He still had a couple nightmares, but it was nothing more than his usual run-of-the-mill stuff. He even had a nice dream, one of him and Julie, old and grey-haired, sitting in rocking chairs on their porch next to a grey-haired Charlie, who still chattered away, spouting Harry Potter facts and shouting, "What's up, bitches!"

Sam slept better as well. He fell asleep on the couch, and once he was asleep, Julie came by and wrapped him in a blanket. Subconsciously, he must have felt that, because she was there in his dreams. But she wasn't bleeding and broken and begging for death like she had been the night before. Julie was happy, smiling and laughing and getting him to chase her through grassy meadows. Eventually she fell, and Sam lay down next to her, and they laughed for a small eternity. Then they just read books next to each other, feeling warm and peaceful under the sun.

The next day, for once, Sam slept in. Dean and Julie did as well. When Julie finally did get out of bed, it was almost ten o'clock in the morning. It took a while for her to actually drag Dean out of bed, but once she did, they found that Sam had only just gotten out of bed as well. Charlie, on the other hand, had been up for hours.

And she had found them a case.

It was a very run of the mill case. Two days ago, a man vanished from inside a locked house. Neighbors reported no disturbances. The police couldn't explain it. Then the next day, another man, his friend, disappeared in a similar pattern, and this time, his wife reported seeing a pale figure in the house, although she had no idea who it would be.

"A ghost?" Dean guessed.

"Sounds like it," Sam shrugged.

"But what's the motive?" Julie frowned, leaning past Dean to see the computer screen.

"Can't tell from online," Charlie shrugged. "Guess we'll just have to drive there and get our hands dirty."

Sam and Dean exchanged hesitant glances. "I don't know, Charlie…" Dean started. "Julie doesn't have a lot of time left, and saving her should be our priority-"

"Innocent people are dying," Julie interrupted him. "And isn't it our job to step in when people are dying and regular old police aren't going to be able to save them?"

Dean looked to his brother for help, but Sam sighed wearily and gave in. "They're right, Dean."

He took a deep breath and then sighed. "Alright. Let's load up. We've got a long drive ahead of us."

* * *

Charlie slid into the backseat of the Impala, gripping two boxes full of salad in her hands. Julie laughed at the sight of Charlie trying to balance the food and climb into the car at the same time and took the food so Charlie could focus on getting in and shutting the door. Then they divided up the food and dug in.

"We'd better eat fast," Julie warned Charlie. "If Dean gets back and finds out we were eating in his car while he had to work, he'll be pissed. If he finds out we were eating healthy food…"

"He'll be outraged," Charlie guessed, and Julie nodded.

The two women had already gotten their share of research done. Sam and Dean, decked out in FBI suits, had gone to the homes of the two victims and discovered that they were both police officers in town. Then the two brothers had gone to the police station to learn more about the officers, while Charlie had hacked the local database to get some dirt on the men while Julie flirted with any officers she could find to try to get some information out of them. Charlie and Julie were both pretty successful; they both discovered that the two officers, Jeb Parham and Harry Michaelson had been the ones to find a wanted man who had shot and killed two young women and then gone on the run. When they had found him, they had shot and killed him, but the details had always been a little suspicious…

It was the perfect set up for a ghost that had been born out of a violent death and had a perfect reason to want revenge on the missing men. And they had gotten their research done with time to spare. So the girls had gone for food.

"Julie…do you think those officers are already dead?" Charlie asked quietly after they had been eating in silence for a while.

Julie took a long moment to swallow and think about her answer. "Honestly? Probably. But we have to do everything we can to get them back if there's any chance they're alive."

"Of course," Charlie said quickly. "Obviously. I just don't how we're going to find them."

But Julie had noticed something else, a more immediate problem. "Crap," she breathed, just as the two front seats of the Impala opened and two men in suits slid into the car.

"Why do I smell salad?" Dean snapped almost the second he was inside.

"No reason," Julie said innocently, trying to hide her almost empty container, but Dean had already turned around.

"Really?" he snapped. "While Sam and I were hard at work, you two were getting food? And _salad_? Really?!"

"For your information, we figured out who the ghost is and what his motive is," Charlie shot back.

"Yeah? So did we," Dean said cockily.

"His name is-" Sam started.

"Paul Allen?" Julie finished, smirking.

"I…yeah," Sam conceded. "And these guys caught and killed him at-"

"Down by the docks?" Charlie guessed, eyes twinkling.

Sam and Dean pouted for a moment, but then they sighed and Dean admitted, "Okay, you guys did a good job."

"We know," Charlie and Julie chorused.

"The problem is, they didn't bring his body back," Sam said. "So we can't salt and burn the bones."

"Fantastic," Julie grumbled. "So now what? We wait until dark and then go check out the docks?"

"Seems like the best way to find a way to stop him," Dean shrugged.

And so wait they did. The four hunters went back to their motel room and watched TV and talked and ate until it was after ten o'clock. Only then did they pile back into the Impala, loaded with shotguns full of salt, and drove to the docks.

They were deserted, which made searching for clues much easier. Almost immediately, Dean noticed a shed full of fishing supplies by the dock. It looked old and run-down and straight out of a horror movie set.

"If I was a ghost, I'd sure as hell be living in that creepy shed," he muttered, and he started towards it, Charlie right behind him. Sam and Julie trailed a few feet behind them, still looking for other clues.

Dean and Charlie stepped into the shed and looked around. It was small and cluttered, and in the dark it was hard to tell what all was inside. Dean turned on a flashlight and headed over to a wall loaded with sharp hooks and spears.

Charlie started to follow him, stepping away from the door, and then the door slammed and locked behind her.

Dean whirled around. "Did you do that?" he snapped at her.

"No!" Charlie cried, looking panicked.

Someone started pounding on the door. "Dean!" Julie cried. "Dean, I can't get it open!"

"Son of a-" Dean started to growl. But before he could storm over to the door, a huge shelf suddenly flew off of the wall and went sailing towards him and Charlie, crashing into them and pinning them helplessly to the floor. Dean's head cracked against the floor, and everything went black.

Julie shrieked as she heard a loud crash inside the shed. "Dean! Charlie! _Dean_!" she screamed, trying to kick down the door. Sam appeared at her side with his shotgun raised, about to blow the door off its hinges, but then Julie felt icy breath down the back of her neck, and the next second she was being thrown through the air.

"Julie!" Sam yelled as his best friend went flying and then cracked her head hard on the shed. She collapsed, unconscious, and Sam whirled around to point his gun at the ghost. But it wasn't the middle-aged man with a scar on his face that Sam had seen in pictures back at the station. It was a skinny, pale kid who couldn't be more than twenty. But despite looking pretty harmless, there was murder in his eyes.

So when he moved towards Sam, he didn't hesitate to fire.

The salt round dispersed the ghost, and the second he was gone, Sam whirled around and rushed to Julie's side. She lay crumpled on the ground, and there was blood on her head, and for a horrible moment, he couldn't tell if she was breathing.

Sam abandoned his shotgun and scooped Julie up. He pulled her head and shoulders into his lap and pushed her hair out of her face, trying to see how bad the bleeding was. There was a nasty cut, and she had hit her head pretty damn hard. Still, he doubted she was in immediate danger. Although she probably did have a concussion…

He needed to get her somewhere safe. Then he needed to get in that shed and find out what had happened to his brother. Once he had Dean by his side, the two of them could take out that ghost and then they could get Julie to a hospital and-

And then something heavy collided with the back of his head.

A dazed Sam slipped in and out of consciousness over the next few minutes. For a few seconds, he was vaguely aware of the feeling of ropes coiling tightly around his wrists and ankles. Then he was back to darkness. Later, he felt himself being dragged across the dock, and the wood planks cut into his back. And then he was out again. He almost woke up when he felt something heavy being attached to his tightly bound ankles, but he couldn't stay awake for very long.

But he was finally able to stay fully conscious when he was suddenly dunked feet-first into the icy ocean.

Spluttering and struggling wildly, Sam tried to keep his head above water. But he couldn't swim due to the heavy rock tied to his tightly bound feet. Vaguely, he realized that his arms were tied to something above his head. The dock. He was tied up underneath part of the dock.

Sam tried to scream for help, but another icy, salty wave crashed into him, completely submerging him in the water. When it passed, he could barely keep his mouth and nose above water, and he was struggling not to completely dissolve into panic. If he lost his cool, he would surely drown. He had to think, he had to figure out how to get out of this mess, he had to keep breathing-

"Who are you?" a nearby voice rasped, and Sam looked over to see two other men tied up similarly to him. They were both soaked in water, and they were deathly pale. The one furthest from Sam looked like he might have frostbite. But he recognized them both as the missing officers.

"I'm-" Sam started, and then another wave crashed, nearly drowning him.

Eventually it passed, and Sam coughed and coughed until he had enough water out of his lungs to breathe again. Another wave came, but this time Sam had braced himself. The second it was gone, he blurted out, "I'm Sam! I'm here to save you guys."

"Nice job," the officer closest to him, Harry Michaelson, said bitterly.

"Who did this-" Sam held his breath as another wave hit them. "To you?" he finished once it had passed.

"Cade Summers," the officer furthest from Sam, Jeb Parham, choked out, and his voice sounded weak.

"That's it, Jeb," Harry called just before another wave hit. "Just hang on," he added after it had passed.

"Who is Cade Summers?" Sam asked quickly just before another wave hit. This time some got in his mouth and he spent several seconds spluttering and choking after it had passed.

"A kid we killed," Harry admitted guiltily. "It was dark." Another wave hit. "He ran when we got here." Another wave. Jeb started choking and spluttering. "We were chasing a murderer and we thought-" Another wave.

"You thought he was the murderer," Sam guessed once the wave had passed.

He took their silence as a yes. So that explained why the ghost wanted revenge but wasn't the ghost he had been expecting. But then why hadn't he killed them?

"Why didn't he just kill us?" Sam asked once the next wave had passed.

"Don't know," Harry said. He paused for the next wave and then called, "I kind of wish he had."

Sam kind of had to agree. Already, his arms were burning from him straining to keep his head above water, his lungs and throat burned from saltwater, and he was freezing. He couldn't imagine having been here for hours, even days, like these two must have.

Sam jumped as suddenly a pale, murderous face appeared over the edge of the dock, eyes wide and furious. "Shut up!" the ghost hissed angrily at the, and Jeb moaned in fear, turning his head away. "One more word out of you three and I'll cut you all down and watch you sink just like you did to me!"

Then the ghost was gone. Sam was smart. He could put two and two together. The body had never been found, and of course Jeb and Harry wouldn't have wanted it to be found, since they shot the wrong guy. They must have thrown Cade Summers' body in the ocean once they realized their mistake. And now he was getting his revenge by making sure they drowned as well, but dragging it out to be as long and painful as possible.

Damn, was he in trouble.

* * *

When Julie woke up, it had started to rain.

It must have been raining for a while now, because her clothes and hair were soaked. She pushed her wet hair out of her face, and her fingers came away bloody.

She had a bad head wound, which explained why she felt like there was a woodpecker inside her skull. Julie grabbed the wall of the shed next to her and dragged herself into a standing position, but as soon as she stood up, her vision began to swim. She needed to sit down and try to stay conscious until Sam or Dean could take care of her.

But she was starting to remember now. There had been a loud crash in the shed and she hadn't heard from Dean since. And Sam…where was Sam?

Finally, she looked down and noticed a shotgun by her feet. Sam's shotgun. He wouldn't just leave that lying here.

Something had happened to Sam.

Trying not to panic, Julie picked up the shotgun and staggered over to the shed. She banged on the door a few times until a feeble voice called, "Help!"

"Charlie?" Julie cried hopefully.

"Julie? Oh, thank God!" her friend called.

"What happened?" Julie yelled.

"The ghost made the shelf fall on us," Charlie called back. "And Dean…he's unconscious. And there is no way I'm moving this thing off of us without him."

Dean was unconscious. Crap. Julie was in no shape to fight, and she had been depending on Dean being able to fight for her. But if he was out cold and Charlie was trapped…

It was all up to her to save Sam and the police officers, if they were still alive.

"Charlie…I'm so sorry to do this," Julie called guiltily. "But Sam's missing, and I'm afraid the ghost has him. I have to find him before…" Her throat closed up at the thought of losing Sam.

"Of course!" Charlie yelled. "Go! Save him!"

Julie took a deep breath and staggered away from the shed. She started walking along the dock, looking around in the darkness for any sign of Sam. But clouds were covering up the moon, and thick sheets of rain made it harder to see. Beside her, the ocean was getting steadily choppier, waves crashing into the dock more and more frequently. A storm was coming, and a pretty bad one from the looks of it.

Julie had been staggering through the pouring rain for a while when she felt his presence before anything else. Again, she felt that icy breath on her neck and she whirled around just in time to see a pale, skinny kid standing before her. He couldn't be more than twenty, and she wouldn't be intimidated by him except for the murder in his eyes.

"Get out of here, lady," he growled, fists clenched.

"Where's my friend?" she shot back, pointing the shotgun at him.

"He shot me," the ghost said flatly. "Just like those cops. So he's with them now."

"If you killed him, I swear to God-" Julie growled furiously.

"Get out of here," the ghost repeated. "You haven't done anything to me yet. Take those other two with you and get out of here now, before I don't have a choice."

"Not without Sam," she said, and she wasn't bending on that.

"I don't want to hurt you," the kid warned her, and he really looked like he meant it.

"So don't," Julie said in a gentler tone. "You're clearly not a murderer, not really. You probably just went to be at peace. And I can help you with that. I just need to know where my friend and those officers are, and then I can help you find peace. Please."

The ghost shook his head. "No. They killed me. I was just here, night fishing, and I heard gunshots and so I started running and then…and then…they shot me! They were after some other guy who killed some girls, and they didn't even check to see if I was him, they just shot me! And when they found out who I was, they didn't even come clean! They just dumped my body in the ocean and said they caught the murderer. My mom doesn't even know what happened to me. She thinks I just drowned."

"That's horrible," Julie admitted. "Believe me, they definitely deserve to be punished. But they don't deserve death, just like you didn't. They've got wives. One of them has kids. Don't do that to their families. And Sam? He's a wonderful guy. He would never hurt a good kid like you. Please, just let them go."

"It's too late," the ghost whispered. "With the storm…they're probably dead already."

"Tell me where they are!" Julie yelled desperately. "Now!"

"No!" he yelled back, and he lunged towards her.

Without hesitation, Julie fired, and the ghost dispersed.

Trying not to panic, Julie began to run up and down the dock, screaming Sam's name. The ghost had said they were probably dead already, and if she didn't find them soon…if she was too late to save Sam…

And then she heard a familiar voice shout, "Julie!" almost directly underneath her.

Julie dropped to her hands and knees and scrambled to the spot she had heard Sam's voice. "Sam!" she cried. "Sam, where are you?!"

Another wild wave crashed into the deck, and she thought she heard voices spluttering. "Under the dock!" Sam finally called just before another wave crashed.

"Under…oh, God," she whispered, finally understanding.

Without hesitation, Julie grabbed a knife off of her belt and swung herself over the dock. The water was icy and for a second she was frozen in shock. But she kept one hand tightly on the dock and pulled her head above water. And right there in front of her was…

"Sam!" she screamed, relieved. He was pale, soaked through with water, and his wet hair was stuck to his face. He must be freezing, in only a thin, button-down shirt, and he was trembling from the cold. She surged forward to start sawing through the ropes binding his wrists to the bottom of the dock.

A wave crashed against her back, but she took the brunt of the water, so for once Sam's head didn't go completely under. "No!" Sam yelled at her. "Get them out first," he explained, nodding towards the two men tied up next to him.

They looked even worse than Sam. One of them looked about to lose consciousness, and the other one was choking and spluttering on the latest mouthful of water he had swallowed. For a moment, Julie hesitated, wanting to make sure Sam got out of this horrible position first, but the missing officers, for it was clearly them, needed more help.

"Julie," Sam said, and then they both held their breath as the next wave crashed. Once it was gone, he said quickly, "We've got rocks tied to our feet." Another wave crashed, and then another, and then he finished, "Cut those off first, or we won't be able to swim."

She nodded and then swam over to the officer who looked about to fall unconscious. Another wave hit, and then she took a deep breath and dove underwater. Fighting the strong current, she found his feet and very carefully sawed through the rope tying a massive rock to his feet, making sure not to cut him. She cut through the rope not a moment too soon, for her lungs were bursting, and then she swam back to the surface. Thank God she was a strong swimmer.

Now it was easy to saw through the ropes binding his hands, and even in his weakened state, the officer managed to grab the edge of the deck and haul himself up, rolling to safety.

Julie swam over to the next officer and did the same for him. He was even conscious enough to choke out a quick, "Thanks," before he pulled himself to safety.

And then finally, Julie made it back to Sam. She stopped for half a second just to cup his soaked face in her hands and whisper, "Oh, thank God."

"I missed you too," he grinned, just before another wave hit. Once it was gone, he spluttered, "Now get me the hell out of here!"

Julie dove under water and quickly hacked through the ropes tying his feet to the rock. It sank deep into the ocean, but at least it wasn't taking Sam with it. Then she resurfaced and cut his hands free. They clung tightly to each other as another wave hit them, and once it was past, they both grabbed the edge of the dock and hauled themselves onto it.

For a moment, they both just lay on their backs, trying to breathe. Once they had recovered, Julie rolled over and threw her arms around Sam, clinging tightly to him like she wasn't planning on ever letting go.

"Oh, God, I thought…I thought…" she choked out.

Sam sat up, pulling her with him, and he stroked her soaked hair. "I know," he whispered. "But I'm okay. We're okay."

Julie smiled up at him and pushed his long, wet hair out of his face. "You smell like seawater," she informed him.

"You're one to talk," he shot back.

"If you two lovebirds could quit flirting, we need to get Jeb to a hospital," Harry called irritably. "He still looks like he's about ready to die."

"We're not together," Sam said shortly, finally letting go of Julie when he realized what they must look like.

"Sure you're not," Harry muttered with a roll of his eyes. "Look, can we just-?"

But suddenly, the ghost of Cade Summers flickered back into view only a few feet away. And he looked murderous.

Julie scrambled for the shotgun, but Cade waved his hand and the shotgun went skittering across the dock, far out of her reach. He took a step towards Sam, but Julie quickly scrambled to throw herself in front of him. "Don't hurt him," she said fiercely. "Don't hurt any of them."

"I told you I didn't want to hurt you," the ghost said darkly. "But you shot me and you let them go."

"Because they're not bad men," she said defensively. "And neither are you. There's a reason you didn't kill them."

"Because he's sadistic and he wanted us to die slowly and painfully?" Harry snapped.

Cade snarled at Harry, and he cowered. "Do yourself a favor and shut up," Sam snapped at him.

"You did it because you didn't really want to kill them," Julie insisted. "You're not a murderer. And as long as you haven't killed anyone, you're not truly a vengeful spirit. You can still find peace."

The ghost hesitated. "Cade, you're innocent," Sam said gently. "These men made a mistake when they killed you. Don't make their same mistake. Then you're no better than them."

Harry and Jeb wisely stayed silent, although Julie was pretty sure Jeb was actually unconscious. Cade hesitated looking torn. "How…how do I find peace?" he asked uncertainly.

"You just have to let go," Julie said gently. "Then you can move on to a better place."

Cade looked at the two officers and Sam one last time. "I…I hurt them," he finally choked out. "I…I don't know why I did that. I never wanted to hurt people."

"It's okay," Julie assured him. "It doesn't matter now. Just let go."

Cade stared at her for a long time, and then he smiled ever-so-slightly. "Thank you," he whispered, and then he began to glow.

Julie looked away as he grew brighter and brighter. By the time the light faded, when she looked back, he was gone. He was at peace.

Julie relaxed, and then suddenly everything came crashing down on her. Her throbbing head, her swimming vision, her exhausted, heavy, icy limbs. She leaned back into Sam's chest and almost immediately she started to drift off.

No, wait. It wasn't over. There were still hurt victims to get to the hospital, and an unconscious Dean and a trapped Charlie. She still had work to do.

"Come on," Sam said gently, hauling himself to his feet and then gently pulling her up with him. "We've got to get Dean and Charlie."

Harry woke Jeb up and the two of them staggered after Sam and Julie, who leaned heavily on each other. But by the time they got to the shed, it was clear Dean had woken up. Someone had kicked the door down, and Dean and Charlie stood just outside the shed, looking a bit banged up, but loaded with weapons and looking ready for a fight.

"Sammy!" Dean cried when he saw his brother staggering towards him, and Charlie yelled, "Julie!" The hunters abandoned their weapons and rushed over to their friends. Dean hugged his brother gratefully and then pulled away to study him. "Dude, what happened to you?"

"It's a long story," Sam grumbled.

Charlie hugged Julie. "Thank God you guys are okay," she sighed.

"Mostly," Julie grumbled. Then she met Dean's eyes, and everything else was forgotten.

Julie staggered into Dean's arms, and he held her tightly. "When Charlie said you had gone off to find Sammy and take on the ghost all on your own…I was so worried…" Dean admitted.

"I can take care of myself," Julie assured him, smiling a little.

"Trust me, I know," he smirked, and he bent to kiss her briefly. Then he pulled away and commented, "You taste like saltwater."

"Wonder why," she grumbled.

"Wow, you're right," Harry said drily to Sam as he watched Dean and Julie kiss. "You two really aren't together."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Come on, guys," he sighed. "We need to get these two to a hospital. In fact, we probably all could use a patch up."

And so the four hunters and the two people they had saved staggered off to the Impala to drive to the hospital with another successful hunt under their belt.

* * *

**Author's Note: **First off, I'd just like to apologize for how long this update took. Lately I've been falling behind on when I would like to update because of how crazy busy school and the holidays are making me. I will try to update at least once a week but I can't guarantee anything, sadly. On a different note, I want to say that I'm really loving just having Charlie as part of the team dynamic. I wish she had gotten to work with the boys more on the show. However, nothing good can last forever, and pretty soon I'll have to move on from "happy" hunts with Charlie and the gang. We're getting near the end, after all. And I hope you Sam girls out there enjoyed a little more Sam-time this chapter. As a Dean girl myself (if you can't tell) I tend to focus more on the older brother, but I love Sam too and want him to get his fair share of adventures and predicaments. Also, I love writing the dynamic between Julie and Sam because it's so messy and codependent and close. Anyway, I've rambled long enough-I hope you all enjoyed and had a happy Thanksgiving!


	85. Chapter 85

**Author's Note: **Again, sorry for the wait guys. Life is craaaaazzzzzyyyyyy busy. And also...I am so, so sorry.

* * *

**Chapter Eighty-Five**

Dean woke up early that morning, before seven. He didn't get up, though. He just opened his eyes and stared at the woman who was peacefully asleep on his arm.

Julie was a firm believer that Dean's bicep was the exact right size and shape for a pillow. More often than not, she would fall asleep with his arm under her head. He never minded, though. It gave him an excuse to be close to her, even if his arm did fall asleep sometimes.

But this morning wasn't like any of those other mornings. Because this morning, he woke up with only one thought on his mind.

One month left.

For a girl who only had a month to live, Julie looked pretty peaceful. For once, she wasn't trapped in the middle of a nightmare. Her face was relaxed, her lips curved up in the tiniest bit of a smile. Dean knew why she was able to sleep like this. Late last night, Dean had called Cas and, even though he was busy, asked him to pop down to earth just long enough to give Julie sweet dreams. The nightmares were getting steadily worse, and she deserved at least one more good night of sleep.

Actually, she deserved a lot better. She deserved to live a long, happy life, to have kids and grandkids and great-grandkids, and to die peaceful and happy. But Dean couldn't give her that.

But Cas could at least give her one peaceful night.

Dean wasn't sure how long he just lay there, studying her. She was so goddamn beautiful. If Dean was being honest with himself, he had probably slept with women who were more traditionally "hot", considering he had slept with models and actresses whose entire job was to look perfect. But no one he had ever known was as beautiful as Julie Carters. And no girl he had ever known deserved a long and happy life more than this one.

"That's creepy," Julie muttered sleepily, and Dean suddenly realized that her eyes were open a crack. She lifted her head off of his arm so he could move it around and asked, "How long have you been staring at me?"

Dean looked away, a little embarrassed. "I, uh…"

And then Julie was nuzzling close to him, tucking her head into the dip between his shoulder and his neck. Her lips brushed the soft skin of his throat as she said, "Oh, I don't care, moron. I'm just teasing you."

Dean wrapped his arms tightly around her slender frame, so tight he was worried he was crushing her. She felt so small and breakable in his arms right now. How on earth could she take on demons and monsters and hellhounds when she was this delicate?

Julie absently traced her fingers over Dean's bicep. "You okay?" she whispered.

"No," he said bluntly. "You?"

"I'm not so bad," she sighed. "Cas gave me a good night's sleep, and I got to wake up next to you." She gave him a sly smile, and he couldn't help but smile the tiniest bit back.

Julie pulled close to him again, running her fingers over his chest and kissing his jaw and his neck and behind his ear. Dean closed his eyes and tried to relax into her touch, but something was holding him back.

And then suddenly Julie sat up. "What's wrong?" she asked him bluntly, staring down at him.

Dean dragged himself into a sitting position and ran a hand down his face, trying to scrub away all of his dark thoughts. "You know what," he mumbled.

Julie sighed. "God, I wish you would just let yourself be happy every once in a while, instead of dwelling on what's coming."

"How can I be happy-?" Dean started, irritated.

"One of your closest friends has been living with us for two weeks, having fun and going on hunts with us," she started. "Normally, you'd be over the moon right now. We've saved a dozen people at least in the last two weeks, we've watched at least half of your favorite movies, actually had fun…"

"And we've made no progress whatsoever on a way to find you," Dean said flatly. "So no, I can't just be happy."

Julie sighed wearily. "You should go back to bed, get some sleep," she told him gently. "You couldn't have gotten more than four or five hours."

"I'm already up," he said flatly.

"Well, I'm gonna shower," she said brightly, standing up. "And you can either keep sitting out here pouting and acting like I'm already dead, or…" She smiled slyly at him before turning away and heading towards the bathroom. Dean watched as she easily shed her clothes and called airily, "You could join me."

Yeah, there was no question. Long ago, Julie had figured out that sometimes there was only one way to get Dean out of one of his moods, and she was not afraid to use it. And it sure hadn't failed her yet.

It was at least another hour before those two ever made it out of their bedroom, Julie with her wet hair piled up on top of her head and Dean chasing after her, trying to lure her back into their bed. Julie was on a mission, though. She made a beeline for the coffee pot and began pouring herself a cup, laughing lightly as Dean came up behind her and kissed her neck while she worked. She didn't give in, though, and she gave no acknowledgement of his presence other than pouring another cup of coffee for him.

Finally, Julie turned around and kissed Dean back for a brief moment before gently pushing him a couple inches back. "Easy, tiger," she laughed. "We've got things to get done today."

She pushed a cup of coffee into his hands, and Dean finally gave up on what he had already known was a futile mission anyway. And not a moment too soon either, because Sam had just walked into the kitchen, and even though he was no longer crazy about Julie, he still was a bit uncomfortable around them when things got a little too PG-13, like any normal person would be.

"Hey, guys," Sam said brightly, smiling at them. He was still in jogging clothes, and he had clearly just gone for a run outside the bunker. "You're both up pretty early."

"Clearly not as early as you," Julie replied. "How was your run?"

"Cold and snowy," he replied, and for emphasis, he ran his hand through his damp hair, which was full of melting snow. Julie laughed.

"You're the crazy one who decided to go run outside before the sun was even up," Dean shot back.

The three of them talked for a while longer while Julie poured Sam a cup of coffee, but eventually Dean decided to go get started on some research, just in case there was some way out of Julie's deal that he had somehow missed.

The second he was gone, Sam set down his coffee and stepped closer to Julie. "How are you doing?" he asked her softly, eyes warm and sad with concern.

"Not good," she admitted, her fingers pulling and twisting at the hem of her shirt. "Cas helped but…a couple nightmares snuck in last night. Thankfully, I don't think they woke Dean."

"Are you seeing things yet?" Sam asked.

"Not yet," she breathed, relieved. "I've probably got a few more days, maybe even a couple weeks if I'm lucky."

"Charlie's been doing everything she can," her best friend reminded her.

"I know."

"And I've been looking more into that…alternative way we talked about," he continued.

"I'm starting to think that's our only alternative," Julie admitted. "He's getting worse every day. Seems like the only thing I can do now to cheer him up is to have sex-"

"Please, don't give me any details on that," Sam begged her, and she laughed lightly.

"Are you ever going to tell him how you're really feeling?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Probably not. If he's this bad when he thinks that I'm doing okay…"

Sam nodded a couple times. "When do you want to tell him about the other way?" he asked carefully.

"Never?" Julie said hopefully. Then she sighed. "Soon. It'll have to be soon, or we won't have time. I just…I'm not ready to say goodbye. I'm not ready to lose you yet, or him, or-"

"I know," Sam said softly, dragging Julie into a tight hug. She buried her face in his shirt. "Believe me, I know," he whispered. "But I can't think of any other way."

Eventually, Julie emerged from Sam's chest and cleared her throat. She arranged her face into an almost convincing smile and said, "Come on. Let's go see what Dean's up to and see if Charlie's up yet."

And they walked out of the kitchen together, not knowing that the next time they would walk into the kitchen, everything would be different.

* * *

Charlie sighed as she studied her friend. Sam and Julie had gone into the bar a few minutes ago to do some investigating on the new case Charlie had found the night before, but Dean had opted to stay outside. And apparently to sit on a park bench and glare at the ground like it was the demon Julie had sold her soul to.

She sighed and walked over to Dean, plopping down next to him and saying dryly, "You know, no matter how hard you glare at the ground, I don't think it's gonna change anything."

Dean looked up, a little surprised. "I thought you went in with those two," he grumbled.

"What, and leave my friend out here all alone when he clearly needs to not be alone?" Charlie said in a joking, lighthearted tone, but there was genuine concern in her eyes.

Dean sighed. "I'm fine, Charlie-" he started.

"You're not, so don't even start with that crap," she said shortly. "And that's perfectly understandable. I know I sure wouldn't be fine if the woman I loved only had a month to live."

"I just…I don't get those two," he said, frustrated. "All I care about is saving her, Charlie. I know it's not healthy, but that's all I can think about, all that matters. Lucifer could rise and the world could burn and I probably wouldn't even notice as long as I could save her."

"Yeah, that's not healthy," Charlie said flatly. "But that does seem to be what you do, Dean. You pick like four people and then you love them so wholeheartedly and unconditionally that when you lose them…it destroys you."

"But then somehow I pick myself up and keep swinging, yeah, I know," Dean grumbled. Then he turned head and locked his green eyes right on her, and the pain and absolute terror in his eyes broke Charlie's heart. "But, Charlie, I don't…I don't think I'm going to be able to do that if I lose her. I already lost her once, and it nearly killed me. It probably would have if she hadn't come back when she did. The only thing that kept me from losing it completely was Sammy. I just…I couldn't let him down. But if I can't save her, and I can't stop Lucifer and he gets Sammy, I…"

Charlie put her hand over Dean's, because his was shaking. "Dean, that's not gonna happen," she said firmly. "You know that. Come on! You're Dean freaking Winchester! You'll find a way to save Julie and the three of you and Cas will stop Beelzebub from raising Lucifer, and you can change your official titles from three-time saviors of the world to four."

Dean was silent for a long time, and Charlie began to worry. And then suddenly he looked at her and smirked, "We've got to be past three times by now."

"I honestly wouldn't be surprised," Charlie laughed, so relieved to see a bit of light in his eyes.

They both laughed, and, feeling encouraged, Charlie continued to crack jokes until she had Dean full out laughing instead of half-hearted chuckling. Dean looked at his friend with light in his eyes, and then suddenly he surprised her by throwing an arm around her and dragging her in for a bone-crushing hug.

"Dean—you're—killing me!" Charlie gasped overdramatically, and he loosened up a bit with a light laugh.

Charlie wrapped her arms around Dean and hugged him back. She loved this guy. This poor, broken, tortured, funny, charming, friendly, nice, goofy, wonderful guy. He had always been there for her whenever she needed him, and now she wanted to return the favor. He was going through so much right now, and she just wanted to be able to take away his pain.

"Thanks, Charlie," Dean said softly after a while, still hugging her tightly. "I really needed to just laugh right now."

"Of course, Dean," she said, her throat oddly tight. "I'm glad to help."

Dean released her so he could look her in the eyes. "You really have," he told her earnestly. "Like, a lot. These last two weeks would have been hell without you, but you've made them almost enjoyable for me."

"Almost," she repeated, mock-hurt.

"Well, there's the whole issue of the woman I love being damned-"

"Kidding! I'm glad I was able to help you, Dean," Charlie said honestly. "You've helped me so many times…it's kind of nice to return the favor."

Dean threw an arm around Charlie's shoulder and held her close to his side, and she leaned into him, laughing a little. Touching him was a very nice feeling. In a very non-sexual way. He was a little too not-a-woman to be her type. But he was warm and solid and he held her close, and it was a comforting feeling.

When Sam and Julie came out of the bar a couple minutes later, Dean and Charlie were still sitting like that on the bench, talking and laughing softly while they waited for the other two hunters. Julie smiled fondly at the sight of an actual smile on Dean's face. She was so grateful to Charlie for her ability to make him smile no matter what was going on. She had lost that ability about the same time he found out she had sold her soul for him. But it was nice to see Dean looking actually happy.

Julie and Sam walked over to the other two hunters, both of them smiling at Dean. Charlie noticed them first and asked, "Any luck?"

"Maybe," Julie said hopefully. "The bartender said some blond, hot guy came in here last night and hit on the victim a lot."

"Did she leave with him?" Dean frowned.

"He never saw either of them leave," Sam said. "He could have just not been paying attention, and it could have been perfectly normal, but she was found dead later that night-"

"And we found sulfur in the bar," Julie continued darkly.

Charlie and Dean both stood up, expressions dark and resolute. "Good job, kiddo," Dean told Charlie. "Looks like you found us a case after all."

* * *

Charlie closed her laptop, put her head in her hands, and groaned loudly.

She'd been hard at work for four hours searching relentlessly for any clue on why a demon might be town or where she could find him, and here she was, four hours later, with nothing to show for it. Nothing but a lot of frustration and a desperate need to escape this motel room.

Dean had gone out a couple hours ago to follow the only lead they had found, a man the demon had been seen talking to at the bar where he had picked up that poor girl who was now dead. And Sam and Julie had ducked out to get food, feeling antsy. Charlie was really regretting not going with them right now. She needed to get out, she needed to talk to actual people-

And right on cue, she heard a key turning in the door. Charlie hopped to her feet as Sam and Julie came into the room. Normally, the two of them were adorable, laughing and chatting happily whenever they returned from doing something together. But now they were both sober and quiet, and Charlie knew why.

Great. Looked like she had more people to cheer up.

"Wow, you two look just overjoyed," Charlie sighed as she seized them up. Sam shot her a pleading look, and she immediately felt bad for giving them crap.

"You were talking about it again, weren't you?" she sighed, and Julie nodded, unable to meet her eyes.

"I've been looking into it," Charlie assured them. "And with Sam's firsthand knowledge of the whole thing, I think it should be possible. We've just got to convince Dean that it's our only option."

"So you're saying it's not possible," Julie muttered, dumping some Chinese food on the table Charlie had been working at.

Charlie opened her mouth to protest, but she knew that convincing Dean to agree to their plan was going to be beyond impossible. The only way he would ever say yes would be if he had lost all hope in saving Julie, and she didn't ever want to see that happen.

"We'll keep looking for another way, guys," Charlie assured them. "And maybe we'll find one. But right now we've got a more immediate problem."

"Right, this demon we're hunting," Julie agreed.

"There was something off about the sulfur at the scene," Sam frowned. "It's been bothering me."

"What?" Charlie asked.

"There was way too much of it to be just one demon," Julie answered for Sam. "And these deaths have been really obvious, even for a demon. It's almost like-"

"Like they wanted to be found," Sam finished darkly.

"Cheery," Charlie grumbled. "Well, until Dean gets back, I vote we eat this Chinese food, watch some crappy motel TV, and distract ourselves."

Julie and Sam agreed, and the three friends settled down on motel beds to eat their cheap takeout and watch some old Western films. Charlie found herself enjoying the movies, and she knew Dean would love them. Even Sam and Julie seemed to be having a good time, especially when they started playing drinking games to spice up the movie.

Julie was laughing, actually really laughing with a real smile spread across her face when her phone started to ring.

She fished it out of her pocket and saw Dean's name flashing back at her over a picture of him with his arm around her, an honest smile on his face. That picture had been taken almost two years ago, back when they were happy, or as happy as hunters could be. For a moment she was frozen, just staring at past-Dean and past-Julie, so much happier and better off than they were now…

"Who is it?" Sam prompted her gently, and she realized she was just staring at her phone.

Julie cleared her throat. "Uh, Dean," she said quickly, before answering the call. "Hey, honey, I was just about to call," she said, forcing brightness into her tone. "When are you getting back?"

"I don't think Dean will be coming back anytime soon, _honey_," a familiar voice purred, but it was not the voice she was expecting. It was the voice that belonged to the worst creature she had ever known.

"No," Julie breathed involuntarily, and in an instant Sam was at her side, eyes wide and concerned. Charlie appeared at her other side and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Something wrong, Juliet?" Beelzebub asked innocently, and Julie was horrified to feel tears springing up in her eyes.

"What have you done to him?" Julie growled, and she was proud that her voice was steady and filled with fury.

"I haven't killed him yet, if that's what you're asking," the king of the Knights of Hell answered her. "In fact, I haven't done anything to him. I've been letting my dear sister have a little fun with him. She really hates your boyfriend, by the way. I would hate to be him right now-"

"Beelzebub, I swear to God I will kill you myself!" Julie snarled angrily, because if she didn't get angry she would fall apart.

"Beelzebub?!" Sam repeated, horrified, and Charlie went white as a sheet.

"He has Dean," Julie choked out to her friends. "He and Apollyon…they set us up."

"You got me," Beelzebub chuckled. "And now I'm going to tell you exactly where I am, and you and Sam and that redhead you've been running around with are all going to come and meet me, or I'll quit letting my sister go easy on him and I'll deal with dear old Dean myself."

"Don't touch him!" Julie cried, and she tried to sound angry, but just came out desperate.

"Compelling argument, but…I think I will anyway," Beelzebub purred. "Unless you want to come join me, darling. I'll even let you and Sam take his place and he can go free."

Julie looked to Sam desperately. Normally, she was a tough, composed, independent, sharp, brave woman who could easily handle being blackmailed by a demon, even a Knight of Hell at that. But this was the very Knight of Hell who had demonstrated his mastery of torture on her for ten years, and who now had the man she loved at his mercy.

Sam gestured for her to hand him the phone, and Julie passed it mutely to him, because she knew if she tried to say another word she would burst into tears. "Beelzebub, let my brother go or so help me God-" Sam started to growl angrily.

"Where did Julie go? I was so enjoying torturing her with the fact that any second I can rip her pretty little boyfriend apart and take her from him," the demon whined.

"You're not going to touch him," Sam snarled. "You're going to return him to us without a scratch."

Beelzebub laughed. "It's a little late for that, isn't it, Dean-o?"

"He's there with you right now?" Sam asked, trying not to panic.

"Of course! I wanted him to hear darling Juliet panic and cry and beg me not to hurt him," Beelzebub laughed.

"You son of a bitch," a horribly familiar voice snarled, and although it was distant, Sam had no doubt who it was. His heart seized painfully when he detected the pain in his voice.

"Well, that wasn't very nice," Beelzebub scolded his victim.

"Sammy, don't come, get Cas and get somewhere safe-" Dean started to yell, and then suddenly he was screaming in pain.

"Dean!" Sam shouted, panicked. Julie grabbed his arm, and Sam didn't have to look at her to know that she was surely panicking and near tears.

"Oops," a woman's voice said innocently. "My knife must have slipped."

"If you killed him-" Sam tried to growl at Apollyon, but his voice cracked.

"Oh, I wouldn't kill my precious Dean that quickly, now would I?" she asked innocently. "He's got to suffer for weeks before I'll be content to let him die."

"Don't hurt him!" Sam said quickly. "I'll come."

"Sam, no!" Charlie and Julie both gasped.

"You want me, fine, you got me," Sam snapped, ignoring them. "I'll surrender if you just let him go."

"Sammy, no," Dean's voice came, but it was no more than a weak gurgle.

"Hmm…see, that's not good enough," Beelzebub said coldly. "Sam, I don't think you understand. I really hate your brother. He's thwarted my plans time and time again, he was instrumental in taking down my lord, and he's killed five of my siblings. Now, granted, I hated my siblings, but they were still family, and you know how that is. And Polly here? She _really _hates the guy. First he wouldn't sleep with her when he was human. Then he wouldn't sleep with her when he was a demon-"

"Would you shut up?" Apollyon snapped at Beelzebub.

"And _then_ he chopped her up and left her to rot in the ground after rejecting her _again_," Beelzebub continued. "So, understandably, my sister wants to devote the next decade or so of her existence making sure your brother is endlessly miserable and never finds even a moment of peace. So, overall, we're really not the kind of people you want to be leaving big brother along with."

"Then let him go," Sam growled. "I told you, I'll surrender."

"And I told you that's not enough," the Knight of Hell snapped. "You're very valuable, sure. But we also really hate Dean Winchester. So in order for us to let him walk free, I'm going to require that you, that redhead, and my darling Juliet all surrender and take his place. And while we're at it, through in that upstart Castiel too. I've been itching to see what it'll take to break him. And what demon doesn't want to take an angel apart, see what makes it tick?"

"No…" Dean moaned. "Sammy, I'm not worth it…"

And Sam knew Dean was right. Logically, it made no sense to sacrifice three people and an angel for one man who would end up getting himself killed anyway if he was left alone. And knowing the Knights of Hell, they wouldn't really let Dean go.

But it was Dean. It was his big brother. And he couldn't leave Dean to die like that.

"Well, Sam? What'll it be?" Beelzebub asked.

Sam was frozen. He couldn't make this choice. He just couldn't. He could not let Julie and Cas and Charlie die for Dean. That wasn't their job.

"No," Sam finally got out. "No, they won't be coming. You're getting me or you're getting no one." He head Julie gasp a little, but he ignored her.

"Man, you must really hate your brother, Sam," Beelzebub said airily. "Unless you want me to drag your brother back down to hell, you're going to want to change that answer."

"Think about it, Beelzebub," Sam said firmly. "I'm Lucifer's vessel. And if you get me now, I don't doubt that you can get me to say yes by the time he rises. And I'd say being able to hand your lord a willing vessel is a hell of a lot better than getting revenge on one guy. Besides"-Sam's throat closed up for a moment, and he struggled to force the words out-"if Dean loses both me and Julie…he'll lose it. He'll kill himself trying to get us back. And isn't that a better revenge anyway?"

"Sam, no," Julie whispered. "You can't be serious."

"I am serious," he told her softly. "I'm sorry, Julie. But I can't let all of you die. Better just me."

Sam turned away from her before he could see the dangerous look in her eyes.

"Well?" Sam asked Beelzebub after a long silence. "What do you say?"

"I say…watching Dean slowly lose everyone around him is a far worse punishment than anything I could ever do to him," Beelzebub chuckled. "You're more evil than I gave you credit for, Sam. No wonder you're his vessel."

Sam ignored that jab and snapped, "Do we have a deal?"

Sam frowned and looked up when he heard the sound of fluttering wings. He looked up and saw Charlie and Julie standing side-by-side, wearing guilty but resolute expressions. And he saw Castiel standing two feet away from him wearing a matching expression.

Before Sam could even open his mouth to ask what was going on, Cas raised two fingers and touched them to his forehead. Sam's eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell back onto the bed, unconscious, before he could ever hear Beelzebub smirk, "We have a deal."

Julie heard the line click dead, and a few seconds later, Sam's phone buzzed as he received a text message containing the address of where Dean was being held. She took a deep breath and turned away from the sight of her unconscious best friend to address Castiel.

"Thanks, Cas," she said softly, still a little shell-shocked from how quickly everything had changed.

"How did he know to come here?" Charlie frowned, lost and overwhelmed.

"She prayed to me and warned me of Sam's plan to take Dean's place," the angel said darkly. "Now, obviously we can't allow Lucifer's vessel to surrender to the very demons who will use him to raise the devil and destroy the earth. And we _certainly _can't let _Sam _surrender."

"So you knocked him out instead of talking with him?" Charlie frowned.

"You saw him," Julie said darkly. "He wasn't going to change his mind."

"And besides," Cas added, "we don't have time to have that argument. For every moment we waste arguing, they're hurting Dean."

Charlie stared open-mouthed at Cas and Julie. They were so resolute, already gathering weapons and getting ready to march into what could very possibly be their death. That wasn't what surprised her. It was Dean in danger, after all, and she would gladly die to save him. But the fact that they had just knocked Sam out without hesitation…it showed how dangerously desperate they were to save Dean. Desperate enough to betray their own friends.

Julie noticed Charlie's expression and softened. "Believe me, we didn't want to do that," she assured her friend. "But we can't just leave Dean to die. But if we give them Sam, and he says yes to Lucifer…that's the end of the world, Charlie. We didn't have a choice."

Charlie nodded. They were right, of course. But this still sucked.

"You do not have to come," Castiel said gently. "In fact, it would probably be best if you didn't come. These demons are highly dangerous and will not hesitate to kill you."

"And I won't hesitate to kill them," Charlie shot back bravely, picking up a gun off the nightstand.

"They can't be killed," Julie hollered from the corner of the room, where she was filling flasks of holy water.

"Then I won't hesitate to…splash some water in their face," Charlie said unenthusiastically.

Despite herself, Julie laughed. It sounded a bit hysterical, and understandably so. The poor woman couldn't quit imagining the man she loved entirely at the mercy of the two most evil creatures on earth. But she shook those images off, grabbed a gun loaded with devil's trap bullets, and tossed it to Charlie, who barely managed to catch it.

"Shoot them with that," she said darkly. "That will paralyze them, and then I'll gladly hack them into a hundred pieces and dump their body parts in the ocean."

And one look at her expression told Charlie that Julie sure as hell meant it.

Within the next two minutes, the three of them were ready to go. Julie stopped on the way out to handcuff Sam to the bedpost. Although it was unlikely he would wake up, they were taking no chances. She stayed behind another minute though to leave him with a devil's trap bullet gun and leave a ring of salt around him. She wasn't taking any chances with Sam.

And then, finally, there was nothing left to do. Julie took a deep breath, took one last guilty look at her unconscious best friend, and then took Cas's hand.

The next second, they were gone.

* * *

The cold floor felt wonderful against Dean's swollen face. It was the only kind of relief he had at the moment. His entire body ached, or worse. His left shoulder was dislocated, his right wrist shattered, and his entire body was covered in stab wounds, cuts, and bruises. He could barely breathe due to what felt like at least two, if not three broken ribs, and even when he could get a good breath in, he usually ended up coughing up blood.

But he knew this was nothing compared to what was coming.

"I can't believe you agreed to trading him for just the Winchester!" Apollyon hissed at her brother. They were standing a few feet away, arguing and completely ignoring him. Not that they had much to worry about, consider his hands were bound tightly together and he was in far too much pain to be any real threat.

"Relax, sister," Beelzebub said airily. "We'll be getting a lot more than just Sam Winchester. Once we get him, you can kill this one or do whatever you want to him, I really don't care. I'll get my hands on him once he's in hell. But we'll make sure we keep Sam somewhere easy to find, and then that redhead and Castiel and my precious Juliet will all come to save him, and we'll have collected the whole set."

"Won't…happen…" Dean got out, and those two words took almost everything he had.

Beelzebub chuckled, and a moment later, a sharp-toed boot kicked Dean in his already severely bruised stomach, causing him to groan in pain. "Oh, really?" Apollyon asked, bending down to grab the back of Dean's thin, shredded black t-shirt and force him to roll over and look at her. "And how are you going to stop us? I don't know if you've noticed but you're kind of…how do I put this…?"

And suddenly, she was holding a knife, and she drove it deep into Dean's thigh, causing him to scream through gritted teeth. "Oh, yeah, completely incapable of doing anything at the moment," she laughed, pulling the knife out of his skin and watching Dean's pained expression with amusement.

"You're just hacking away at him," Beelzebub chided his sister, watching with a bored expression as the demon tortured Dean.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Apollyon snapped, standing up and forgetting her victim. Dean let out a long, shuddering breath and silently prayed for someone, anyone to get him out of this mess. Just as long as it wasn't Sam, Julie, Cas, or Charlie…

"Well, if you keep up at this rate, by the end of the week, you'll have nothing left to play with," Beelzebub pointed out, sounding amused.

"Isn't the point to make him hurt?" Apollyon shot back. "Because he's sure as hell hurting. Aren't you, Dean, baby?"

"Go to hell, bitch," Dean growled through gritted teeth.

Both demons chuckled. "He is pretty amusing, I'll give him that," Beelzebub said drily. "All of them are. Watching these little hunters run around, trying to save people when their entire race is doomed. And it's adorably pathetic when they try to take on Knights of Hell. They're just so out of their league."

"How come…I killed…five of you…then?" Dean got out as cockily as he could, considering he was lying half-dead on the floor.

"That was the Mark of Cain, not you," Beelzebub said coldly. "But thanks to your pathetic little girlfriend, you no longer possess it. And without it, you are _nothing_, Winchester. Nothing but an amusing little toy."

Dean closed his eyes and didn't bother giving Beelzebub any kind of response, partly because he didn't deserve one, and partly because Dean doubted he had the strength to give a witty retort. But the demon wasn't done yet.

"And speaking of that pathetic, lovesick bitch…we're in crunch time now, aren't we, Dean?" Dean's eyes flew open, and they were dark with rage. "She's got less than a month now, if I remember correctly. You know, maybe I should let you live for another month so that you can watch my hellhounds tear her apart. And wouldn't that be so fitting, if you both went to hell together. You could watch me have my way with her for the rest of eternity. Now doesn't that sound fun?"

But before Dean could snarl any of the horrible things he wanted to say to this despicable monster, a high-pitched noise began to ring in his ears, and blinding white light filled the room. Dean realized what was happening a split second before the Knights did, and he managed to squeeze his eyes shut just before Castiel appeared in all of his angelic glory.

Somehow, over the sound of Cas's true voice, Dean heard two agonized, inhuman screams. Normally, an angel's true form would vaporize demons, but he doubted it would kill Knights of Hell. However, it sounded like it sure hurt them like hell.

After what felt like a small eternity, the light and noise faded. Dean opened his eyes and saw that the windows of the warehouse he was being kept in were completely shattered, and the great rows of shelves behind him were toppled over. Castiel stood tall and furious a few feet away from him, glaring at the two cowering, immobilized demons.

And then he felt hands groping at his shoulders and neck. Dean winced in pain until he saw that it was only Julie kneeling over him. She cupped his face in her hands, and through his spotty vision, he could make out tears in her eyes.

She was talking, but he couldn't hear it at first due to the ringing in his ears. And then, finally, he could make out some words. "…Okay, baby, it's okay, I'm here."

"Get out," Dean croaked, and she blinked, hurt and confused. "Run!" he got out louder. "Now!"

"We're not leaving without you, dumbass," another familiar voice said, and Dean looked over to see Charlie sawing through the ropes binding his ropes.

"No," Dean moaned. "Charlie, Jules, go before they-"

But it was too late. Julie suddenly screamed, "Cas!" and Dean looked over just in time to see his best friend go sailing through the air and crash into the wall where he collapsed, dazed. Apollyon was still cowering on the floor, but Beelzebub had risen to his feet. There were trails of blood pouring from his eyes, ears, and nose, but he was still up and moving, and he looked murderous.

Julie had been trying to help Dean sit up, and now he found the strength he didn't know he had to sit up and put most of his body between the girls and the approaching demon. "Run," he growled, but instead they both pulled out weapons and prepared for a fight.

Dean paled when he saw the First Blade gripped tightly in Beelzebub's hand. "Don't bother trying to run, ladies," he said coldly. "You'll be dead before you take three steps."

"We're here, Beelzebub," Julie said bravely. "Now let him go."

Beelzebub just laughed and kept walking towards them. "Let's play a little game, Dean," he said cruelly. "It's called 'which one of your friends should I kill first'?"

"We're here!" Julie cried again. "We surrender! Now let him go. That's the deal!"

"Really? Because I recall the deal being that I would get Sam. Now, I don't see Sam. Maybe he's hiding around here somewhere, hiding. But I know just the way to get him to come out."

And before Dean quite knew what was happening, Beelzebub had suddenly appeared behind him and grabbed Julie by the throat. Dean cried, "Jules!" but Beelzebub lazily waved a hand and Dean was pinned against the wall by an invisible force. Then he watched helplessly as the king of the Knights of Hell pinned the woman he loved to the wall and began to strangle her.

"Sam? Are you here? Because if you are, you had better come out before I kill your little friend here," he called, his voice happy and bright, even as Dean screamed and swore at him. Julie struggled and kicked weakly, but she was growing weaker every second, her vision going dim.

"Better come on out if you don't want me to take her to hell a month early," Beelzebub called warningly. "Come on, Sam, she's dying out here."

"He's not here!" Dean roared at Beelzebub. "Let her go, you son of a bitch!"

Julie had quit kicking and struggling. She had quit moving at all, and she was turning blue. Panic was overwhelming Dean, making him unable to think straight. All he could think about was the fact that Beelzebub was strangling the woman he loved right before his eyes, and there was nothing he could do to stop him.

And then, just as Julie went limp, someone fired four bullets into Beelzebub's back and he dropped her in surprise.

Dean stared at Charlie in awe as she kept her gun pointed at the Knight of Hell. Damn, she had come far. There was no way the geeky, scared computer nerd he had met could have shot the king of the Knights of Hell, but here she was now, saving Julie when no one else could.

And then Beelzebub, who should have been totally paralyzed, slowly turned around to face her, grinning evilly.

Charlie's eyes widened in horror. Beelzebub ripped a few of the buttons off of his button-down dark shirt to reveal thick Kevlar padding underneath. "What, did you forget that demons can wear bullet-proof vests too?" he smirked, and she began to back away in terror.

"No," Dean breathed as Beelzebub advanced on his friend. "Beelzebub, no!"

"Sorry, Dean," the demon said brightly. "I think your little friend here just decided who is going to die first."

"Beelzebub, please, no!" Dean begged, still powerless to do anything.

Cas finally stirred from where he had collapsed. He shook his head to clear it and then lifted his head…just in time to see Beelzebub drive the First Blade through Charlie's heart.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Guys, you have no idea how painful this was for me. I've had this entire story mapped out since before I started writing it, and I've always known this was coming, but I never knew how hard it would be. I put off writing the end of this chapter for as long as possible, and I wrote it about four different ways before realizing there was no good way to do this. Believe me, I did not want to kill off one of my favorite characters, but I promise I didn't just do it because I'm a sadistic human being. Hopefully by the end of the story, this choice will make more sense. But once again, I am so very sorry for what I have done. And be warned: there will be some tough times ahead. But hopefully you all will stick with me to the end. Fifteen more to go! (One more for the road: So, so sorry)


	86. Chapter 86

**Chapter Eighty-Six**

"Julie, I'm gonna kill you," Sam growled as he pulled with all his might to get his wrist free of the handcuff trapping him to the bed.

It was clear to him what had happened. That crazy woman had prayed to Cas and the angel had knocked him out rather than let him sacrifice himself. But they were crazy. There was no way they could take out both Beelzebub and Apollyon before one of them murdered Dean. And they had been gone for twenty minutes at least. In that time, all four of them could have died. While he was unconscious, Sam could have lost every single one of the people who mattered most to him.

He knew that they had done this to protect him. But if he was the only one to survive today, they definitely would not have done anything to protect him.

Finally, Sam just gave up on getting free of the handcuffs. He didn't have time to try to find something to pick the lock. He needed a way out now.

And then he noticed his phone lying just a foot away.

Sam stretched himself out as far as he could to reach the night table and he just managed to close his fingers around his phone. He breathed a sigh of relief as he dragged it over to him and quickly unlocked it. But then he was at a loss. He couldn't call Cas for help, or Julie, or Charlie, and he sure as hell couldn't call Dean. He could try Hannah, but as soon as the angel got in the presence of a Knight of Hell, her powers would be obsolete.

There was only one ally of his who could help him now.

Grumbling a string of swear words under his breath, Sam dialed Crowley's number.

The phone rang once, twice, three times. On the fourth ring, Sam was about ready to murder the demon. And then he finally picked up, if only to say smoothly, "Moose, I was just about to call you. I've heard a rumor that Beelzebub is in a small town in Iowa-"

"I know," Sam snapped. "I'm there now, handcuffed to a motel bed."

"As interesting as that sounds, I really don't need to hear about what kinky stuff you and Julie are up to in bed," the demon drawled.

"Wrong brother," Sam growled irritably.

"Ah, yes," Crowley sighed. "Forgive me, you're both so moronic and easy to kill that it's easy to get confused-"

"Crowley, Beelzebub has Dean!" Sam snapped, beyond done with the demon.

"What?! Moose, are you incapable of keeping one man safe?"

"Cas and Julie and our friend Charlie went to save him and they trapped me here so that Beelzebub couldn't get his hands on the vessel," Sam said quickly. "Now I need you to get here and get me out of here so we can save their asses."

"Where are they?" Crowley asked.

Sam forwarded Beelzebub's text to Crowley. "Now get over here and get us there," he said sharply.

There was a moment of silence, and then Crowley said, "No can do, Sam."

"What?!" Sam growled.

"They were right," the demon said flatly. "You're too valuable for us to let Beelzebub get his hands on you."

"Crowley, he'll kill them!" Sam cried.

"Which is why I'm going to go save them, or whatever's left of them," he said darkly.

"Crowley, you have to take me with-"

"Sorry, Sam," Crowley said flatly, and without another word he hung up, leaving Sam trapped, helpless, and alone.

* * *

"_No_!"

Julie stirred slightly at the sound of so much pain and grief and rage in his voice. Almost immediately, she wished she hadn't. Her head was throbbing, her throat felt like someone had taken a baseball bat to it, and she could barely get in enough air to stay conscious. But she had to know what had happened to cause Dean to scream "no" like that.

It took all of her strength, but Julie finally managed to force herself to lift her head and open her eyes. It took her eyes a minute to focus, but when they did, she saw Cas lying on the ground several yards away from her, his eyes open and alert and filled with horror. Julie followed his line of sight over to Beelzebub and…

Oh, God.

Julie watched, horrified, as Beelzebub pulled the First Blade out of her chest and she sank to the ground and collapsed. She didn't stir or make a sound, just crumpled and lay still. And from the angle where Julie lay, it almost looks like she was just asleep. Just asleep.

Oh, God, why couldn't she just be asleep?!

"Oops," Beelzebub said flatly, bending down to wipe his Blade clean on Charlie's shirt. "I didn't mean to kill her…that quickly. I was gonna make it slower. But this Mark of Cain thing makes a guy a little kill-crazy. You understand, Dean."

"You son of a bitch," Dean growled in a truly terrifying voice. Julie managed to turn enough to look at him. He was pinned to the wall, and underneath the blood and bruises, there was murder in his eyes. But the pain in his expression was far more concerning to her.

"Now, Dean, we're all friends here," Beelzebub scolded him lightly, striding towards him.

"You're going to pay for that," Dean snarled defiantly.

"And how are you going to manage that?" Beelzebub smirked. "You're beaten half to death yourself."

"But I'm not," a low, angry voice snarled from right behind, and then Cas drove his angel blade hilt-deep into Beelzebub's back.

The Knight of Hell howled in pain as the angel threw him into the wall. But all too quickly he had recovered, and Beelzebub pulled the angel blade out of his back and attacked Castiel.

While the demon and angel struggled against each other, Julie grabbed the wall and dragged herself to her feet. Ignoring her throbbing head and her severely bruised throat, Julie staggered past the sparring supernatural beings and reached Dean.

She did her best to bend down and pull him upright, but she was already weak, and he really was half-dead. It took all of her strength to get him standing, and even then he was putting most of his weight on her. They took three steps towards the door and then started to collapse.

And then Apollyon was standing in front of them with blood pouring from her eyes and ears and nose looking beyond murderous.

Julie did her best to place herself in-between the demon and Dean, but unfortunately that was just what Apollyon wanted. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to kill you," she snarled, pulling out a knife and aiming it at Julie's heart. "And the look on his face is gonna be priceless," she laughed as she prepared to stab the weak, defenseless human.

And then suddenly a figure appeared beside them for half a second, and then they were all three gone.

Apollyon stood there, dumb-founded, trying to comprehend what had just happened. But not even five seconds later, the figure appeared next to Castiel, who Beelzebub had pinned against the wall, and this time she made out a familiar face and dark beard before they were both gone.

"No!" Beelzebub roared in anger as he realized all three of his remaining victims were gone. All he had left was that girl's body.

And then Crowley appeared right next to Charlie's corpse and shrugged apologetically. "They're making me come back for this one, too," he explained as the Knights lunged at him, and just before Beelzebub reached him, he and Charlie's body vanished, leaving the two Knights of Hell completely alone.

* * *

Sam stretched himself out as far as he could and just managed to snag the pen resting on the motel bedside table. As quickly as he could, he forced the tip of the pen into the hole and began to twist and turn it until finally, finally, something clicked in the cuffs and they came undone.

He breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed his now-freed wrist. He was finally free. Now all he had to do was find a way to get to the warehouse without a car and single-handedly save Dean, Julie, Charlie, and Cas. That was, if they weren't dead already.

But before he could even grab his gun, he suddenly heard familiar voices right outside the door.

"Crowley?" he heard a woman ask in disbelief. Julie. Oh, thank God, she was alive! "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your hides," a familiar, British voice shot back.

"No, I mean what are you still doing here?!" she snapped. "Save Cas!"

"You all are ridiculously needy," Crowley grumbled, and then it was silent outside.

Sam scrambled off the bed and ran to the door. "Julie?" he called.

"Sam?!" she cried back. "Sam, quick, I need you to let me in!"

Part of him wanted to leave her out there after she had him knocked out and chained up, but most of him was just worried about her. He swung the door wide open and saw his best friend looking pale and weak, with dark bruises forming on her neck. But none of that was as bad as the badly beaten, bloody man leaning on her for support and looking near unconsciousness.

"Oh my God," Sam gasped, staring at his brother.

"Help me get him inside," Julie begged Sam desperately, and he took all of Dean's weight off of Julie as he practically carried him inside the motel room and laid him down on the bed.

Sam barely had time to take in how badly damaged his brother was before suddenly two more people appeared outside the motel room.

"You're welcome," Crowley drawled, taking his hand off of a bewildered-looking Cas.

"Cas, thank God!" Julie cried in relief.

"What about Charlie?" Sam snapped. "You've got to go save Charlie, too!"

The demon glanced at Julie pointedly, and Sam was alarmed by the fragile look in her eyes. "Go get her," she choked out. "Please."

Crowley sighed dramatically and then he was gone again. Castiel quickly entered the motel room and laid a hand on Dean's shoulder. The hunter sighed slightly in relief as his dislocated shoulder popped back into place and his broken ribs and wrist slowly mended themselves. He was filled with relief as he felt the damage done to his internal organs mending, and even the cuts on his arms and face began to heal.

And then suddenly he pulled away before Cas could finish healing him. "What are you doing?" the angel frowned, because there were still bruises and cuts on his face and arms that had not fully healed.

"I don't deserve this," Dean growled. "It's my fault."

"What's his fault?" Sam frowned, turning to Cas and Julie for an explanation. "Why won't he let Cas finish healing him?"

But before either of them could answer, Crowley reappeared outside the motel room. And in his arms was Charlie. A cold, stiff pale Charlie whose entire torso was soaked with blood.

"No," Sam choked out after a long moment of just staring blankly at Crowley and the body in his arms. "No…I…no…"

"Where do you want this?" Crowley asked bluntly, and Julie flinched at his harsh words.

"She's a person, Crowley," Julie snapped at him. "Not an object."

"She _was_ a person," the demon replied coldly. "And then she threw in her lot with you four."

Dean, Julie, and Sam were silent, unable to come up with a response to that. "We need to return to the bunker immediately," Castiel finally said. "Apollyon and Beelzebub will be able to locate us any moment."

"Gladly," Crowley said shortly, and then he and Charlie were both gone.

Julie helped Dean stand up and they stood next to Cas, ready to be transported back home. But Sam was still frozen in shock, staring at the place where Crowley and Charlie had been.

"She…she's…" he choked out, trying to speak around the lump in his throat.

Julie left Dean's side to walk over to his best friend. She rested her hand comfortingly on his arm and said softly, "I know, Sam. But we need to get somewhere safe before they get us, too."

Sam took a deep breath and nodded. He mutely followed Julie back over to Dean and Cas, and then the four of them quickly took hands and vanished.

* * *

Julie couldn't believe he wasn't here.

Sam was here. Of course Sam was here. He was right in front of her, gently laying Charlie's body on top of the pyre. His jaw was clenched tight and his face was drawn so he wouldn't express any of the pain and grief he was feeling. But he was here, despite that pain.

Cas was here. He had stayed for a couple of hours to make sure she was laid to rest properly. He hadn't known her for very long, and he had only interacted with her a few times, but he had been very fond of her. And of course he would want to be here now.

Even Crowley was here. Freaking _Crowley_! He was only here to keep the people he needed to stop the apocalypse from doing something suicidal in their grief, but he was here. A demon who didn't know and didn't care about Charlie was at her funeral.

But Dean wasn't.

He had disappeared shortly after they had returned the bunker. Just walked out the door without a word to anyone. Not even her. In fact, he hadn't spoken since he told Cas not to heal him any further.

He was being insistent about that in his usual self-destructive fashion. Of course he blamed himself for Charlie's death, and now he was punishing himself by forcing himself to remain in pain. Half of his face was still swollen from being bashed in by a furious demon, his lip was split, and there were still half a dozen cuts on his arms and on his face. Julie had practically begged him to get healed, but he wouldn't listen to her. He wouldn't even look at her.

And then he left two hours ago, and he still wasn't back.

Julie looked away from Charlie's body, which was wrapped in a white sheet. She walked a few feet away from the others and pulled out her phone. She took a deep breath before dialing his number. Again.

The phone rang again and again, but he never answered. When she was sent to voicemail, Julie breathed, "Dean, I know you're not okay right now. I'm not either. But you need to come back. We…we're having her funeral. You should be here."

But of course, he didn't reply. And he didn't magically appear either.

"Juliet, are you going to stand over there worrying about your boyfriend or are you going to watch us burn this girl?" Crowley drawled lazily.

"Hey!" Sam barked irritably, turning on the demon. "I can't exactly force you to leave, but I _can _drive a knife through your heart if you don't start treating her with respect."

"What does she care, Moose?" Crowley snapped, unafraid. "She's _dead_."

"Do you want to join her?" Sam snarled.

And then Julie was in-between the two of them, putting a hand on Sam's chest and forcing him back. "Stop it!" she snapped at the both of them. "Crowley, just because she is no longer alive, that doesn't mean you should disrespect her. Not that you probably would respect her even if she was alive." And then she turned on Sam. "And Sam…you're better than this."

"But he-" her best friend protested.

"I know what he did," she snapped. "And that doesn't matter. I know you're hurting, we all are, but that doesn't mean you should stoop to his level."

"I'm right here!" Crowley called, mock-hurt.

"Please," Julie pleaded with both Sam and Crowley. "Please, let's just…let's just get this done."

Sam sighed and gave in. Julie shot Crowley a look and he rolled his eyes but held his hands up in surrender. Then the four of them just stared at the pyre in silence for a long time.

"Dean is…not coming, is he?" Castiel finally asked flatly.

For some reason, those words for the things that finally sent Julie over the edge. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes, felt the lump in her throat swelling, and she knew that there was no way she was keeping it together.

Sam knew she was about to lose it before the tears even spilled over. Without a word, he reached out and wrapped his arms around Julie. She buried her face in his shirt, and it was such a familiar feeling that she immediately felt a tiny bit better. But it still wasn't Dean.

"Why the hell isn't he here?" Sam growled.

Cas stared at his friends sadly. But Crowley's expression was distant, and he was clearly focused on something else.

"I know why," the demon said suddenly, starting to smirk.

"What? How?" Sam snapped, and Julie pulled out of his shirt to shoot Crowley a confused look.

"Because he's calling me," Crowley called back, and then he vanished.

* * *

Dean's hands were shaking. It wasn't because he was scared. In fact, he was remarkably calm considering he had just summoned a crossroads demon. But he had done that before. He had done it many times actually.

His hands were shaking because Charlie was dead.

No. Nope. He wasn't going to think about that. And she wouldn't be dead for much longer if he had anything to do about it.

But then why were his hands still shaking?

Deep down, he knew why. He knew why he couldn't really do this. The reason why wouldn't quit calling him.

He was about to use his only trump card left. The one that he had been saving for her. And if he did this now...he would have no way to save her.

Dean felt something change in the air suddenly, and he straightened up. It was here. But before he could turn around and face the crossroads demon, a familiar voice snapped, "I knew you were dumb, Squirrel, but I never knew were such an _idiot_."

Dean whirled around and stared at Crowley. "What are you-?"

"And here I thought you cared about that woman and your brother," the demon said coldly, crossing his arms and glaring at Dean.

"I summoned a crossroads demon, not you," Dean snapped.

"And I _am _a crossroads demon, the king of them, or did you forget?" Crowley shot back. "I am always the first one to hear when a call is made, and it's a good thing, too, or Beelzebub would have just gotten you back."

"He's not a crossroads demon," Dean shot back.

"No, he's just the most powerful demon in existence and would easily have heard the call, come here, and used you as bait. Again."

"Look, Crowley, are you going to keep judging me or are you going to make a deal?" the hunter snapped, not wanting to think about how close he had come to falling into another trap.

"Are you crazy? No, I'm not going to make a deal with you! I still need you."

"I don't care!" Dean yelled at him. "Just make me a deal!"

"You really want to kiss me that bad, Dean?" the demon smirked flirtatiously.

Dean just glared at him. Crowley shook his head at Dean. "You would really do that to Sam?" he asked in a quiet, intense voice. "To her?"

Dean swallowed and looked down. "I just…she can't be dead. She can't be."

"_She is_," Crowley hissed angrily. "And you can't change that, just like Castiel can't bring her back. Beelzebub snatched her soul up when he killed her just like he did with your Juliet. And your precious angel doesn't have the manpower to storm hell again. There's only one way you're getting her out of there."

"Selling my soul," Dean said shortly.

"Putting an end to that smug bastard so a new king can take over and release your little friend," the demon corrected him.

"I've got no way to kill Beelzebub," Dean said shortly.

"I'm working on that."

"But you've got nothing! And I can't just let her rot in hell because I couldn't protect her!"

"You don't have a choice!" Crowley growled at him.

"Yeah, I do," Dean replied angrily. "I can sell my soul."

"And I'm saying no!" Crowley said dangerously.

"Why the hell not? I'm going to hell whenever I die anyway! And it will probably be soon. Might as well just be now."

"If you die now, Julie gives up fighting, and she dies and goes to hell, too," the demon said slowly. "Then Sam gives up, and when Lucifer rises, which he will if you three aren't fighting to stop him, he will get Sam to say yes. And then Lucifer destroys everything. Do you really want that to be all on you?"

Dean looked away from Crowley and worked furiously to keep tears from welling up in his eyes. "She can't be dead," he repeated. "Not because of me."

Crowley stared at the poor, broken hunter for a long time. "Come on," he said eventually. "Let's go back."

Dean Winchester finally looked back at him, and the look on his face was truly pathetic. For a second, Crowley almost felt sorry for him.

Instead, he said coldly, "You can't fall apart now, Dean. Not while she and Sam are still alive. If they die and Lucifer rises, by all means, fall apart. We'll all be dead anyway. But until then, you keep fighting while we still have a chance."

Eventually, something in Dean changed, and he sighed in defeat. "Fine. Let's just go back."

Crowley walked over to Dean to transport him back to the bunker, but he hesitated for a moment. He was silent for a while, and then he forced out, "I'm sorry for your loss."

And before Dean could even be surprised, they were suddenly back at the bunker.

Julie gasped a little when Dean appeared a few feet away from her. He looked like crap, but at least he was here. At least he was still alive.

Dean stared at his three friends for a long moment. Then he suddenly blurted out, "Guys, I'm so-"

"Shut up," Julie breathed before rushing over to him and throwing her arms around him.

Dean held her tightly and buried his face in her hair, swallowing his tears. Oh, God. How had he almost left her? How could he have even considered doing that to her?

And how was _Crowley _the thing that had pulled him back from the edge?!

When Dean finally let go of Julie, he suddenly felt a hand on the side of his face, but it was much too large to be Julie's. And the moment it came into contact with his skin, all of the pain he had been feeling healed instantly. Well, the physical pain at least.

Dean turned his head to stare at Castiel. "Do not get angry at me, Dean," the angel warned him. "You did not deserve the punishment you were putting on yourself."

Dean disagreed, but he kept it to himself and nodded gratefully at his friend. Right now, picking a fight was not what was important. What was important was giving Charlie a proper burial.

The five of them lined up side by side, just staring at the pyre where her body lay, wrapped in a sheet. Dean couldn't do it, but he knew that she deserved a proper hunter's death. And as much as he didn't want to burn her body, because that really was saying goodbye, he knew that if anyone was going to do it, it should be him. Sam and Julie and Cas had all been friends with Charlie, but he was her closest friend among the four of them. He needed to do this.

Dean gently pulled his hand free of Julie's and walked over to the pyre. His throat was so tight he could barely breathe as he pulled out his lighter and flicked it on. He let out a long, slow breath, and then lit the gasoline-soaked pyre before quickly stepping back.

The flames spread quickly. That was good. Dean wanted her body to burn quickly, even if it really was just a body. He backed away from the pyre and stood between Julie and Cas. Julie took his hand again, and he held hers tightly, watching blankly as the fire devoured her.

She was dead. Charlie was dead. And it was all because of him.

This had to end. All of these people dying for him, people he loved…it had to end.

But there was nothing he could do to stop it. He was as powerless to protect those around him as he had been when Beelzebub killed Charlie. And who knew who else he would kill before this way over?

It was as these dark thoughts filled his mind that his phone began to ring.

Dean frowned as he pulled it out of his pocket. This was his backup phone, and the only people who had this number were Julie, Sam, Cas, Crowley, Taylor, and Jody. And himself, obviously. If Taylor or Jody were calling, something must be wrong…

But it wasn't either of them calling. It was his own phone.

Dean gritted his teeth as burning, red hot anger filled him. No, not anger. Rage. Hate. The desperate need to murder the son of a bitch who was in possession of this phone at the moment. Julie saw the number on the screen over his shoulder, and her eyes widened. But before she could advise him not to accept the call, Dean was already answering it.

"You sick son of a bitch-" Dean started to snarl.

"So this _is_ Dean!" Beelzebub interrupted him brightly.

"The next time I see you, I will rip you limb from limb," Dean growled.

"The next time you see me, everyone you love will be dead. Well, everyone but Sam. I'll still need him."

"Not happening," the hunter said in a deadly voice. "I'll kill you first after what you did to her."

"Oh, it's not just your little friend I'm going to kill," Beelzebub smirked. "I'm just calling because I figured I should give you fair warning. I'm done playing around, Dean. You and your friends have pissed me off for the last time. So now I'm going to take everyone and everything from you."

"You can't touch us," Dean shot back.

"You're right," Beelzebub admitted. "Wherever you three hide out, I can never seem to find you. But it's not just Sam and Julie you care about, is it Dean? You've got other friends. Like Julie's pretty little cousin…Taylor, isn't it? And that handsome ex of hers…James, right?"

"Beelzebub, if you touch them-" Dean growled, trying to hide his panic.

"Oh, I'm not done," the king of the Knights interrupted him. "There's your good friend, Jody Mills, or so I've heard. And I hear you've also worked with those annoying hunter siblings…Ellie and Mitch Nelson, and their friend Matthew Bones, I believe? Well, I've been looking for an excuse to off them anyway. And who could forget Sam's dear little girlfriend…I believe it was Leah? And then there's that hunter, John or Jim or something like that, who hunts with her. Am I forgetting anyone?"

Dean stayed silent, although his heart was racing so fast and furiously he didn't doubt Beelzebub could hear it through the phone. There was no way they could protect all of those people at once…

"But I think I'll start with my personal favorites," Beelzebub smirked into the phone. "You see, I found these books a couple weeks ago by this guy…Carver Edlund, or something?" Dean's eyes widened. "And imagine my surprise when I find they're about my two least favorite hunters! Anyway, about halfway through that dreadful series, I stumbled across the story of a pretty lady and her cute little son who had captured the heart of Dean Winchester. Lisa Braeden, I think it was, and her son, Ben. Does that sound right to you, Dean?"

"Beelzebub, they don't know me," Dean breathed, knowing he was being stupid, but unable to control himself. "Their memories of me…they're gone. They're just people. Leave them out of this."

"Well, I do believe you've just decided it for me," the demon chuckled. "Looks like I'll be killing them first."

"Beelzebub, no-" Dean started to beg.

But the Knight of Hell had already hung up.

Slowly, Dean turned to look at the four anxious faces staring at him. "Dean…?" Julie asked, concerned and afraid. He must look as terrified and overwhelmed as he felt.

As Dean searched for his brother's face, he realized his hands were shaking again. But this time, it really was fear. But not fear for his life. Fear of something much, much worse. Finally, Dean found Sam's worried face, and then he finally managed to choke out, "Ben and Lisa. Sam, he's…he's going to kill Ben and Lisa."


	87. Chapter 87

**Chapter Eighty-Seven**

Lisa was in the middle of yet another grocery shopping trip when she noticed him.

Ben had been absolutely ridiculous lately. She knew that teenage boys had large appetites, but her kid was basically a bottomless stomach. It only got worse when he brought his friends Chris and Mike over to the house, which he had been doing a lot lately. They weren't too bad; they were pretty polite kids, and they never left the house a trashed mess. But between the three of them, she felt like she was feeding three human garbage disposals.

Lisa sighed and brushed her dark hair out of her face to look at the items on the shelf. She grabbed a couple large bags of potato chips and threw in some Doritos for good measure. As she started to push her cart into the next aisle, she noticed him trailing a few yards behind her.

She had been noticing a guy following her for a little while, but she hadn't thought much of it. It wasn't a huge grocery store, and it could just be coincidence. But over the past few years, something in her had changed. She couldn't really name it, but she was naturally more suspicious of everyone and everything, although she had no idea why. All she knew was that this guy was making her incredibly suspicious.

Lisa had an idea. She pushed her cart over into the toiletries section, down an aisle totally dedicated to "feminine products." That guy would have no reason to come down here, and if he did, then he was following her. She waited with her cart just around the corner, watching to see if he followed her.

She waited, but he didn't come for several seconds. Lisa sighed and shook her head at herself. Damn, was she paranoid! She didn't know what it was, but something had changed in her that made her overly suspicious. Maybe she should talk to a therapist or something-

And then he walked around the corner, and his cart smacked straight into hers.

The two of them stared at each other in surprise. And now, looking at him head-on, Lisa realized…this guy was really freaking attractive. Like…_damn_. He looked about her age, and he was tall and well-built, with spiky, light brown hair, a near perfect face, and big, startled, pretty green eyes.

And there was something almost familiar about him…

The guy was just staring at her, frozen like a deer in headlights. Lisa recovered first, and she surprised herself by snapping, "Are you following me?"

He blinked and then stammered, "I, uh…"

Lisa waited expectantly, growing angrier with every second he just stood there, obviously trying to come up with an excuse. He really _had _been following her!

And then a beautiful woman with blond curls and a sweet, open face came around the corner. She smiled at the man who had been following Lisa when she saw him and said, "There you are! Honey, I thought I told you to meet me by the meat section."

"I…" The man still looked flustered, but then he swallowed and said, "No, you said toiletries!"

"Pretty sure I said meat," the woman shot back, but she didn't really look like she cared. "How'd you even end up over here anyway?"

"Trying to get the rest of the stuff on the list so we can get out of here faster," he said grumpily.

The woman laughed lightly. Then she noticed Lisa standing there. "Oh, sorry, are we in your way?" she asked politely.

"No, I, uh…" Lisa sputtered, and now she was the one feeling lost. She had been so sure this guy was following her, but he had just gotten separated from this girl.

"We just had a little miscommunication," the man said kindly, nodding at her, and she gave him a tiny, grateful smile for not thinking she was completely crazy.

"Sorry, I, uh…I'll just squeeze past you guys," Lisa said quickly, trying to hide her face as she pushed her cart past them and hurried away.

Julie waited until the woman was far out of earshot before she turned to Dean. "So that's Lisa, huh?" Dean nodded, his throat tight. Julie stared after her and admitted, "She's pretty."

"Don't do that," Dean sighed wearily.

"Don't what?" she asked irritably.

"Get jealous."

"I wasn't!" Julie snapped. Dean's expression made it pretty clear that he didn't believe her though. "At least I didn't freeze up and forget how to speak the second I saw her," she shot back at him.

"Shut up," he grumbled, looking away. Julie softened a little when she saw a bit of pain in his eyes. This was obviously very tough for him, having to see the woman who had once been his life again. And knowing that the most dangerous demon on earth was out to kill her and her son…well, it couldn't be easy. She needed to go easy on him.

"Hey," Julie said softly, touching his cheek and gently guiding his face to look at her. "I'm sorry. This really sucks."

Dean couldn't speak because of the large lump in his throat. But he did let Julie wrap her arms around him, and he leaned into her for comfort. He closed his eyes as she stroked the back of his head and tried not to think about Charlie or the danger Ben and Lisa were in or the danger Jody and Taylor and Leah and everyone he had ever cared about was in…

He just tried not to think.

Dean's phone started to ring, and he pulled away from Julie to answer it. "Sammy?" he asked nervously, afraid of the news his brother could be bearing.

"It's okay, Dean, he's okay," Sam said reassuringly, and Dean realized he could breathe again. "I'm at Ben's school, and he just left with a couple of his friends. I'm going to follow them, but he's fine."

Dean took a deep, steadying breath. "Thanks, Sammy," he sighed. "Just… make sure he stays safe, please."

"Of course," his brother assured him. Sam knew just how much the kid meant to his older brother, even all these years after he had practically been his dad, and he would never let anything happen to Ben. "Did you and Julie find Lisa?"

"We did," Dean admitted. "She was just at a grocery store. And she seems fine, too."

"Good," Sam sighed. "Let's just make sure they stay that way."

Dean hung up and turned to Julie who had drifted a few feet away, to watch Lisa check out. "She's about to leave," Julie warned him. "We should get ready to follow her."

But to her surprise, he put his hands on her waist and pulled her close to him. "Dean, what are you-?" she started to ask, but then he was kissing her softly. Julie melted and kissed him back, curling her fingers in the collar of his shirt. They kissed for a long, sweet moment, and even when Dean pulled away, he still kept his forehead pressed against Julie's.

"Thank you," he whispered. "I know it can't be easy helping me protect her, but-"

Julie kissed him again briefly just to shut him up. "Of course I would help you protect her," she said firmly after pulling away. "She means a lot to you, they both do, and they're innocent people. I'm not going to let that bastard hurt them too."

Julie could see from the pain in his eyes that Dean was now thinking of Charlie. It hadn't even been forty-eight hours since Beelzebub had killed her, and so of course it was still and fresh and painful. But it still broke her heart to see all the guilt and pain in his eyes.

She gently cupped the side of Dean's face in her hand, running her thumb over his stubble-rough jaw. "I mean it, Dean," she whispered. "No one else is getting hurt. I promise."

"You can't promise that," he replied in a quiet, dark voice.

Julie looked him dead in the eyes and said firmly, "Well too damn bad. No one is getting hurt, I promise you."

As Lisa pushed her cart past the checkout and towards the door, she glanced back at that strange, handsome man who had been following her, or so she thought. He was standing with that beautiful blond woman, his hands on her waist, holding her close, and she was holding the side of his face. They were both staring so intimately at each other that Lisa looked away, a little embarrassed.

But there was something more…another reason that she couldn't stand to see him holding her like that. There was no good reason why it should bother her, but… she just couldn't watch. It bothered her.

It hurt.

Julie pulled Dean in close to her, wrapping her arms tightly around him and burying her face in his neck. Dean held her tighter and rested his chin on top of her head, closing his eyes and just breathing her in, feeling her body tight against his. It was terrifying, thinking how close he had come to dying and never getting to hold her again. Even more terrifying was the knowledge that he had only a month left before he really did lose her.

As much as Julie wanted to stay in his arms for the next century, when she heard the bell over the door jingle, she pulled her face out of his neck and turned to see who was leaving. She gasped a little when she saw Lisa's back retreating towards his car, and Julie pulled free of Dean's arms.

"Dean, she's leaving," she breathed, grabbing his arm and starting to pull him towards the door.

"Come on," he said shortly, heading towards the door. "We've got to keep an eye on her."

* * *

Dean pulled up behind Sam's rental van, which was parked across the street from Lisa's house. He climbed out of the Impala and walked over to Sam's car, Julie a couple steps behind him.

"Is he home yet?" Dean asked his younger brother, trying to hide the nerves in his voice.

"Got home a couple of minutes ago," Sam assured him from the driver's seat. "He's fine, Dean. He's got a couple of friends with him, but they're just kids."

Dean nodded, taking a deep breath. Ben was home safe. He at least had that reassurance. And he and Julie had trailed after Lisa to make sure she got safely home about five minutes ago, before driving around the neighborhood a bit to make it less obvious they were following her.

"Dean," Julie's voice said softly but urgently right behind him, and she reached past him and started fumbling with the sliding door of the back of the van.

"What are you-?" he started, trying to turn and see what was going on. But Julie had finally gotten the door open and she shoved him unceremoniously into the back of the van before leaping in after him and slamming the door behind her.

"What the hell?!" Dean groaned, sprawled out across the spacious back of the van on his stomach.

"Lisa just came out of the house to grab some mail," Julie explained, helping Dean sit up. "Couldn't risk her recognizing us. Too suspicious."

"Smart move," Sam said from the front seat. "She's looking over here right now. Staring at the Impala."

"Crap," Dean breathed. "There's no way she would recognize it, right? I mean, Cas wiped her memory of everything. Surely he wouldn't forget to wipe the car!"

"Well, even though her mind got wiped of you, she sure looked like she recognized you in the grocery store," Julie muttered.

"What?" Sam snapped. "Wait, how did she see you? We're just supposed to be following them, Dean, not confronting them!"

"I didn't mean to!" Dean shot back irritably. "She thought I was following her and so she cornered me."

"She figured out you were following her?" Sam sighed, rubbing his temples. "Damn, she must make you pretty sloppy if she actually figured it out."

"If I hadn't covered for him, Lisa would have known for sure," Julie threw in. "She said two words to him and he forgot how to speak."

Sam didn't have to see Julie's expression when she said that to detect the slight jealousy she was feeling. Julie was a smart woman. She knew Dean loved her and only her, and Lisa posed no real threat to her relationship with him. But it still couldn't be pleasant to see Dean made speechless by the only other woman he had ever really loved.

This was painful for all of them. But for no one more than Dean.

"Okay, she went back in," Sam breathed after a few seconds of silence. "I'm gonna come back there with you two and make sure the cameras I set up are working."

Sam climbed into the backseat of the van with Dean and Julie and turned his laptop on. Dean watched absently as Sam messed around on his computer until a screen popped up that was split into four sections showing different rooms of the Braeden house. There was one camera watching the front door and another watching the back patio door. Another showed the spacious living room, and the fourth camera had a good view of the kitchen and dining room, where four people were currently talking and snacking together.

Dean moved closer to the laptop to watch the action in the kitchen. One tall, lanky kid with sandy blond hair and dopey grin was sitting on the counter and laughing as he shoveled chips into his mouth. Another shorter, stockier guy with a buzz cut stood next to the counter, saying something that caused the blond kid to laugh harder. And then the third kid shifted slightly so he was no longer being blocked from view by the blond kid, and Dean's heart seized up.

Ben. He hadn't seen the kid in years. And he had grown up quite a bit in those few years. Ben Braeden was pretty tall, three or four inches short of six feet tall, and he was clearly still growing. He had easily eclipsed his mother by now. His face had lost some of its boyish roundness, and his cheekbones were higher and more prominent now. His hair was the same dark brown shade, and it was as messy as always. Ben's eyes were the same too, bright and mischievous. And unless Dean was crazy, the kid looked even more like him now than he had when he was younger.

Lisa must have told Dean a hundred times that Ben wasn't his. Ben was the byproduct of some muscled, tattooed drunk at a biker bar she had hooked up with in the bar bathroom sixteen years ago. She couldn't even remember his name. But as much as Lisa had insisted that Ben wasn't Dean's, he never quite could shake his suspicions. The kid was the right age, he walked and talked like Dean even before Dean had helped raise him, and he looked eerily like Dean had at that age.

Dean shook his head to clear it of those thoughts. He was being silly. It didn't even matter if Ben was his. Dean was no longer a part of the boy's life, no matter how much he may want to be.

On screen, Ben walked over to his mother, who was chopping up tomatoes for dinner. He asked her a question, and she sighed and agreed to whatever he had asked. He grinned, said something grateful to her, and rushed over to his friends to say something. The boys all scurried out of the kitchen, and Lisa wiped her forehead and sighed in relief.

She looked so tired and overworked. It couldn't be easy, raising a growing boy all on her own, especially when he was having wild, endlessly hungry friends over all the time. Dean was surprised by the guilt he felt. He felt like he was somewhat responsible for Ben, like he should be helping Lisa take care of the kid, even if that chapter of his life had been over for years.

This was too painful. Dean dragged himself away from the laptop and turned his back to his brother and girlfriend so he could compose himself. God, why couldn't Beelzebub have just left them out of this? He wasn't ready for all of these unresolved emotions to surface again.

Julie and Sam exchanged sad looks as they stared at Dean's tense back, fully aware of the emotional turmoil he was in. That woman and her son were his old life for the better part of a year, when he had lost everyone and given up hunting for a shot at normal life. And clearly he still hadn't fully recovered from having to leave them.

"You okay?" Sam mouthed at Julie.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she whispered back sullenly. But Sam just gave her a knowing look and she sighed and gave up the pretense she had to keep up for Dean, that this wasn't really bothering her. Sam instantly felt sorry for Julie when her tough shell fell away and he could see the doubt and insecurity in her expression. He knew her, and he knew what she was thinking.

What if all this time, she had just been a replacement for Lisa and Ben? What if she was just Dean's way of distracting himself so he didn't have to think about the first woman he had loved, the woman he really did love?

Before Sam could assure her whatever doubts Julie was having were foolish, Dean suddenly jumped about half a foot in the air when the fluttering sound of wings alerted them to the arrival of another member of their group. Julie sighed in relief at a welcome distraction and breathed, "Cas. Is everything alright?"

"More or less," the angel sighed wearily. "I've gotten all of your remaining living friends gathered safely in a safe house."

"Who all is there?" Sam asked, concerned.

Castiel rattled names off. "Your cousin, Julie, and her friend, James…Jody Mills, Jim Morgan, Leah Jamison…" Sam stiffened at Leah's name, and Julie gave his hand a squeeze and whispered, "She's safe."

"There was that man…Matthew Bones, I think, and he had two friends, a nice young girl and a rather rude man, her brother-"

"Mitch Nelson?" Dean guessed, smirking a little at the memory of that cross, distrusting hunter they had worked before.

"Yes, and Ellie, that was his sister's name!" Cas said quickly. "I also thought, just to be safe, I should also gather your friends Chel and Ian."

Julie sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God," she breathed, assured that her old best friend was now safe. "What about their baby?"

"It is safely protected at a baby sitter's," the angel explained. "They didn't feel safe bringing her when they were quite possibly going to be targeted by Knights of Hell."

"Smart," Sam agreed.

"Now we just need to take Ben and Lisa Braeden to the safe house, and we should easily be able to watch over all of them," Castiel finished.

"No!" Dean said sharply. "These two aren't getting anywhere near that many hunters."

Sam and Julie frowned. "Um, Dean…how else are we going to protect them _and_ all of our friends?" Sam ventured.

"We'll wait until Ben's friends go home, and then we can take these two to some other safe house," Dean said firmly. "But they're not getting anywhere near that mess."

* * *

Sam and Cas exchanged looks, looking like they might want to argue, but Julie put a hand on Dean's shoulder and said, "Okay. Sounds good. We'll make sure they're safe and then we'll figure things out with our friends."

Dean turned his head and gave her a tiny, grateful smile for her constant support of him. Sam and Cas both sighed and agreed, and the four friends settled down to watch the live stream from within the Braeden household and wait for their first opportunity to get the family to safety.

By the time Ben and his two best friends, Chris and Mike, finally tired of playing basketball at the hoop out behind the house, it was already dark. Ben and Chris headed straight back into the house, Ben laughing at something stupid his goofy, tall, lanky, blond best friend had said. They were already back inside before they realized Mike wasn't with them.

Ben frowned and turned around to peer outside into the darkness. He saw Mike just standing outside, his broad back to the house, his short, stocky body oddly stiff.

"Mikey? You coming in?" Ben hollered, frowning.

And then Mike turned around and smiled brightly at Ben. "Sorry, yeah, I'm coming."

Ben frowned a little at Mike's odd behavior, but he stepped aside to let his friend in. Together, the three teenage boys sat down to have dinner, which Ben's mom had kindly made for them. Ben dug in, starving, devouring chips and corn and three hamburgers all on his own. Mom shook her head at him as she watched him shovel down food, just eating one burger herself.

They had a nice meal. Chris cracked jokes loudly, and all three of them laughed, even Mom. The food was great, and Ben was having fun with his friends and his mom. As dinner wore on, though, Mike was quieter than normal. And a couple times, he noticed his friend eying his mother with an unnerving look in his eyes.

Ben frowned. Maybe Mike was just checking her out. Both of Ben's best friends thought his mom was hot. Lots of guys thought his mom was hot, actually. Over the past three years, she had dated over a dozen guys, but none of them had stuck around for very long. Ben loved his mom dearly, but she had issues with commitment. She had never really been able to keep a steady relationship with one man for any length of time, and Ben kind of resented her for it. He wished it wasn't true…but part of him had always wanted a dad.

Sometimes Ben dreamed about a dad. It was embarrassing to admit, but he often woke up smiling and feeling warm from dreams of time spent with his father. He never could quite make out the man's face, but he was tall and strong, younger than most of his friends' dads, and cooler than all of them. He wore battered old jeans and combat boots and a leather jacket over button-down shirts and dark t-shirts. He taught Ben how to fix cars and showed him how to beat the crap out of bullies at school. He taught Ben funny jokes, told stories of epic adventures he had experienced, showed Ben how to drive, taught him to shoot a gun, taught him how to fix things around the house, encouraged Ben's sarcastic, witty sense of humor, and he loved Ben's mom. He was the greatest dad a kid could ever ask for.

But whenever Ben woke up, he was always gone. Just a dream.

Ben shook off those thoughts, and when he tried to remember what had led him to daydreaming about a dad, he couldn't figure it out, so he let it go. He went back to laughing at Chris's dumb jokes and stuffing himself with food.

After dinner, Chris had to go home. Mom offered to drive him home, but Chris's hot older sister came by and picked him up, smiling flirtatiously at Ben when she said goodbye to him. After that, Ben was feeling pretty good about himself. He strutted back into the living room with Mike and saw his mom watching TV on the couch.

"Did Chris go home?" she asked him, and he nodded. "Okay. What about you, Mike? When do you need to go home? Will you need a ride?"

"Oh, I don't think I'm going to be leaving anytime soon," Mike said, and there was something off in his voice.

"That's fine," Mom shrugged. "Just let me know when you need to head out, and I'll make sure you get home safe."

"You're pretty dumb, you know that?" Mike smirked suddenly, and Lisa looked up and him, frowning.

"Excuse me?" she snapped.

"Dude!" Ben cried, shocked. Mike was a nice guy, and he would never say that to Ben's mom.

"How did neither of you notice the security cameras those three put up all over your house?" he smirked.

"What are you talking about?" Lisa frowned, standing up. "And who?"

"Sam and Dean Winchester, and their dead girl walking," Mike smirked, arms crossed. "That couldn't have been fun," he told Lisa. "Finding out old Dean-o replaced you with a younger, hotter little slut."

"That is incredibly disrespectful," Lisa said coldly. "I don't even know what you're talking about, but you need to get out of my house right now, Mike."

"No thanks," Ben's friend smirked, and then he snapped his fingers. Something on the ceiling suddenly shattered and fell to the ground in a shower of sparks. Lisa shrieked as it fell, and then peered at it before realizing it was a small camera.

Oh, God. There really were security cameras in her house.

"What's going on? Who put those there?!" Lisa cried in panic, grabbing onto Ben's shoulders and hauling her son close to her protectively.

"I told you, you dumb slut," Mike said coldly. "Your old boyfriend. He's trying to protect you from us."

"Don't you ever call my mom that again!" Ben yelled angrily. "Get out of here! I don't ever want to see you again."

"Oh, shut it, kid," Mike snapped, rolling his eyes, and then he flicked his wrist. Lisa and Ben both cried out as they went flying across the room and slammed into the wall next to each other. Ben struggled and tried to move, but an invisible force was pinning them against the wall.

"What's happening?!" Lisa shrieked. "What are you?"

In response, Mike's eyes flashed back. "I'm what you would call a demon, sweetheart. And you two are what I like to call bait."

"What?" Ben cried. "Who are we bait for?"

"Me," another voice said coldly, and Ben and Lisa turned their heads to see a tall, strong, furious-looking man standing a few feet away and glaring at Mike with murder in his eyes.

"And there he is, the man of the hour," Mike chuckled, crossing his arms as he turned to face the newcomer. "You're slipping, Winchester. Even with all your extra precautions, I still got to your little slut and that kid of yours."

Ben gasped a little. "That kid of yours"? Mike was obviously referring to him. And this man looked eerily familiar. He was tall and strong and dressed in a button-down shirt, old, battered jeans, and combat boots just like-

Just like his father in his dreams.

"You had better start running if you want to live to see another day," the man growled at Mike. Ben gasped again as he noticed a dangerous, serrated knife in the man's hand.

"Make one move on me, and I'll snap her pretty little neck," Mike smirked, jabbing a thumb towards Ben's mom, and she and Ben both gasped in fear. Mike laughed maniacally. "Face it, Winchester. You're mine. And soon enough, you'll be Beelzebub's."

The tall, scary man gritted his teeth in anger, but he set down his knife and kicked it over to the demon. "Alright. Fine. I surrender. Take me, I don't care, just leave those two out of this."

"What?!" Ben cried, and the man's green eyes flicked over to him for a second, showing recognition. Ben couldn't explain it, but he didn't want this man to surrender, even if it meant that he and his mother were safe. And it didn't make sense! They didn't know this guy. So why did he care so much about them that he would surrender to save them?

"It's okay, kid," the man said gruffly. "You're gonna be okay. I promise."

Ben felt a lump swell up in his throat, but he still managed to nod gratefully at this stranger who was saving him.

"How cute," Mike smirked. "Daddy's gonna sacrifice himself to save you. Too bad there's no way in hell I'm letting you two walk free."

Ben's mom made a terrified noise in the back of her throat as Mike picked up the man's knife and turned it towards her. But before he could get within a couple feet of Ben's mom, a long, silver blade appeared at Mike's throat and he froze.

"Drop the knife," the woman holding the blade to Mike's throat growled dangerously. Ben's eyes widened when he saw her. She was beautiful, the kind of woman he and his friends fantasized about daily. Slender and curvy, with smooth skin and full lips. Blond curls fell around her pretty face, which was dark and dangerous at the moment.

But Mike didn't. Instead he smirked, "And here she is now. The younger, hotter slut."

"Watch yourself," the beautiful woman snapped. "I'm not afraid to gut you right here and now."

"No!" Ben cried. "Please, he's my friend!"

Mike smirked smugly. "Never mind, I guess I _am _afraid to gut you right here and now," the woman sighed, and Mike started to laugh. But then she called, "Sam?" and his eyes widened in fear.

A tall, scary-looking man stepped into the room and began quickly reciting something in another language. Mike began to scream and wail and thrash, and Ben watched in horror as his friend collapsed to the ground. Mike suddenly threw his head back and black smoke poured out of his mouth and disappeared into the ground.

The invisible force pinning Ben and his mom to the wall suddenly vanished, and Ben nearly collapsed before he righted himself. Mom dashed over to Ben and held him tightly, stroking his hair and trying to reassure herself that her son was okay.

Ben pulled free of his mother's embrace and studied Mike with concern. He was lying still, his eyes closed, and for a moment, Ben was afraid his friend was dead.

But then his chest lifted slightly as he took a breath. Ben sighed in relief, but before he could take more than a moment to be grateful that his friend was alive…he remembered the three strangers standing in his house.

Ben and Lisa shifted into defensive positions as they stared at the three armed, scary-looking people standing in their living room. One of them was that beautiful, sexy young woman who had threatened Mike. The tallest one was a giant, well over six feet tall, and extremely muscular. He had shaggy eyes and kind eyes, and for some reason he seemed vaguely familiar to Ben. And the third one was the man who had been willing to sacrifice himself to save Ben and his mom, the one who reminded him so strongly of the father Ben dreamed about, the one Mike had called "Daddy."

Mom curled her hand around Ben's wrist and pushed her son behind her. "You," she breathed, staring at the green-eyed, shorter man. "You were in the grocery store."

The man she was staring at gulped and glanced at the others for help. "And so were you," she gasped, now pointing at the woman.

"Listen, Lisa, we can explain," the woman said gently.

"How do you know my name?!" Ben's mom cried. "And what did you do to Mike? Who _are _you people?!"

The three people exchanged nervous looks. Then the man who Ben felt so strongly had to be his father stepped forward and sighed, "Why don't you two sit down? We've got a lot of explaining to do."


	88. Chapter 88

**Chapter Eighty-Eight**

Ben kept trying to pull away from Lisa and sit down like that handsome, green-eyed stranger had suggested, but Lisa kept a vise-like grip on her son's shoulder. Despite the fact that these three armed strangers had just saved her and her son, she still didn't trust them one bit.

The woman gave them a sympathetic look. "I know this is a lot to take in, but you can trust us. We're here to help you."

"How can we trust you when we don't even know who you are?" Lisa asked coldly. She knew it was stupid and shallow, but for some reason she didn't like this pretty young woman.

"My name is Julie Carters," the woman said kindly. She turned her head and shot the tallest man a pointed look.

He cleared his throat and stepped forward. "I'm Sam Winchester," he said. Then he glanced at the other man, who didn't look currently capable of speaking. "And this is my brother, Dean."

Dean. Dean Winchester. Lisa knew she had never met this guy before, and she never would have heard his name before but…she could almost swear she knew that name.

"But who _are _you?" Lisa protested. "And what did you do to Mike?"

"We're hunters," Sam Winchester said shortly. "We hunt monsters, demons, ghosts…and Mike there was possessed by a demon out to get you and your son. So I exorcised him."

"You really expect me to believe that demons are real?" Lisa asked skeptically.

"You just saw one," Julie Carters said shortly. "You know they are."

Lisa was silent, because she had no response to that. Her head was swimming too much to come up with a logical comeback, but thankfully she didn't have to respond, because Ben asked loudly, "Is Mike gonna be okay?!"

"He should be fine, physically," Julie Carters said kindly. "He's just unconscious. But he's gonna be a little messed up after being possessed by a demon."

"Speaking of demons…we need to get them out of here before more show up," Dean Winchester said firmly.

Lisa tightened her grip on Ben. "We're not going anywhere with you people."

"We're the only people who can protect you right now," he replied. "We're going to get you someplace safe. But without us, you're going to get killed."

Lisa opened her mouth to argue with him, but Ben pulled free of his mother and turned to face her. "Mom, listen to him," Ben pleaded. "We're not safe here, and we've got no idea what's going on. We need their help."

"But we don't even know who they are!" she protested.

"I trust them," he said earnestly. "I don't know why, but I do. Please, Mom, let's just go with them."

Lisa took one look at Ben's desperate expression and she knew she had lost. "Fine," she snapped at Dean Winchester. "But if you try to hurt me or my son-"

"I would never do that," he replied shortly, and something in his expression made her believe him.

Lisa and Ben rushed upstairs and threw together a bag each with a few spare changes of clothes, toiletries, money, and their phones and chargers. Lisa threw in a couple keepsakes and rushed downstairs, with Ben right behind her.

But they were already too late.

Lisa screamed as the front door was broken down and two large, burly men marched into her house holding knives. One of them spotted him and Ben, and his eyes flashed black.

But then that handsome, green-eyed man was there, putting himself in-between these new men and Lisa and Ben. The taller of the black-eyed men grinned nastily. "Dean Winchester…" he sneered. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for the chance to kill you."

"Get in line, pal," their protector shot back, and both of the big men attacked.

Lisa shrieked and tried to shield Ben's eyes, certain she was about to watch Dean Winchester get mutilated. These men were both taller and beefier than him, and she had seen with Mike that demons had some kind of psychic powers. Surely they were going to kill this poor man.

But he blocked every single one of their strikes easily. At one point, he hit the bigger man in the face with a wicked right hook and then splashed some kind of water on his face. The demon howled in agony as his skin burned, and then Dean drop-kicked him to the ground. Then the other demon was behind Dean, grabbing his arms and pinning them behind his back. Dean struggled, but he was in trouble as the demon smashed his victim's face into the banister of the stairs once, twice, three times.

Lisa was frozen in horror, certain she was about to watch Dean Winchester die. But somehow, despite his bloody face and possible concussion, he planted his feet and somehow found the strength to throw the demon back into the wall. A couple family photos fell off the wall and smashed the demon in the head, raining broken glass on his face and stunning him. Then Dean was able to throw the demon off of him, and he whirled around and drove a knife up into the demon's ribcage.

She and Ben watched in horror and awe as the demon wailed, and his insides seemed to glow with a fiery light. Then he slumped to the ground, dead.

"Watch out!" Ben yelled as the other demon, who had been collapsed on the ground, staggered to his feet and ran at Dean with a knife. But Dean waited until the demon was practically on top of him and then drove own knife into his attacker's neck without so much as a glance at him.

Ben and Lisa stared at the man in shock as the other demon slumped to the ground, dead, next to him. Dean Winchester stood there, chest heaving, and then he wiped some of the blood trickling down his forehead out of his eye and turned to face the two of them.

"Come on," he said gruffly. "Let's get you two out of here before I have to kill even more of them."

Lisa was still frozen in shock and terror, but Ben grabbed her arm and hauled her after him as he followed Dean Winchester out of the house and to that black car she had been staring at earlier.

"That's your car?" Ben asked Dean, and the man nodded mutely. "It's freaking awesome!"

Dean stopped walking for a moment to turn his head and give Ben a small smile. Then he ordered them gruffly, "Get in the car."

"What about your brother and that lady?" Ben frowned.

"They're in our other car, taking your friend Mike to the hospital," he explained shortly. "We'll meet them just outside of town and then we'll get you all someplace safe."

"Aren't you worried about them?" Ben asked anxiously, even as he and Lisa climbed into the backseat of Dean's car. "What if some of those demons go after them, too?"

"Those two are every bit as badass as I am," he replied calmly. "They'll be fine."

He started the car, and the engine roared to life. Before Ben could comment on how freaking sweet the purr of the engine was, Dean Winchester suddenly peeled out of his parking spot at breakneck speeds and flew through the subdivision leaving tire tracks behind him.

Ben turned his head a little to check on his mom, who seemed to have gone into shock. He knew he should probably be in shock like her, but something about riding in this car with that man driving…it felt right to him. Ben felt like he belonged.

* * *

Lisa watched anxiously as Dean Winchester finally made it out of town and pulled off to the side of the road. It was dark out, and he made sure to park the car in the shadows of the nearby woods so that people driving by would be less likely to notice the car and come investigate.

She was anxious that they were being followed, sure. But she was also anxious about the driver. His right eye was swelling up pretty badly, and his face was badly bruised from getting bashed into the banister of her stairs repeatedly. There was still blood oozing out of the cut on his forehead, and she wouldn't be surprised if he had a concussion. The whole car ride, she had been worried that he would suddenly pass out and they would all crash and die.

But the moment that Lisa tied to suggest she drive, he had said gruffly, "Sorry, but I don't let just anyone drive my baby," and that was the end of it.

The moment Dean pulled over and stopped the car, Lisa opened her mouth to ask about twenty questions, but he had already pulled out his phone and dialed a number. After a few seconds of it ringing, someone answered, and she and Ben listened to his end of the conversation in nervous silence.

"Sammy? You two still in one piece?" Dean asked in a concerned tone very different from the gruff one he kept using with Ben and Lisa.

Sam must have answered, because Dean relaxed and sighed in relief. "Well then, that's two less demons hunting us," he replied. "And the kid's alright, too?"

Dean listened to the answer and then turned around in the front seat to mouth at Ben, "Mike is going to be fine." Ben sighed in relief and nodded gratefully at this strange, scary man. Well, at least Lisa thought he was scary. But Ben seemed to trust him a lot easier than she did.

"Okay, well, have Jules text me once you two get out of town. Then we'll ditch the van and just drive the Impala," Dean said into the phone.

"Won't it be kind of cramped?" Lisa asked pointedly. "With five people in this car?"

Dean shot her an irritated look. "We can always just leave you here," he shrugged, and she glared at him. "Kidding," he grumbled. "But I'm not driving that crappy van around. My car will get us somewhere safe twice as fast as that old thing."

Sam said something on the phone, and Dean grunted in assent. "Okay. See you guys soon. Stay safe." Then he hung up the phone.

"Now what?" Ben asked timidly.

"We wait for those two to get here," he replied shortly, getting out of the car.

"Where are you going?" Ben called after him anxiously.

"To guard the car," Dean replied shortly, pulling out his gun and showing it to Ben before slamming the driver's door.

Ben and Lisa were silent for a long moment, watching Dean stand guard over them. Then Lisa finally said, "I don't trust him."

"What?" Ben frowned. "Why not?"

"He was stalking me earlier, in the grocery store," she answered. "And he lied about who he was then, and so did that woman with him."

"But they were probably just trying to keep an eye on you and protect you, right?" her son pointed out.

"It's not just that," Lisa sighed. "The way that demon possessing Mike was talking, it was like…like we had something to do with him. And he knew who we were, but I don't have any idea who he is."

"He seems familiar," Ben admitted after a moment of silence. "I can't shake the feeling that I've seen him before, or like…like I used to know him."

Lisa peered at Ben. "I…I feel the same," she admitted, and she was even more anxious about being with this strange man who was oddly familiar.

"But…I'm not scared of him," Ben said slowly. "He…he makes me feel kind of safe, actually. Knowing he's looking out for us…and he protected us from those people earlier…those demons…"

"Yes, but he _killed _them," Lisa protested. "I don't know, Ben, I just…I don't think you should trust him just yet. I don't think either of us should."

Ben fell silent, knowing better than to argue with his mom on this. But secretly, he disagreed with her. He trusted Dean Winchester, even if he didn't know why.

Four minutes later, the rental van pulled up behind the Impala and two people climbed out. Ben turned around in the back seat, craning to watch as Julie Carters and Dean's brother, Sam, walked towards the car. He cracked the door open to hear their conversation.

Julie rushed past Sam and threw her arms around Dean. He held her tightly for a moment before letting her go. She brushed her fingers lightly over his bruised face and frowned. "Are you alright?" she asked him softly.

"One of the demons got me pinned for a few seconds, starting beating the shit out of me," Dean shrugged nonchalantly. "But they're both dead now."

"Come on, Dean, you're better than that," Sam scolded him. "You can handle a couple demons!"

"I know," Dean grumbled. "It's just…these two…they're throwing me off my game."

Sam nodded understandably. "It's okay, Dean. We're gonna get them somewhere safe. And before Cas left, he gave us those hex bags that should prevent us from getting tracked by magic."

"Now we just have to hope they don't track us a different way," Dean replied wearily.

He started back towards the driver's seat, but Sam put a large hand on his shoulder and stopped him. "No way," Sam said firmly. "You look like you have a concussion. I'm driving."

Dean started to protest, but Julie cut in, "He's right. You can ride shotgun and I'll squeeze in the back with them."

"Let's just hope Lisa doesn't get jealous and stab you or something," Sam smirked, but there was little humor in his eyes.

"She doesn't even remember that she and Dean used to be together," Julie replied, and the three of them headed towards the car.

Ben quickly shut the door and turned to stare wide-eyed at his mother, who had also overheard their conversation. She looked too shocked to form words, and before she could even try, Julie was suddenly squeezing into the backseat next to her, apologizing for the lack of room.

Neither Ben nor Lisa mentioned the conversation they had overheard, mostly because they couldn't quite believe what they had heard. It was just too crazy. But Lisa felt extremely uncomfortable next to this beautiful young woman who apparently was dating her ex-boyfriend. Who she didn't remember ever dating. Right. Because that made sense.

Lisa felt even more uncomfortable when Dean started to doze off, and Julie leaned forward in her seat, gently prodding his shoulder until he could focus on her face. She reminded him that he shouldn't fall asleep right now just in case he really did have a concussion, and for the next hour or so, Julie or Sam would keep up a light-hearted conversation with Dean about simple, insignificant things to try to keep him alert. Lisa tried to ignore the strange jealousy she felt whenever Julie would touch Dean's face or squeeze his hand. Why did she even care? He wasn't hers.

The hour stretched uncomfortably long as Lisa and Ben rode in silence, trying to process what they had heard. Eventually, Sam deemed it safe to pull over to a gas station to get some gas for the car and caffeine and snacks for the passengers. It would also give Julie a chance to check Dean out for a concussion and give him some medicine.

Lisa stayed inside the car while Sam got gas and then went inside the gas station for snacks and drinks. Julie sat Dean down on the hood of the car and checked him out before deciding he was going to be fine. She gave him some pain medicine, kissed him briefly, and then headed inside the gas station to take a quick bathroom break before they hit the road again.

Dean watched her go in silence, staring wistfully after her. Then he jumped slightly when he heard Ben's voice just a couple feet away. "So she's your girlfriend, huh?" the teenager asked, watching her head inside.

Dean shrugged. "Yeah."

"She's hot," Ben smirked. "Like, _really _hot."

Dean glanced sideways at the kid and smirked himself. "Yeah, she is."

"How on earth did you get her?" the kid joked.

"By being my naturally charming self," Dean replied.

"Yeah, right," Ben shot back. "No offense, dude, but she's like way out of your league."

Dean grinned. "I know," he admitted. "But if you're smooth like I am, you can sweet-talk women way out of your league into sleeping with you."

"My mom would kill you if she heard you telling me how to sleep with chicks," Ben warned him.

Dean almost replied, "Oh, she's tried," but he just caught himself. "Somebody's got to teach you," he said instead.

"Hey, I can get girls!" Ben retorted. "I'm on the basketball team, so I've made out with like half the cheerleaders."

"Nice," Dean smirked, high-fiving the teenager. "But when I was your age, I'd made out with _all _of the cheerleaders."

"Well then, you didn't have a mom always being way too controlling," Ben shot back.

Dean swallowed thickly. "Well, me not having a mom probably was part of that," he admitted, and Ben's eyes widened with guilt as he realized what he had said. "But your mom isn't being too controlling, Ben. She's just trying to protect you, make sure you stay the good kid you are. Believe me, that's a good thing."

Ben took a deep breath. "You say that like you know us," he said slowly, studying Dean suspiciously.

Dean looked over at the kid, and he saw the suspicion in Ben's eyes. He knew he was in trouble, but right before he had to answer that difficult accusation, Sam and Julie finally returned.

"Great," Dean breathed, relieved, when Sam and Julie reached the car. "Come on, guys. Let's get out of here."

* * *

Four hours later, a little after one in the morning, Lisa woke up when she felt the car slowing down. She blinked a few times and then looked out the window to see that they were pulling up outside a small, twenty-four hour diner.

Sam parked the car and turned in his seat to address the three people in the backseat. "Okay, guys. We figure we're probably far enough from your house that no demons can find us. And Dean's been giving me crap about how hungry he is for the last hour and a half, so I figured we could stop for food for a few minutes."

"Fine by me," Ben said eagerly. His stomach had also been growling for the last hour as well, and any food was good food to him right now, even greasy, crappy diner food.

Dean was already out of the car and headed for food. Ben quickly climbed out of the car and followed him inside. Sam, Julie, and Lisa all climbed out of the Impala as well. Sam trailed after Dean and Ben, but Lisa cleared her throat, and Julie stopped walking to turn and face her.

"Look, um…Julie?" Lisa said slowly.

"What's up?" the other woman asked brightly.

Lisa hesitated, unsure how to start this. "I didn't want to bring this up in front of everyone, but…" She swallowed. "I heard you and those guys talking earlier. About me and Dean and something about how…I'm his ex-girlfriend?"

Julie's eyes widened a little. "I, uh…I don't know what you're talking about," she started to say.

"Please don't lie to me," Lisa said flatly. "At least, not anymore."

Julie sighed. "Look, Lisa…you're right. There's a lot we're not telling you. But it's for your own good. The less you and Ben know-"

"The less we'll be able to understand the danger we're facing and how to protect ourselves," Lisa replied coldly. "We deserve to know."

Julie studied her for a long moment. "You're right. You both do. But I am not the person to tell you." Lisa started to protest, but Julie insisted, "I'm not. I don't know you guys anymore than you know me. This isn't my story to tell."

"Then whose is it?" Lisa asked angrily, just wanting a straight answer.

"I believe it's Dean's, isn't it?" a woman asked smoothly, and Julie whirled around to see a familiar-looking tall, tan, sexy woman with long blond curls, clad entirely in black leather. "Right, Julie?" Apollyon smirked.

Without hesitation, Julie placed herself in-between the horrible woman before her and Lisa. "Lisa, get inside and find Sam and Dean," Julie said in a remarkably calm, cold voice.

"Lisa, stay put or I'll skin you alive," the demon smirked.

"Who is that?" Lisa asked, terrified.

"Her name's Apollyon," Julie said icily. "And she's a horrible, evil bitch of a demon who won't hesitate to kill you and Ben if you don't get out of here and tell the others to run."

"Oh, don't worry about precious Sam and Dean, Julie," Apollyon smirked. "I've already sent in some of my henchmen to take care of them and that kid with them."

"Ben," Lisa gasped, and she turned and tried to run.

Apollyon waved her hand, and Lisa went flying through the air and slammed into the Impala. The Knight of Hell kept her pinned to the car, smirking nastily as Lisa struggled.

"Let her go," Julie said coldly, pulling her knife out and getting ready to fight.

"Why do you even care?" Apollyon smirked. "This bitch is just getting in between you and Dean. Every time he looks at her, he remembers how much he used to love her and then he wonders why he's even with you."

"You don't know a thing about Dean, or any of us," Julie spat back at her. "You just follow your brother's orders." The thought of Beelzebub made her blood run cold, and she glanced around nervously. "Where is your brother anyway?"

"Oh, don't worry about him," Apollyon smirked. "Beelzebub's got bigger things to deal with than you pathetic little humans. But he sent me to take care of you."

"How did you find us?" Julie asked, stalling for time. Maybe the boys could take out their adversaries and get out here to help Julie and Lisa if she could just keep Apollyon talking. "We should have been protected."

"I've been following you since you left her home," Apollyon replied, nodding at Lisa, who was cowering against the car, overwhelmed. "And it was way too easy. You hunters are slipping. But now that I've finally got ahold of you, I can get my revenge. First I'll kill off Lisa here and that son of hers. And then I'll take you and your little boy toys straight to Beelzebub himself."

"Good luck with that," Julie smirked confidently.

"Good luck stopping me," the demon fired back.

Without hesitation, Julie leapt forward and drove her angel blade into Apollyon's shoulder. The demon screamed in pain, but she locked her hand tight around Julie's wrist, refusing to let the hunter pull the knife and her hand away.

Julie kicked Apollyon hard in the stomach, trying to get free, but Apollyon kept her tight grip on Julie's wrist and twisted it back further and further until Julie's shoulder popped loudly and painfully and she screamed again.

Apollyon threw Julie to the ground and kicked her once in the head, hard enough to knock her out with one blow. Lisa shrieked in fear and then stared wide-eyed at this beautiful, terrifying blond woman as she rolled Julie's unconscious form onto her back with the toe of her boot.

"Look at me," Apollyon smirked cockily. "I just caught myself Dean Winchester's two favorite little sluts." Lisa flinched as Apollyon turned her terrifying eyes on her. "I think I just found a whole new way to mess with my favorite toy…"

* * *

Sam stood by the door to the diner, waiting for a waitress to come over and take his order, even though the place seemed completely empty. They weren't planning on sitting down, because staying in one place for too long was dangerous. Who knew whether or not they were still being followed?

Dean stood behind him with Ben at his side, unable to stop shifting on his feet and glancing around anxiously. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, even though everything seemed perfectly safe.

Ben cleared his throat nervously, and Dean glanced down at the kid. "Uh, Dean…why aren't my mom and Julie in here yet?" he asked anxiously.

Dean opened his mouth to give him a reassuring answer…and then he realized he didn't have one.

"Sammy, I'm gonna go check on the girls," Dean told his brother shortly. "Take care of the kid."

Sam nodded, and Dean turned towards the door to go find Lisa and Julie.

And then the lights flickered in the diner.

"Son of a bitch," Dean growled, pulling out his demon-killing knife. Sam did the same with an angel blade, and Dean grabbed onto Ben's shoulder and pushed the kid behind him into the corner where Dean could shield him with his body.

"What?" Ben cried. "What's going on?"

The door to the diner blew open, and four large, black-clad men walked into the diner, all armed and grinning nastily.

"Demons," Dean said coldly when their leader flashed his eyes black.

"Winchesters," the lead demon said. "Come quietly, and we'll at least kill the kid quickly."

"You're not laying a hand on him," Dean replied coldly.

"You wanna bet?" the demon smirked, and then all four of them attacked.

Sam and Dean immediately went back-to-back, effortlessly slipping into battle mode. Dean blocked the first swipe a demon took at him, and Sam just dodged another demon's knife. The two of them parried and stabbed and kicked and hit at three demons until Sam killed one of them and Dean wounded another.

But then Dean heard Ben cry out in fear, and he realized that one demon had gotten past them.

He looked up to see the lead demon pointing a gun right at Ben. Without thinking, Dean abandoned Sam, shouting, "Ben!" He dove at the kid who had once been practically his, tackling the teenager to the ground and shielding him with his body. The bullet just barely missed Dean, and it passed by so close he felt it stir his clothes.

The air rushed out of Dean when he and Ben hit the ground, but he didn't have time to recover. He rolled over, pulled out his own gun, and fired a couple devil's-trap bullets into their attacker.

Dean was about to get up and keep fighting, but then he heard Ben gasp, "Dean?" And there was something different in his voice, a kind of recognition Dean hadn't heard in years that made him turn and face the kid.

Ben's eyes were wide and full of recognition. He was staring at Dean in awe, and one look at his expression told Dean that somehow Ben remembered. Something Dean had done must have jarred Ben's memory, because the kid was looking at him the same way he had used to, like he was staring at his own father.

Dean wanted nothing more than to stay with Ben and explain everything to him, because he was clearly confused and overwhelmed. But then Sam groaned in pain and Dean forgot everything as he scrambled to his feet and ran to help his little brother.

One of the two demons fighting Sam had pinned his arms, and the other one was hitting his repeatedly in the gut. Dean didn't hesitate, and he ran over to the demon attacking his little brother and drove his knife through the back of its neck. The demon collapsed, dead, and the demon pinning Sam released him and tried to run. But Sam grabbed his own knife and drove it deep into the demon's back, killing him as well.

The final demon, who was trapped by devil's-trap bullets, tried to beg for his life, but Sam wasn't hearing it. He slit the demon's throat without giving it a second glance while Dean rushed over to Ben and helped him up.

"You okay, kid?" Dean asked anxiously, looking him over for any wounds.

"Dean…you came back," Ben said reverently, and Dean swallowed, knowing he was in trouble. Somehow Ben remembered. And that meant he was in even more danger than before.

"Ben…" Dean started weakly.

"Why did you leave?" Ben cried angrily. "Mom had just gotten hurt, and we needed you, and then you just…you left, and something happened…I forgot all about you until now."

"How did you remember?" Dean frowned.

"When you saved me like that, it was just so familiar…it hit me all over again," Ben said slowly. "I remember everything."

Dean swallowed, unsure how to feel about this. On the one hand, it was so nice to have his Ben back. But this was going to make everything even more dangerous and messy.

But before he could get too caught up in all this, Sam suddenly gasped, "No."

Dean frowned and turned to his brother, who was staring out the window and looking at the parking lot. "What?"

"She's here, Dean," Sam choked out. "Apollyon."

Dean's blood ran cold and his fists clenched in anger. And then his eyes widened in horror. "Wait, she's out there? Julie's out there-"

"She has her," Sam said darkly. "She had both of them."

For a moment, Dean was just frozen in shock and horror. But then Ben suddenly went streaking past him and out the door, running to save his mom.

"Ben, no!" Dean roared, sprinting after the kid. Ben was halfway across the parking lot, running senselessly towards his mother and the demon who held her captive. Dean just managed to grab the back of his shirt and then he wrapped his powerful arms around the kid, holding him back.

"Let me go!" Ben yelled, kicking and struggling. "Dean, no! Let me go! Mom!"

"Sammy!" Dean yelled, and then Sam was there, getting a good grip on Ben's arm and holding him back so that Dean could quit focusing on the kid and instead focus on the horrible scene before him.

Julie and Lisa were both kneeling on the ground about a foot apart, their hands bound. Lisa was crying silently, but Julie's face was stony and composed, despite the Knight of Hell standing behind her. There was a bit of blood on Julie's head, and her shoulder looked pretty out of place, which would explain the pain in her expression. Apollyon was holding two guns, one in each hand, and she had one pointed at the back of Lisa's head, and the other at Julie.

"Hi, Dean," Apollyon said brightly. "Long time no see."

"Let them go," he replied coldly.

"Now, why would I do that?" she smirked.

"Because if you do, I will surrender and do whatever the hell you want," he said in a remarkably calm voice.

"Dean," Sam called warningly.

"Yes, listen to Sam, Dean," Apollyon chided him. "Don't be stupid. You're worth more than either of these dumb sluts."

"Hey!" Ben yelled angrily before Sam could warn him to stay quiet.

"You had better watch yourself kid, or I'll kill you next," Apollyon shot at him, and Ben cowered in fear.

"Just let them go, Apollyon," Dean said, trying to keep his tone level. "You're right, I'm worth more to you and Beelzebub than either of them are. It's a fair trade."

"Hmm," the demon smirked, pretending to consider it. "You are more valuable than_ one_ of them. But not both."

Dean's frown deepened. "What do you want, Apollyon?" he asked coldly, not wanting to play her games.

"I want you to pick one," she replied. "You can save one by taking her place. And then I'll blow the other one's brains out while you watch, and it will be all your fault."

"No," Dean said firmly. "I'm not doing that."

"Then I'll kill them both," Apollyon replied with a shrug.

Dean closed his eyes and prayed as hard as he could. _Cas, we're in big trouble. Julie and Lisa and quite possibly all of us are about to die. Apollyon's here. Please get here, and bring all the help you can get._

Then he opened his eyes. Now he just had to hope Cas had heard that, and then he had to stall for time until the angel could come to the rescue.

"I'm waiting…" Apollyon said in a sing-song voice.

"Dean," Julie said calmly, and his eyes met hers. "It's an obvious choice."

He shook his head, knowing instantly what she meant. And she couldn't ask him to do that.

"She's innocent," his girlfriend continued calmly. She was so calm for someone who was essentially asking him to murder her. "She isn't a part of this. And she can live a long, happy life after this."

"No," Dean said gruffly, shaking his head again.

Her eyes were sad, but her answer wasn't changing. "Dean, she's got a son. Don't make Ben lose his mom."

"I can't…" he choked out, unable to finish that sentence.

"I'm going to die in less than a month, Dean," Julie said flatly. "It's not a question."

"Don't make me do this," he begged her.

"It's okay, honey," Julie whispered, actually managing to force a smile for him. "Do the right thing."

"Time's up, Dean," Apollyon smirked coldly. "So? Who will it be? The woman who loves you and sold her soul for you, or the one who doesn't even know who you are anymore?"

Dean knew who he had to pick. Julie was right. It wasn't even a question. Lisa was an innocent human with a son and a chance at a happy life. Julie was a tortured, broken, damned hunter who had less than a month to live anyway. It should be easy.

But he couldn't let Julie die.

"Pick, Winchester, or I'll kill them both," Apollyon said impatiently.

And just as Dean opened his mouth to say a name, having no idea which one would come out…an angel blade stabbed through Apollyon's stomach.

The demon screamed in pain, and Dean watched in shock as Cas pulled his blade out of her stomach and scooped Lisa up in his arms like it was nothing. Julie leapt to her feet and ran over to Sam, Dean, and Ben, and Cas deposited a shocked Lisa safely with her son and Sam. Then the angel turned to face Apollyon, who looked murderous.

"I'm going to kill you, you smug, interfering little-" she started to snarl, but then the words died in her throat as ten more angel suddenly appeared in a protective circle around the five humans. Dean started to smile as he recognized Hannah and realized that Cas really had come through.

"You were saying?" Cas smirked cockily.

"Beelzebub will destroy you," Apollyon warned him angrily. "He'll kill every last one of you."

"That sounds promising," Dean's best friend replied calmly. "Now get out of here and leave these humans alone before _we _destroy _you._"

A humiliated Apollyon vanished, and everyone relaxed. Castiel turned to Julie and touched her shoulder, which immediately popped back into place. She then threw her still-bound wrists around him and cried, "Cas, you are amazing, you are wonderful, you are-"

"Thank you," the angel laughed, cutting her off and cutting her wrists free as well with his angel blade. "But right now, I think you need to be hugging someone else."

Julie turned and followed his line of sight to Dean, who still looked a little shell-shocked. She abandoned the angel and held him tightly, letting him bury his face in her hair and hold her until his hands quit shaking.

"You were going to save her, right?" Julie whispered after a long silence between them.

"I…I don't know," he admitted. "I know it was the right thing to do, but…I couldn't let you die."

Julie sighed, knowing that was the answer she was going to get. His love for her was dangerous, if it really meant that he might have sacrificed Lisa to save her.

They pulled apart, and Dean smiled at the sight of Ben and Lisa holding each other tightly. Sam pulled Julie into a hug as well and muttered, "Thank God Cas got here when he did."

"I know," Julie whispered. Now that the threat was gone, she was just now realizing how close she had come to death, and it scared her now more than ever, knowing that death for her meant an eternity in hell.

Julie pulled away from Sam when she heard Ben's voice eagerly crying, "No, Mom, it's Dean! Don't you remember?" She and Sam both frowned and turned to see Ben towing his bewildered mother towards Dean, who looked as frozen and overwhelmed as a deer in headlights.

"Ben, I know who he is, he helped save us from those demons," Lisa assured her son.

"No, it's _Dean_!" Ben cried emphatically. "You two dated for like a year, and he lived with us, and you loved him, and I did too, and then he left with Sam and then you two broke up but some demons kidnapped us to hurt him, just like now-"

"Whoa, Ben, slow down," Lisa said, putting her hands up to stop him. "Where is this coming from?"

"In there, Dean saved me, and it was so familiar, I just…I _remembered_," Ben said eagerly. "Mom, come on, you have to remember," he pleaded.

"Ben," Dean said warningly. "Maybe it's best if she doesn't."

"What?" Ben cried. "Dean, we were happy when you were with us, we were so happy! Why would we want to forget that?"

"This life is dangerous," Dean explained. "I mean, you just about watched a demon shoot your mom. What more reasons could you want?"

"I don't care, Dean," Ben said earnestly, walking up to the man who had been the closest thing he had ever had to a father. "You were our family, and I miss you. We were happy. We loved you."

Tears were springing up in Dean's eyes as he stared down at the closest thing he had ever had to a son. His throat was tight, and he couldn't for the life of him remember why he had ever made them forget.

And then suddenly Cas was there, pressing two fingers to Ben's forehead, and the teenager collapsed into his waiting arms. Lisa cried out, but a second later, Hannah did the same to her.

"Cas, what-?" Dean started, bewildered.

"Ben remembered, and Lisa was starting to as well," the angel replied flatly, but his eyes were sad. "Dean, they can't remember. It's not safe for them. You know that."

Dean slowly nodded. "Right. You're right. Sorry, I just…"

Sam squeezed his brother's shoulder, and Julie laced her fingers with his and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Dean stared blankly at the unconscious Ben and Lisa as Cas and Hannah handed them off to two angels.

"What are you going to do with them?" Dean asked anxiously.

"Those two will take them to the safe house you were headed for," Cas explained. "Their memories will be altered so that to them, none of this will have happened. And if we all somehow survive this and the world doesn't end in a month, they'll be sent back to their home and returned to their old life once it's safe."

Dean nodded. "Thanks, Cas," he choked out.

"Of course," the angel said gravely. "And I can take the three of you to the safe house where the rest of your friends are waiting."

Julie and Sam looked to Dean, wondering if he was ready yet.

He wasn't ready. He wanted a chance to say goodbye to Lisa, to apologize for bringing this mess into her life and to thank her for taking him in and caring for him when he had no one. He wanted to say goodbye to Ben, to tell the kid he loved him and that he was the greatest kid in the world no matter what happened. He wanted to assure Ben that it wasn't his fault Dean was leaving. He wanted the proper goodbye he had never gotten.

But they didn't need that. In fact, with a little angel mojo, they would once again have no idea who Dean Winchester was. They didn't need that goodbye.

He was the one who needed it. And what he needed didn't really matter.

"Yeah, let's go," he said gruffly, clearing his throat.

"You sure?" Sam asked him, concerned.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure," Dean said robotically.

Julie sighed. "Dean…" she said, clearly not believing him.

"I just…" Dean swallowed. "Cas, can you promise me they'll be safe?"

"I will make sure one of my angels always has an eye on them, and they will be well-protected from demons," Castiel assured him. "There should be no way that Beelzebub can harm them ever again."

"Thank you," Dean told his friend. Then he took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm ready."

And this time, he really did mean it. Of course, he wished that things didn't have to end this way between him and Ben and Lisa. But the truth was, he didn't belong with them. Maybe in another life, one that didn't involve hunting, but not this one. They were happier and safer and better off without him.

Besides, he had work to do.

And so Dean took one last look at the two people who had once been his life, and then Cas touched his shoulder, and they were gone.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Once again, sorry for the wait. Busy times with the holidays and all. Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you all had happy holidays, and that you all have a happy new year!


	89. Chapter 89

**Chapter Eighty-Nine**

Jody Mills grabbed yet another beer from the cooler. She knew she should probably slow down, but there was just too damn much happening all at once. Plus, if she didn't grab the beers now, one of the countless other hunters in this safe house would drink them all.

Jody turned around when she heard that one grumpy guy, Mitch Nelson, complaining loudly again. "I don't get why _I _have to be here!"

"How many times do I have to say it?" Taylor, Julie's cousin, snapped. "Apparently some all-powerful demon is pissed at Dean Winchester so he's trying to kill all his friends."

"But I barely know the guy!" Mitch protested. "And we're not friends."

"Hey, he's not my favorite guy in the world either," that blond guy, James, muttered. "But this Beelzebub guy doesn't know that. He just knows that every single hunter in here has worked with the Winchesters and Julie before, so he lumps us all in with them."

"Fantastic," Mitch grumbled moodily.

"But at least they're trying to protect us," Mitch's pretty, younger sister, Ellie pointed out. Jody smiled at the girl. She liked her. She was a sweet kid, and not like most hunters.

"We wouldn't be in danger if it weren't for them," Mitch shot back.

"Relax, Mitch," Matthew Bones sighed. "Dean and Sam and Julie are good people. They came to help you guys out, and that's why you're involved in this. I'm sure they didn't want to drag any of us into this."

"He's right," Jody interjected. "Those three would rather die than bring anyone else into this mess. That's why they brought us all here to protect us."

"Put it like that and Winchester sounds like a hero," James muttered before knocking back his beer.

Jody rolled her eyes at James. He and Dean apparently got along better now, but they were never going to be best friends. She watched as James turned back to Taylor and his eyes lit up a little. It was cute, seeing how crazy he was about her. Almost as crazy as Dean was about Julie.

Speaking of Dean and Julie…Jody hoped the three of them would get here soon. All of the hunters in this safe house had their own little groups they hunted in. Matthew Bones, Ellie, and Mitch all hunted together, and so they had become their own little clique. James and Taylor were inseparable, and being alone with them was awkwardly third-wheeling. That pretty Leah girl and Jim Morgan both had started hunting together, and the two of them stayed by each other's sides all the time. And that Chel woman and her husband Ian were inseparable as well. Jody was really the only person here who didn't have at least one other person in her group, and she was starting to feel like a bit of an outsider among all these tight-knit groups.

Suddenly, a knock came at the triple-locked, warded door. Jody and the nine other hunters inside the safe house all stopped what they were doing to turn and look towards the door. Everyone was silent for a moment, and then a familiar voice yelled, "Hey, it's us! Now would you let us in? It's freaking cold out here."

Jody grinned. "Well? Is somebody gonna let him in?" Taylor sighed, but she was smirking a little.

Jody walked over to the door and undid all of the locks. She swung it wide open and smirked at the three shivering hunters standing on the doorstep. "Get in here," she sighed, letting the three of them in. She started to close the door, but then stopped when she saw almost a dozen people standing there awkwardly, with Castiel and Hannah in the front of their little group.

She whistled softly "That's a lot of angels," Jody muttered before respectfully stepping aside to let them in.

Excited exclamations came from the group of hunters inside the safe house when Dean, Sam, and Julie stepped in, but the noise died down when about ten angels followed them. Castiel immediately sensed the awkwardness and turned to Dean. "Uh, Dean…" he said carefully. "Perhaps it would be best if we guarded the house from outside."

Dean took in several wide, wary pairs of eyes eying the angels and nodded. "Good call, Cas," he replied, and the angels left the house as suddenly as they had entered to guard it from outside.

"It's good to see you three," Jody said warmly, approaching the newest arrivals. She pulled Sam and Dean into a hug and then hugged Julie separately.

"You too, Jody," Sam smiled at her. "I'm glad all of you are safe."

He looked up to take in all of their friends, and the first person his eyes landed on was…Leah.

She gulped when they made eye contact and quickly looked away. Sam swallowed and looked down, trying to hide how that had stung. He had been so busy trying to keep Ben and Lisa safe he hadn't even stopped to process the fact that he was about to see Leah for the first time since they broke up and she left.

Sam had hoped no one noticed that, but he felt Julie squeeze his hand reassuringly and knew that she had. Thankfully, before Sam had to dwell on that for much longer, Taylor and James appeared in front of them.

"Took you long enough to get here," James grumbled, his accusing stare mostly focused on Dean. But he was smiling a little, which ruined his otherwise grumpy appearance.

"Glad to see you're not dead yet," Taylor told Julie airily, like it was no big deal. But Julie knew her cousin better, and she grinned and pulled her in for a hug.

"I was about to say the same thing to you," Julie replied as she hugged her cousin tightly.

Julie and Taylor pulled apart, but before they could do any more talking, Julie spotted Chel and Ian hovering nearby. She quickly assured Taylor that they would catch up later and then rushed over to her old best friend and her husband.

Sam, Dean, and Julie slowly worked their way through the crowd of hunters, greeting all of their friends. Leah seemed to disappear into another room by the time they reached Jim Morgan, and he apologized for her and admitted that she was afraid of seeing them again after she had left. The three hunters understood and thanked Jim for taking care of her and hunting with her.

Greeting Mitch Nelson was also a tense moment. Matthew Bones and Ellie Nelson were both downright friendly and hugged Sam, Dean, and Julie when they greeted them, but Mitch was still wary of Dean. He shook Sam and Julie's hands and greeted them, but he offered Dean only a curt nod by way of greeting. Dean didn't really blame him though. If Dean were in Mitch's shoes, he doubted he would trust the other guy either.

Eventually, they worked their way through everyone (except Leah, who was still in hiding). Dean was desperate to sit down, because he hadn't really slept in nearly forty-eight hours and he needed rest, but before he could get some, Mitch asked loudly, "So what's the plan?"

The three hunters exchanged looks. "Well…" Sam started uncertainly.

"We're still working on that," Julie said when neither of the brothers seemed capable of answering the question. "We just found out that you all are in danger very recently, and we were busy saving some other would-be victims of the Knights of Hell. But the angels are working on finding each of you a place where they can ward and protect you until the threat passes."

"Or the world ends," Dean threw in.

"Cheery," James muttered. "But what do we do now?"

"Stay here," Sam answered firmly. "This house is very well warded, and we've got several angels watching over us. Besides, here we have safety in numbers. If Beelzebub and his demons do attack, we at least stand a fighting chance."

"Makes sense," Jody said supportively.

"Glad to hear it," Dean said loudly. "Now, I don't really care what you all do to kill time, but I haven't slept in almost two days, and if I don't get some sleep soon, I'm going to just keel over."

He didn't wait for anyone's approval, just headed towards one of the four bedrooms in the safe house. They had chosen this safe house of all the known safe houses in the country because it was the largest. It had four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large kitchen, a large living room where they all were now, and a basement that provided extra protection from demons and had plenty of weapons and even space to train.

Julie sighed as she watched Dean and turned to the rest of the group. "We'll see you guys in the morning," she assured everyone with a weak smile before trailing after him. She said goodnight to Sam, who was also headed to bed, separately, and then she found Dean already stripped down to his boxers and lying down in a bed.

Wordlessly, she pulled of her bra and pants and crawled under the sheets next to him. It was a bit cold to be sleeping in nothing but a thin t-shirt and her underwear, but she was too tired to dig through the clothes that they had packed for actual pajamas.

Dean rolled over when Julie joined him and lay with his body facing hers. He stared at her for a long time, his expression unreadable.

"You need to go to sleep," she whispered, reaching out to stroke his hair.

"I haven't slept since he killed Charlie," Dean said so softly she could barely hear him. "Which means the nightmares are gonna…"

"Be awful, sure," Julie shrugged. "But you've still gotta sleep. We don't have time to fall apart Dean. There are ten people in this safe house that need protecting."

He looked torn. He knew she was right, but he wasn't ready to face those dreams.

"Should I get Cas?" she asked, concerned.

Dean shook his head. "No, he's got enough on his plate. He and all those angels are trying to find safe places to hide all these guys. He doesn't have time to deal with me."

"I always have time to deal with you," a low, rough voice came from a few feet away.

"Son of a-!" Dean spluttered, practically jumping out of bed. Julie stifled a laugh as his shock melted away to annoyance and embarrassment as he realized he was practically naked, and Dean quickly yanked the sheets back over him.

"Dammit, Cas, how many times do I have to tell you not to scare me like that?!" Dean snapped.

But Castiel wasn't listening. He reached out and touched the side of Dean's head, and the man immediately slumped back down onto the bed. Julie guided him into a more comfortable position and pulled the sheets up to completely cover him and keep him warm. Then she smiled softly at the angel who had answered her silent prayer for help.

"Thanks, Cas," she whispered.

He smiled fondly at her, but there was sadness in his eyes. "Do you want me to try to help you as well?" he asked.

"Honestly, I don't think you can," she admitted. "You know how bad they've gotten. The closer I get…well, anyway, thanks for the offer."

The angel shook his head at her sadly. He knew that his help no longer eased her nightmares the way she needed him too, but there was nothing he could do about it. "Goodnight, Julie," he said sadly.

"'Night, Cas," Julie replied, forcing a smile at him. And then, with a fluttering of his wings, he was gone.

Julie wrapped herself up in the blankets and pressed as close to Dean as she could. She rested her head on his chest, and even though he was deep in sleep, Dean stirred slightly and draped his arms around her. Julie sighed contentedly and buried her face in his neck. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the nightmares to come…

* * *

When Dean opened his eyes after a long, restful night of peaceful sleep, there was no one next to him. The bed was cold when he dragged his hand across the sheets to where Julie should be. He frowned and pushed himself into a sitting position, and then he saw her.

She was sitting on the edge of the bed, with her bare legs drawn up to her chest. She was hunched over, her whole body curled up into a ball like she was trying to make herself a smaller target. And her arms, which were locked around her knees, were shaking. When Dean drew closer to her, he could see tears tracks running down her cheeks.

Wordlessly, he moved to sit next to her. Julie jumped when he appeared beside her, and then she scrambled to wipe away her tears, whispering, "Oh, you're awake, sorry, I-"

"It's okay," he interrupted her gently, reaching out and pulling her close to him. She didn't try to fight him, and she curled back up into a ball, but this time she had Dean's arms around her and his warm chest pressed up against her side, and it helped a lot.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked after a long time.

"Never," she replied flatly, and he accepted that.

They stayed like that for a while longer, but eventually Julie pulled herself together. She pulled on some pants and went to shower and calm herself down further. Dean could tell she needed to be alone, so he got dressed and went out into the kitchen.

Sam was already there, and he had already found the coffee maker. He wordlessly handed his brother a mug the second Dean arrived. "Julie?" Sam asked nonchalantly, holding the mug he had poured for her expectantly.

"Showering," Dean replied calmly. He would have mentioned something about the nightmares, but Jim Morgan, Jody Mills, and Ian Davis were also in the kitchen, and that seemed like a private subject.

"Hey, guys," Dean greeted the others.

"Hey," they chorused back. "How'd you sleep?" Jody added kindly.

"Like a baby," he replied, and Sam gave him a surprised look. "Cas," he mouthed at his little brother, and Sam nodded in understanding.

"Well, I didn't," Jim complained. "You and Julie took the last real bed and I was a gentleman and let Leah sleep on the couch, which meant I slept on the floor."

"Boohoo," Dean shrugged unapologetically, and Sam stepped on his brother's foot.

While Dean whined about his hurt foot, Sam addressed Ian. "Chel still in bed?"

"This is the first time in three weeks we've been able to sleep without Lily waking us up," Ian sighed wearily. "I doubt that woman will ever get out of bed."

Sam and Dean both chuckled. Dean thought back fondly to that cute little baby and the conversation she had caused between him and Julie, how he has confessed to her that he wanted kids, and her promise that they would fix everything and she would give him kids and a happy ever after.

But even he had to admit that wasn't going to happen.

"What do you say, Dean?" Jody asked, pulling him out of his dark thoughts.

"Sorry, what?" he asked dumbly.

"How do you feel about cooking us all up some eggs and sausages?"

Dean started to protest, but Sam said loudly, "He'd love to. Come on, guys, let's get out of the kitchen so he can get to work." Sam ushered everyone out of the kitchen and turned to give his brother a mischievous grin. Dean flipped his little brother off and then went to work making scrambled eggs for all of the hungry hunters in the safe house.

He'd been cooking for maybe ten minutes when he heard bare feet pad softly into the kitchen. He didn't turn away from his skillet, though, not even a moment later, when he felt her arms sliding around his waist to hug him. He allowed himself a small smile when she stretched up on her tiptoes to kiss the back of his neck.

She fell back to flat feet and pressed her forehead up against the back of his shoulder. "Thanks," she whispered into his shoulder blade.

"For what?" Dean frowned, unable to turn to look at her with her wrapped tightly around him and hiding behind him.

"You know," she muttered.

Dean turned off the burner since the eggs were done anyway, reached down and gently pulled Julie's arms apart. He turned to face her and took her face in his hands. "Of course," he said earnestly. "I will always be there for you." _At least for another month._

Julie put a hand on the back of Dean's neck and pulled him down to where she could kiss him. His lips met hers and a strange sense of urgency filled him. One of his hands slid from her cheek to her hip and pulled her close to him. Julie grabbed Dean's face and pressed as close to him as she could, kissing him desperately, like any second he was going to be dragged away from her and she would lose him forever-

"Hey, when are those eggs going to be—oh," James hollered as he entered the kitchen to find his ex-girlfriend and her irritating current boyfriend sucking face. They pulled their faces apart when they heard his voice, but they kept their hands on each other, even though he really wished they wouldn't.

"Sorry to interrupt," James said awkwardly.

Julie smirked a little. "Don't worry about it," she said kindly. "And I think the eggs are done, right, honey?"

Dean nodded, and she picked up the skillet and dumped it into a large bowl. "I'll take this out to everyone," she said brightly, picking up the bowl and leaving the kitchen with it.

Dean and James stared each other down for a moment. Then James smirked. "What?" Dean snapped.

"'Honey'?" James smirked, and Dean rolled his eyes. "I don't know, Winchester, you just never struck me as the type of guy who gets called 'honey.'"

"Jealous?" Dean smirked.

James shrugged. "Nah. Not really. I mean, I got to sleep with her first."

Dean took a deep breath to keep calm. "I think there's another reason you're not jealous anymore," he smirked, crossing his arms.

"And what's that?" James replied, eyebrows raised.

"Because you're in love with someone else."

James stood there with his mouth opening and closing and a dumb look on his face. "I—what—I don't," James spluttered as Dean walked past him, smirking cockily. He didn't let James try to come up with an excuse and instead joined Julie in the living room as she served the waiting hunters, smiling when his eyes landed on the very girl that had James at a loss for words.

Julie sank down in a seat in-between Sam and Dean and began stuffing herself with eggs. Sam didn't have to be told that she had just gone through a rough night; he could just tell, and so he kept her and the others entertained with jokes and funny anecdotes about past hunts. She was smiling gratefully at him when her eyes landed on one of the only people who was still in bed. Or at least, who used to be.

She laid a hand on Sam's arm, and he frowned and looked at her. "What's up?"

In answer, she nodded towards Leah, who was standing in the doorway and staring right at him.

Sam swallowed nervously as he held eye contact with her. At least she wasn't looking away this time. He was frozen though, unsure how to handle this. He hadn't had to deal with ex-girlfriends very much in his life, since most women he had relationships with had ended up dead. But now he was faced with an ex-girlfriend, and even though things had ended peacefully, he had no idea how to handle things.

Julie leaned close to him and whispered, "Go talk to her."

"What?" Sam asked dumbly. "But last night she wouldn't even look at me!"

"Well, right now, she wants to talk to you," his best friend hissed in his ear.

"How can you tell?" he frowned.

"Because I have _eyes_," she muttered. "Now _go,_" she insisted, giving his arm a shove.

Sam stood up nervously and gave Leah a questioning look. She nodded at him slightly and ducked out into the hall. Sam looked back at Julie and Dean, who looked as bewildered as he felt. Julie shooed him away, and he took a deep breath and followed Leah out into the hall.

She was standing there waiting for him, and she looked about as nervous as he felt. Even nervous, she was beautiful. Her skin was even tanner than the last time he had seen her, and her dark hair was longer. Her pretty, big, dark eyes were the same as she stared up at him. She was wearing a maroon college sweatshirt and black cotton shorts, but even in her casual sleep clothes, he still found her attractive.

The two of them were silent for a moment, just staring at each other. Leah was the first one to speak. "Hi, Sam," she forced out timidly.

"Hey," he said carefully, smiling weakly at her.

"Look, I, uh…I'm sorry about avoiding you last night," she blurted out. "I don't know what was wrong with me. I just…I hadn't seen you or Dean or Julie since I left, and I wasn't sure how you guys would react and seeing you…I don't know, I guess I got nervous."

"It's okay," he assured her. "Really. I understand."

"Of course you do," Leah sighed. "God, Sam, you're too nice. How am I supposed to ignore you if you're so nice to me?"

"Well, you don't _have _to ignore me," Sam pointed out. "You could just hang out with me and the rest of us."

"I have to ignore you, because spending time with you makes me want to jump your bones," she replied, smirking a little.

Sam's eyes widened. "Well…I guess you could do that too."

She laughed, and he laughed too. "In all seriousness, you really don't have to avoid us," Sam assured her. "As far as we're concerned, everything's good between you and Dean and Julie and me."

"Thanks," she smiled up at him. "And thanks for making sure Jim and I stayed safe."

"Of course," he said earnestly. "I would never let anything happen to you. Or Jim," he added as an afterthought.

Leah smiled. There was a brief lull in the conversation, and then Sam asked, "So how has it been, hunting with Jim?"

"Compared to hunting with you guys? A cakewalk," she smirked. "We handle simple cases, a ghost or, if we're feeling crazy, a demon or a couple vampires. We've never faced an army of Amazons or been ambushed by an army of demons or anything like that."

Sam smirked a little. "Well, those type of cases do seem to be reserved for those hunting with the Winchesters."

"No kidding," she smirked. "But no, seriously, hunting with Jim is good. We help people, but we only take cases we can actually handle. And we work well together. He's a really nice guy, funny and smart and he's really handy in a fight. Plus he's good at faking being a cop because he was one, which I kind of suck at."

Sam chuckled. "Well, he sounds great."

"What about you, Sam? What have you guys been up to?" She seemed genuinely curious.

"Oh, nothing much," he shrugged. "Dean got turned into a werewolf by the Alpha werewolf, Dean turned Julie into a werewolf, and then we cured them and killed the Alpha werewolf…Dean and Julie got kidnapped by a serial killer ghost who wasn't really a ghost…a wraith made Dean and Julie go crazy…man, a lot of stuff happens to them!"

"Wow, that's a lot-" she started, but he was still going strong.

"My nightmares of Lucifer and Dean's nightmares of Michael got worse and more frequent, we stopped Beelzebub and Apollyon from breaking a seal, then we failed to stop them from breaking a seal, we stopped a vampire from murdering all of Dean and Julie's old friends, Dean tortured and killed a demon who was his roommate in hell, a Wendigo nearly killed Dean and Julie, and Beelzebub kidnapped Dean and killed our friend Charlie."

Leah was silent for a long moment. "I…"

"Oh, yeah, and a ghost almost drowned me. There, that was all the exciting stuff."

Leah swallowed. "Sam, I…that's awful," she whispered.

"Yeah, it was," he sighed. "And honestly? It's probably just gonna get worse. We've gotten no closer to saving Julie, and if Dean and I lose her…"

Leah shook her head. "Don't think like that, Sam. She's gonna be okay. You all are. You guys are tough, tougher than anybody, and you're going to make it through this."

"I sure hope so," he sighed wearily.

"Alright, that's enough depressing stuff," she said firmly. "Come on, let's go back there and hang out with all of your friends."

"And you'll hang out with us too? You won't keep trying to avoid me?" Sam asked her.

"I won't," she assured him, smiling up at him. He grinned down at her, and then the two of them rejoined the group.

* * *

It was a pretty good morning, as mornings went for Dean. Sure, he was a little anxious, since Cas and the other angels still weren't back, but his friends kept him busy. Whatever happened between Sam and Leah in the hallway, they were back to being friends, and he and James had learned to coexist, so there was little drama between people. The hunters just hung out in the living room, knocking back beers and playing cards and trading crazy stories.

Throughout the morning, he and Julie got to spend time with pretty much everyone inside the safe house, since Julie never left his side. Not that he would let her. At first, he and Julie talked with her friends Chel and Ian. They had lots of adorable stories about their sweet baby Lily and a couple funny stories from recent salt-and-burns. Dean found himself liking Julie's funny, sassy, energetic old friend and her brave, smart, funny husband even more as time went on. And he especially liked them when he destroyed them in a round of poker and made forty bucks off of the unsuspecting couple.

After watching Dean cream Chel and Ian in poker and getting a good laugh at Ian cussing Dean out, James decided to join the poker game. He sat cross-legged on the floor like Dean, Sam, Leah, and Jim were all doing. Julie sat beside Dean, not really interested in playing, but refusing to leave his side. And Julie couldn't resist a grin when she saw Taylor settling into a similar position beside James.

As the game wore on, James and Taylor were disgustingly adorable, whispering in each other's ears and snickering as he played the game. Jim Morgan won the first couple of rounds, and then Leah surprised everyone by winning thirty bucks off of one hand, but in the end it was Sam this time who ended up robbing the others. James never won a single hand of poker, but judging by the sizable grins on his and Taylor's face, neither of them seemed to care.

Julie and Taylor caught up for a while, talking about the hunts she and James had been going on. Julie was glad to get a chance to catch up with her cousin, but she was mostly just interested in seeing if Taylor had realized yet that she was in love with James. Julie dropped about half a dozen hints about how close Tay and James were, but her cousin remained clueless. Or maybe it was just an act to avoid a touchy subject. Whatever the reason, James and Taylor both seemed like they would never just admit their feelings for each other and get together.

While Julie and Taylor were catching up in the kitchen, Dean and Sam got a chance to catch up with Jody. She seemed to be doing well. The girl she had been raising, Alex, had just graduated from high school and had gotten a job at a local diner. Jody kept pushing Alex to go to a college of some sort, but Alex seemed content just to live in a small apartment and earn just enough money to get by. Jody had been having no trouble finding jobs with the uprising in monsters caused by the return of the Knights of Hell, but she hadn't found any jobs she couldn't handle. She sat and listened to the boys' troubles and assured them that Julie would make it through this and everything would turn out right in such a motherly way that they almost believed her.

Mitch Nelson kept a respectful distance from Dean, and he did the same. His little sister, Ellie, was all over the three of them, though, gushing about how amazing they were and telling Julie how adorable her shirt was and how cute she and Dean were. Ellie was a bit much for Dean, but Julie found her precious. Eventually, Matthew Bones dragged her away from them to give Dean a break, and Dean nodded gratefully at him, although he honestly didn't mind her gushing that much. It was nice to see such a hopeful, optimistic, earnest hunter.

Dean and Julie got a chance to catch up with Jim Morgan as well. He seemed to have settled into the hunting life quite easily. They asked him what monsters he and Leah had faced, and the list he gave them was quite impressive. He was funny and charming as always, and they were pleased to hear how protective and caring he was about Leah.

Dean didn't see Leah very much. She was always either with Jim or his brother. She spent an alarming amount of time with Sam, drinking with him or sitting away from the rest of the group and chatting with him, or laughing at his jokes and beaming up at him with her big, pretty eyes. Dean liked her very much, and he knew that Sam liked her a lot, but she was making him nervous. He remembered how hurt Sam had been when she left, even though she had left with good reason and left amicably, and he didn't want Sam to get hurt again.

But all in all, it was a good morning. He caught up with old friends, got closer with new ones, and spent all morning with the woman he loved by his side. And even with the death of Charlie and saying goodbye to Ben and Lisa so fresh in his mind, he found that he was actually kind of enjoying himself.

Cas and his angels returned just before lunch, just when people were beginning to get grumpy and whine about the lack of food. Dean was grateful to see his best friend, especially since the angel brought good news.

"We have managed to prepare three homes where your friends will be safe," Castiel said gravely, loud enough for all the hunters to hear, but directed at Dean. "They are well warded and stocked with enough supplies that they should not have to leave for the next month, and at that point, either Beelzebub will be defeated or the world will be ending. And there is no way anyone, demon, angel, or human, should be able to find them."

"Sounds great," Julie thanked him.

"But there's only three?" Taylor asked, concerned. "How is that going to work?"

"There is easily enough room for four people in each home," Hannah explained. "Hopefully you all can divide up peacefully."

The hunters all looked around nervously. "Just warning you now, our house is going to have a loud, constantly crying baby, so good luck with that," Chel said loudly. Several hunters chuckled, but no one volunteered to move in with a loud, constantly crying baby.

Dean was beginning to worry that none of the hunters would agree to move in together when Jody said warmly, "I'd be glad to room with you kids, help you with the baby. I've already been through that part of life, and I wouldn't mind going through it again."

Sam, Dean, Julie, Ian, and Chel all beamed gratefully at Jody. "And I can just live with Mitch and Ellie, if they're cool with it," Matthew shrugged. "We've done it before."

"Sounds good," Mitch said, and Matthew clapped him on the shoulder.

"You're a cool guy, Jim," James called to his fellow hunter.

"And I like you, Leah, even if you are dangerously close to being as hot as me," Taylor smirked, and Leah laughed. "James and I are cool with rooming with you two if you are."

Jim and Leah exchanged looks and Jim shrugged. Leah turned back to James and Taylor and said brightly, "We'd love to!"

"Great," Sam said brightly. "Looks like everybody's got a place to go, right, Cas?"

The angel nodded. "We'll take you there now, if you want."

"At least let everyone say their goodbyes," Julie pointed out. "They've been rooming together for a couple of days, and they've all grown on each other."

And so everyone made the rounds, saying goodbye to each other. Julie hugged every single person, even Mitch Nelson, although he seemed unsure how to react. Dean and Sam hugged Jody goodbye and shook the others' hands. It was surprisingly hard for Dean to say goodbye to all of his friends. Well, except for James and Mitch. He was okay with seeing them go.

Sam and Leah hugged for a long time, and she whispered something in his ear that made him smile fondly. Dean tried to let his worries go and just be glad that there was a girl in Sam's life who could make him smile like that. All he wanted was for his brother to be happy.

Julie and Taylor were the last to say goodbye to each other, hugging each other tightly. Julie promised Taylor that she was going to see her cousin again, that this wasn't the end of the line for them. Julie would live a long, happy life, they all would.

And neither of them had the heart to point out that the other was lying.

Julie pulled away from her elder cousin and smiled sadly at her. "I'll see you, Tay, I promise," she said around the lump in her throat.

"You'd better," Taylor said firmly. "You're not dying on me, little cousin."

Julie opened her mouth to give a witty reply, but before she could...everything went wrong.

A powerful wind picked up out of nowhere and blew around the house, rattling the windows and causing what felt almost like an earthquake. Julie gasped and grabbed onto Dean's arm as the lights began to flicker. Dean saw dark smoke clouding the nearest window.

And then the lights went out completely.

A couple people gasped in surprise and fear. Dean and Julie held perfectly still until a couple seconds later, when the backup power turned on. The moment they could see again, Castiel rushed over to Sam, Dean, and Julie and put his hand on Dean's shoulder.

"No," he breathed.

"What?" Julie asked, trying to hide her fear.

"I just tried to get you three out of here," Cas said gruffly, trying to hide his fear. "I can't teleport which means-"

"I told you I'd come for your little friends, Dean!" an all-too familiar voice boomed from outside, causing the anxious crowd of hunters and angels to murmur to each other and turn to stare at Dean.

"Beelzebub," Dean growled, his hand curling around the demon-killing knife on his belt. "He's here."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Buckle up, guys. It's about to get real.


	90. Chapter 90

**Chapter Ninety**

Julie was the first one to recover. She turned to Castiel and said sharply, without missing a beat, "Okay. I'll go out there and distract Beelzebub. Cas, you and your angels need to take all these guys, fight your way out, and get far enough away from Beelzebub to fly them someplace safe. I'll do whatever it takes to keep him busy while you guys get out."

"No way in hell is that happening," Dean growled. "I'm not letting you go anywhere near that son of a bitch."

"Dean, we do _not _have time for this!" Julie snapped. "Beelzebub is here _now,_ and there are a lot of innocent people here who will die if you don't let me do this."

"You're right, someone has got to fight him off so the others can get out," Dean said coldly. "I will. Sam and Cas can get you out of here, and I'll at least slow him down."

"No!" Julie cried. "Are you kidding me? You and Sam have to survive this and stop Lucifer from rising. Me? I'm dead in a month anyway."

"Stop talking like that," he growled, and they were practically nose-to-nose. "You're not dying today, and you're not going to hell."

"I don't care if I have to knock you out and Sam has to carry you out of here, I'm staying and you're going," she said coldly.

"I'm not leaving you," he replied just as coldly and fiercely. "If you're going to kill yourself, I'm going to die right next to you."

"Stop being ridiculous-"

"Oh, _I'm _being ridiculous?!"

"Dean, I'm not letting you die!"

"Well, _I'm _not letting _you _die!"

"Enough! Both of you!" Jody yelled, and Dean and Julie finally stopped bickering. "I'm not letting any of you sacrifice yourselves for me. If you're going out there to fight, so am I."

"Jody-" Sam started to protest.

"Same goes for me," Matthew Bones said bravely.

"Guys, no," Julie pleaded.

"There's no way I'm letting other people fight my battles for me," Mitch Nelson said firmly.

"I'm in, too," Ellie said, although she clearly looked scared.

"El, no," Mitch said. "You need to get somewhere safe."

"If you're staying, I am," she told her brother, and now she truly looked like she meant it.

"I'm fighting, too," Jim Morgan said firmly, and Leah stepped up next to him. "Me too," she agreed. Sam opened his mouth to protest, but she shot him a fierce look and he quickly shut his mouth.

"We're in too," Ian said, taking Chel's hand.

"Guys, the baby…" Julie protested.

Chel and Ian exchanged sad looks. "Obviously, we don't want to orphan Lily," Chel said after a moment. "But she's got several people set up to take care of her if anything ever happens to us. And…this is where we belong. We're not abandoning you guys in this fight."

"We can't ask you to do that," Sam protested.

"You're not asking, we're volunteering," Ian said firmly.

"I'm in too, obviously," James said.

Taylor sighed. "Peer pressure wins," she shrugged, like she wouldn't have volunteered anyway. "I'll fight, too."

"Guys, please…don't do this," Dean pleaded. "I'll distract him, and you all will at least have a shot at getting out of here."

"And that's not happening," Jody said firmly. "We're fighting, too."

Before Dean could continue to protest, Beelzebub's voice boomed, "Don't make me come in there! You've got one minute before I light the place on fire."

The hunters and angels exchanged nervous looks. "Well…is everybody ready for a fight?" Sam asked the others. The angels pulled out their angel blades and the hunters quickly armed themselves. Within thirty seconds, every single hunter and angel was ready for a fight.

Well, mostly. Just as they were preparing themselves to step outside and fight for their lives, James suddenly said loudly, "I can't do this."

"What?" Taylor cried.

He turned to face her, and there was an odd look in his eyes. "I'm not going to die without doing this first," he said, and then with no warning, he suddenly grabbed Taylor's face and kissed her.

At first, the whole group was shocked, including Taylor. But then Taylor relaxed and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around him. They kissed for a long time, and it was a passionate, deep kiss that made the others a little uncomfortable. But Julie couldn't resist a smile.

When James and Taylor finally pulled apart, Taylor asked him breathlessly, "How long-?"

"I've lost track," he replied, grinning. "I can't believe I didn't do that sooner."

"Alright, lovebirds, we've got to get ready to fight," Julie smirked.

James and Tay both turned to stare apologetically at her. "Julie, is this okay with you?" Taylor asked anxiously. "I know you and James-"

"I couldn't be happier for you two," Julie smiled, and she really meant it. "But right now, we've got to get out of here before that demon lights this place on fire."

James and Taylor both nodded, but they couldn't resist another quick kiss. Then nearly two dozen angels and hunters squared their shoulders, picked up their weapons, and walked out of the safe house to what would almost certainly be their deaths.

* * *

Beelzebub was about ready to set this safe house ablaze when the door opened and she walked out.

A devilish grin spread across his face when he saw Julie Carters. She was as lovely as ever, even though she surely must be spiraling with her deadline so close. Her big blue eyes were cold and hard, and her full lips were set in determination. And he was extremely grateful for the low-cut sweater and tight jeans she was wearing.

"Juliet, darling," Beelzebub crooned, stepping away from his sister and the small army of demons he had brought with him. "It's so good to see you."

"Go to hell," she replied coldly, crossing her arms as he slowly stalked towards her.

"Only if I get to bring you with me," he replied, a hungry glint in his eyes.

Julie glared at him for a moment, and then suddenly she said, "Okay. Fine." He blinked, surprised. "I'll go to hell with you right now if it means you and all these demons leave now and leave these people alone."

"Oh, sweetheart…you must know me better than that," the Knight of Hell smirked, still circling closer to her. He was almost close enough to touch her…

"I made a promise to your boyfriend when I killed that little friend of his," he continued. "I can't stop until Dean Winchester has lost everyone and everything he loves."

"God, you're despicable," she spat at him.

"Ooh, I like it when you call me names," Beelzebub purred, now close enough that he could reach out and stab her right now if he wanted. "Come on, call me something even worse."

"Alright, last chance," Julie said coldly, still unafraid. "I'll let you drag me to hell if it means you let them go."

"And what if I don't let them go?" he whispered, drawing so close that he could feel the heat radiating off her body. "What if I just _take _what I want and kill them too?"

Julie pulled away from him, and Beelzebub lunged for her, but a gun went off and he cried out in pain when a bullet went straight through his heart. He made another move towards her, but he was frozen in place.

"Then that will happen," Julie smirked at him from just out of his reach.

Before Beelzebub could snarl any of the horrible things he wanted to at her, Dean Winchester appeared beside Julie, his gun in hand, and Sam Winchester appeared on the other side of her. Beelzebub looked up to see hunters and angels alike pouring out of the safe house.

"Kill them all!" Beelzebub roared, and the nearly fifty demons waiting behind him all charged, weapons drawn. Without hesitation, Beelzebub plunged one of his knives into his chest and began digging around to find the bullet lodged in his heart, ignoring the pain, while war waged around him.

Whatever Jody had been expecting, this wasn't it. She wasn't ready to go to war with over four dozen demons, but now she had to be. She didn't even have a weapon that could kill demons, just a couple flasks of holy water, a gun loaded with devil's trap bullets, and a knife soaked in holy water. But as two tall, intimidating demons ran at her, knives in hand, she definitely did not feel prepared.

She dodged the first swipe aimed at her head and parried the second with her knife. But that one parry warned her that these demons were significantly stronger than her. The demons moved so there was one on either side of her and she couldn't possibly fight them both off. Jody pulled out her gun and fired, shooting one demon in the arm and trapping him in place, but the demon behind her saw its chance and took it. He lunged towards her, about to drive a knife through her spinal cord-

And then Dean stabbed him through the neck.

Jody gasped as the dead demon fell and she saw her friend standing there, bloody knife in hand. Before she could thank him, though, he started rattling off a rapid-fire exorcism. The trapped demon next to Jody screamed and thrashed for a few seconds until finally black smoke poured out of its victim's mouth and into the ground.

"Duck," Dean growled suddenly, and Jody obeyed. He threw his knife over her head, and it sank into the chest of the female demon who had been about to behead her from behind.

Dean pulled his weapon out of the female demon's chest and then stood back-to-back with Jody. "Cover me!" he ordered, and scarcely had he got the words out before three demons descended upon them.

Jody did her best to fight off one of the demons, punching and kicking and splashing it with holy water. She managed to send it sprawling onto the ground. She turned around to help Dean and saw him slitting the throat of the last demon standing. "Exorcise that one," he told her, nodding at the demon lying on the ground before launching into a fight with another demon.

Jody did as she was told, and once the demon had been exorcised, she took a moment to look around. There were at least a dozen dead demons lying on the ground, if not more, and yet there still seemed to be easily fifty of them. There must be more arriving as the fight went on. Still, as far as she could tell, everyone was still alive.

James and Taylor were fighting alongside Chel and Ian, the four of them looking out for each other and protecting one another. An angel fought alongside the four of them, stabbing each demon they managed to incapacitate. A few feet away, Matthew Bones and Mitch and Ellie were doing the same, immobilizing demons long enough for the two female angels helping them to off their attackers. Castiel, Hannah, and another male angel were simultaneously fighting Beelzebub to keep him from attacking the others. She spotted Sam and Jim Morgan working together side-by-side to protect Leah from the onslaught of demons going after her. And there were several other angels spread throughout the fight, holding their own against the army of demons. And Julie was-

"Jody!" Dean yelled, and she looked up just in time to see a demon coming at her. She barely managed to dodge his knife before she got her gun out and shot him in the leg. Then she quickly exorcised him, trying to get over how close she had come to dying.

"You've got to keep your eyes open," Dean scolded, coming to stand beside her. He hadn't been faring as well as before, from the looks of him. His shirt was torn and there was a cut on his cheek that was bleeding, but not heavily. Still, he was moving, and there were two more dead demons on the ground.

"Dean, Julie-" she started, but then she ducked as a demon started shooting at them. From a crouch, Dean shot back at it and immobilized it until the nearest angel could smite it.

"What about her?" Dean snapped.

"Look," Jody breathed, pointing past him.

Dean turned around to see the woman he loved fighting valiantly against a tall, sexy blond woman in tight, black leather clothes. He gritted his teeth as Apollyon slashed viciously at Julie, and while she managed to avoid getting beheaded, Apollyon's knife caught her across the forearm and Julie cried out.

He looked to Jody, torn. But she said firmly, "Go," and even pushed him towards the two fighting women. He gripped his knife tightly and started towards Apollyon and Julie.

Dean hadn't even gotten three steps before he heard a horrible gurgle behind him.

Dean whirled around, already filling with a horrible, icy fear. And then he saw the knife tip protruding from Jody's stomach, slick with blood.

The demon pulled his knife out of her, and Jody Mills slumped to her knees, gasping weakly. Dean's vision went red, and before he quite knew what he was doing, he was in front of the demon, driving his knife up into the monster's ribcage.

It fell to the ground, dead, but he didn't care. He didn't care about anything but Jody Mills kneeling on the ground, her shirt soaking through with blood.

Dean fell to his knees beside Jody just as she fell forward. He caught her right before she landed facedown in the dirt. Without hesitating, he gathered her up in his arms and rushed her back to the safety of the house. He stepped over the threshold and gently lay her down on the ground. She was safe now. All he had to do was stop the bleeding…

But there was too much blood. One glance told Dean there was already too much blood. And she was so pale, her eyes already glassy, and she was no longer gasping for air like she had been.

"Jody, come on," Dean pleaded, pressing his hand onto her wound. "Stay with me. I'll get you help, I'll get an angel to save you…I'll…"

His hands were trembling, and his vision was getting blurry, but he couldn't figure out why. She would be fine. He'd just find an angel who wasn't busy fighting for their life and get them to heal her before it was too late…

Jody stirred very slightly, and she moved her hand to rest on Dean's as he put pressure on her bleeding stomach. "Go…" Jody choked out. "Stop…them…" she finished in a voice so weak he could barely hear it.

"No, I'm gonna get you help, Jody," Dean insisted. "I'm going to help you, you're gonna be okay, you're…" His throat was too tight to speak. And anyway, it didn't matter. The life had gone out of her eyes. She wasn't struggling to breathe anymore. She wasn't breathing anymore.

"No," Dean said thickly. "No, no, no!" He balled up his bloody fist and punched the wall so hard his knuckles split, but he didn't care. He barely felt it. He was already in too much pain.

He wanted to stay here next to Jody until Julie or someone found him and could take care of him. But he couldn't. The sounds of guns being fired and knives clashing and people screaming in pain were coming from just outside. There were good people out there, fighting for their lives and even dying, like Jody, just because they knew him. And he had to go back out there. He had to get out there and stop the monsters who were causing this.

So Dean picked up his knife and left his friend lying there, cold and stiff and alone.

He was grateful to see that Julie was no longer alone in fighting Apollyon. Sam was right beside her, and the two of them were holding their own against the Knight of Hell. In fact, everyone was holding their own. The ground was littered with unconscious or dead bodies, but he could spot most of his friends still fighting. And there were only about twenty-five demons still fighting.

Dean dove back into the fight, hacking and stabbing his way through two demons to get to Sam and Julie and Apollyon. She swallowed when he joined them, eying the three dangerous, skilled hunters opposing her nervously.

"What's the matter, Apollyon?" Dean smirked. "Afraid you can't handle all three of us?"

"I may not be much of a fighter as we Knights go," Apollyon said coldly. "But I am still a Knight of Hell."

She threw out her perfectly manicured hand and Dean, Sam and Julie went sailing several feet back through the air. Sam collided with a tree and lay on the ground, stunned for a moment, but Julie and Dean picked themselves up. Julie rushed to Sam's side and helped him up, while Dean glared at Apollyon.

"Neat trick," he smirked. "But I still doubt you can take out all three of us."

"And why should I have to?" she smirked. "You do have me outnumbered. So I'll just let those grunts take care of Sammy and Julie while I deal with you."

Dean looked over and saw four demons descending on Sam and Julie. He moved to help them, but Sam hollered, "We've got this! Take care of her!"

And so Dean turned back to Apollyon and charged her.

Their knives clashed, and she threw him back. Dean made another stab at Apollyon, and she just managed to dodge it. However, his next swipe caught her in the side, and she howled in pain.

But instead of being briefly immobilized by pain like she had been in the past when he stabbed her, Apollyon grabbed his hand over the hilt of the knife, holding him there. And before he could pull free of her grip, she drove her own knife into his shoulder.

Dean cried out in pain, and then Apollyon pulled her knife out of his shoulder and kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling.

He lay on the ground, gripping his bleeding shoulder and trying to swallow the pain. He started to force himself up into a sitting position, but then Apollyon planted a boot on his chest, pinning him to the ground. She pulled his knife out of her side and turned it to face him.

Before she could stab him, though, Dean drove a smaller knife he kept in his boot into her leg. She shrieked in pain and anger, but didn't let up her hold on him like he had hoped. Instead, she pulled back his own knife to stab Dean.

And then a silver angel blade flicked through the air, separating her hand from her arm.

Apollyon screamed in pain and shock, staring at her bloody stump of an arm. A trench coat-clad arm threw her several feet away from Dean where she lay whimpering on the ground.

Dean stared up at Cas in surprise. The angel helped Dean stand up just as Sam and Julie finally finished off their attackers and rushed over to Dean. Julie moved to go cut Apollyon up into bits, but the demon saw the four of them standing there, armed and ready to fight, and wisely teleported away.

"Cas, what are you doing here?" Dean cried.

"Saving your life," his best friend replied.

"No, I mean, what are you doing _here_?" he shouted. "You and Hannah are supposed to be keeping Beelzebub busy!"

"I saw you were in trouble, and we were losing, so we decided to help you and your friends," Cas said defensively.

"Then who is keeping Beelzebub occupied?" Sam asked darkly.

"Oh my God," Julie breathed, her blue eyes locked on something far past them in horror. Sam and Dean whirled around and saw the horrible sight she was witnessing.

James was in the process of exorcising a demon. But unbeknownst to him, a far more powerful demon had just appeared right behind him with the First Blade in hand.

Taylor had just been fighting off a female demon when an angel stepped in and finished it off for her. She nodded thankfully at the angel and turned around…just in time to watch Beelzebub drive the First Blade through James' heart.

She was frozen in place, just staring at James' pale, pained face. He met her eyes and sucked in one long, ragged breath. That moment never seemed to end, his eyes just staring into hers.

And then the demon pulled his Blade out of James, and the man she had finally realized that she loved fell to the ground, dead.

Taylor screamed, one endless, drawn out noise filled with all of the pain and shock and anger and grief she was feeling in that moment. And then she surprised herself by doing the most stupid thing she possibly could.

She charged Beelzebub and drove her knife into his chest. Her blade sank deep into his skin just as the tears finally spilled over her eyes. But right in that moment, as Beelzebub stared from the hole in his stomach to her, Taylor wasn't filled with grief.

She was filled with fear.

"No!" Julie screamed from far away, too far away to help, as Beelzebub's face twisted in rage, and without a moment of hesitation, the demon slit her cousin's throat with a flick of his wrist.

"Tay!" she half-screamed, half-sobbed, taking off running towards the two fallen hunters. Sam and Dean both tried to run after her and stop her, and they barely managed to catch her and hold her back before she was within Beelzebub's reach.

The Knight of Hell had been chuckling evilly, taking in the two fresh bodies at his feet. But as he looked up and took in his surroundings, he realized he was one of only five demons left standing. Apollyon had left, and every other demon was exorcised or dead. And yet there were still seven angels standing, and nine armed, furious hunters ready for battle.

He was the king of the Knights of Hell. He was the bearer of the Mark of Cain and the First Blade. But right now, looking in the murderous eyes of Sam, Dean, and Castiel…he didn't like his odds much.

Beelzebub suddenly vanished, and the four other surviving demons disappeared as well. And then, finally, the clearing was silent for a moment.

At least until Julie began to sob.

* * *

Seven people. Seven people had died in the fight against Beelzebub and his army. Three angels, including the brave soldier who had been fighting Beelzebub alongside Cas and Hannah, and four humans: Jody Mills, Matthew Bones, James Hawthorne, and Taylor Carters.

A few of the survivors did their best to clean up the mess. Sam and Cas organized the three angels and four humans who volunteered. Chel and Ian went through the bodies littering the ground, finding the poor victims who had been possessed and then exorcised and waking them up. Then Chel and Ian gave the group of nearly fifteen bewildered, scared people a cellphone to call 911 and sent them walking in the direction of the nearest highway.

Meanwhile, Mitch and Jim helped Hannah and two other angels gather up the dead demons' victims and move them into a large ditch about a hundred yards from the house. The angels then used their powers to bury the bodies deep in the ground so no one would stumble across a ditch full of neary fifty dead bodies in the middle of the woods.

And Sam and Cas wrapped the bodies of their fallen friends in tarps and built a pyre.

Sam wasn't sure if he was going to puke or cry as he wrapped Matthew Bones' body in a black tarp, hiding his deathly pale, lifeless face from view. Matthew had been a good man, a friend, and a valuable ally on a hunt, and now he was just a body.

And all because he had been their friend.

Still, that was nowhere near as painful as having to wrap Jody's body in a tarp. He had known Jody for years, and she had always been a source of comfort and wisdom and kindness for him. She had been a selfless, intelligent, good person who had suffered so much and had chosen to devote her life to making sure others didn't suffer like she had. And it wasn't fair for her to die like this.

Sam actually couldn't wrap James and Taylor's dead bodies up. He physically could not. He had to ask Cas to do it for him, because he couldn't stand to look at them. It only reminded him that because of him and his brother, Julie's entire family was now dead, and that fact broke his heart and made him feel sick with guilt.

But as bad as he felt, he couldn't possibly feel as bad as Dean, who was sitting alone in one of the bathrooms inside the safe house, an empty bottle of whiskey lying at his feet and another half-empty bottle in his hand. He knew he was getting dangerously drunk with each burning swallow, but he didn't care. He had to forget, he had to block out the horrible feeling of Jody's body going limp in his arms, the horrible sight of Beelzebub slitting Taylor's throat.

Dean knew where he should be. He should be with him the woman he loved who was utterly destroyed by grief at the moment. As of today, she officially had no family. Her cousin who had been like a sister to her had died today because Dean had managed to piss off the most dangerous demon alive.

The worst part of this whole mess was knowing that if he had just listened to Julie, if he had just let her sacrifice herself to Beelzebub, everyone would have almost certainly survived. He had seen the terrible, hungry way the king of the Knights had been eying his girlfriend, how utterly obsessed he had been with her in that moment. He was so distracted by Julie that everyone inside the safe house would have been able to run out of there and get to safety before he got bored with her and went after them. If Dean had just listened to Julie, Jody and Matthew and James and Tay and those three angels would all be alive…

But Julie would be dead, or a slave to Beelzebub, his victim until he finally got bored and just killed her so he could torture her some more. And as horrible as he felt admitting it, Dean knew that even if he had known how it was going to end, he still would have chosen saving Julie over all the others.

Dean took another swig of his bottle, and another. He coughed, and then swallowed again and again until the bottle was empty and his thoughts were cloudy. He leaned his head against the side of the toilet, soothed by the cold, smooth porcelain against his cheek, and drifted off…

A few minutes, or maybe hours later, someone knocked on the door. "Dean? You in there?" a man's voice called gruffly. It took Dean a moment to place the voice. Nelson. Mitch Nelson, that was it.

Dean must have grunted in response, because Mitch said, "Come on. The pyre's ready. We're going to give them a proper send-off, and then we're getting the hell out of here."

Dean tried, he really did. He tried to push off of the ground and get to his feet, but he was all twisted up and he couldn't quite remember how to stand. Somehow, he got halfway up and then went crashing the floor. His hand landed on one of the empty bottles and the glass shattered. He gasped as hot pain stung his hand.

The door opened and Dean stared at the pair of boots in front of him. "Shit, Winchester," Mitch muttered. "What did you do?"

But Dean still wasn't talking. Mitch sighed and knelt down next to the older, drunker man. He did his best to gather up the broken glass and grabbed the unbroken bottle before dumping them both in the trash. Then he pulled Dean's bleeding hand into the light and carefully removed the shard of glass embedded in his palm.

"You're a mess," Mitch said, although there wasn't much judgment in his voice. He was just stating facts. He found a first aid kit in the cabinet and was about to start wrapping Dean's hand in a bandage when Mitch heard loud footsteps clomping through the house towards them, and a familiar voice hollered, "Dean? Dean?!"

Dean, who had been sitting there listlessly, perked up at his brother's voice. "He's in here, Sam," Mitch called gruffly, and a few seconds later, Sam Winchester appeared in the doorway. Sam took in his brother, sitting on the bathroom floor with a bleeding hand, clearly drunk off his ass, and sighed softly.

"Fell on a bottle," Mitch explained, nodding at Dean's bleeding hand.

Sam shook his head. "Thanks for looking after him, Mitch," he sighed. "I'll get him out there in a minute. Can you make sure everybody's out there?"

Mitch nodded at Sam and shot Dean one last look before leaving. It wasn't a cold or judgmental look, though. He honestly looked like he pitied Dean, and like he understood where Dean was coming from, wanting to get wasted like this to avoid the grief and pain.

Sam knelt down by his brother and gently but quickly bandaged his hand. Then he just took in his older brother for a moment. Dean was still wearing the same torn, blood-stained shirt as before. Against his will, Cas had healed the stab wound in his shoulder and the cut on his cheek as well as the bruised rib and sprained wrist he hadn't even realized he had. But even though he was mostly healed, he still looked like a mess, with a pale, haggard face and dark circles under his unfocused eyes.

"Come on, Dean," Sam said wearily, wedging his shoulder under Dean's arm and dragging his older brother to his feet. "We have to get out there so we can do this."

"I don't wanna," Dean slurred, staggering along next to Sam.

"Me neither, but we have to. They deserve this."

"I'm tired of burning my friends, Sammy," Dean admitted in a soft, slurred voice, and Sam had to stop walking as grief hit him like a truck.

"Me too," Sam whispered more to himself, and then they kept walking.

They had reached the door when Dean suddenly stopped walking and grabbed Sam's forearm. "Sammy," he gasped.

"What?" he frowned.

"Jules," Dean said urgently. "Is she…?" Sam looked down, and Dean's face crumpled. "I should've been with her, I should've been there for her…"

"Yes, you should have," Sam said coldly, but then he let up slightly. "But I wasn't there for her, either. We both failed this time."

"I have to see her," Dean pleaded.

"Well, she's out there with the others, about to watch her last family member go up in flames," Sam said flatly.

Dean found that he could walk on his own, even if he did stumble a couple of times, and he followed Sam out to the back of the house, where all of the survivors of the fight were gathered around a large pyre with seven bodies piled on it and wrapped in tarps.

Sam scanned the crowd. Mitch had found Ellie, and his little sister had buried her face in his jacket and was crying softly. Chel and Ian were holding hands tightly, and Chel brushed away a tear from her cheek. Jim was rubbing his eyes wearily, and a couple feet away, Leah was hugging herself and staring up at the pyre sadly. The angels were all gathered in a group, just staring blank-faced at the pyre where their fallen brothers and sisters lay.

And Julie was standing all alone, away from both groups, her back to Sam and Dean. Cas kept shooting her sad looks, but it was clear from her body language that she didn't want him to comfort her.

She only wanted one person to comfort her right now.

Sam was about to nudge Dean towards Julie, but he didn't need to. Somehow, even as drunk as he was, Dean had spotted Julie and started staggering towards her. "Jules," he breathed right before he reached her, and she turned around and gladly curled up inside his open arms, burying her face in his chest and hiding away from the world.

Sam came to stand next to them, and he squeezed Julie's shoulder. She pulled her face out of Dean's chest to meet his eyes with her own teary ones. Then Julie looked past him at the pyre, and she began to remember.

She remembered the first time she had met Matthew, how he had requested their help with a hunt, and how kind he had been to everyone, to Sam and Dean, to her although he didn't know her, to the people they saved. She remembered how he had taken care of Mitch and Ellie and how he had been the second person to volunteer to fight to the almost certain death to fight for them.

She remembered working hunts with Jody, remembered looking up to the kind, wise, older woman. She remembered laughing at funny stories from Sam and Dean's younger days. She remembered Jody coming to visit after Dean had died to check on her and Sam and comfort them in their pain. She remembered the selfless, brave, tough, clever, kind woman who had been a friend and mentor to her ever since she met her.

Then Julie remembered James. She remembered the handsome, charming stranger she had met on a hunt, the sweet, goofy guy who had trailed after her for weeks, trying to win her over. She remembered her first date with him, their first kiss, their first night together. She remembered how truly happy she had been with him, how funny and protective and brave he was, and how much he meant to her. She remembered all the good things about James, all the things she had loved about him, even if, in the end, he hadn't been the one. And she remembered how happy she had been for James and Taylor just a few short hours ago, when they finally kissed, when they finally had a shot at a future together and happiness…

And then Julie was remembering Taylor. And she had a lifetime of memories of the girl who had practically been a sister to her, the girl she had been raised with, her friend and playmate and, at time, enemy. She remembered Taylor helping her get ready for dates, or girls' nights out during high school, or having sleepovers and watching dumb chick flicks and talking about boys. She remembered dragging Taylor along to hunts, she remembered how supportive Tay had been during her rebellious phase, and how sad her cousin had been to see her go when she left with Dean. She remembered every little flaw and virtue about her shallow, selfish, flighty, tough, spirited, independent, funny, protective, beautiful cousin who had been her only living family.

And once again, she started to cry. Julie buried her face back in Dean's shirt to hide her tears. Dean wrapped his arms tighter around her and swallowed back his own tears. Then he met Sam's eyes and nodded.

Sam took a deep breath, stepped forward, and lit the pyre. Then he stepped back and watched with the others as four more of his friends' bodies burned.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Oof. That was a tough chapter to write. I don't know if you all hate Beelzebub as much as I do (although I do love writing him, creepy evil bastard that he is), but if not, you had better hate him now! And the next time we see him and Apollyon will be the final showdown between them and the Winchesters...(bum bum BUM)...As I've said before, I'm going to end this story at chapter 100, so we're really getting into crunch time. There is still a lot to come in these final chapters, though, and I hope you all will enjoy it as much as I'm sure I will enjoy writing it! Only ten chapters left!


	91. Chapter 91

**Chapter Ninety-One**

_Julie frowned. She was standing in the library in the bunker, but she had no idea how she had got here. And it wasn't because she had been drunk the night before. She had gotten past her drinking to ease the pain phase, and the past two nights she had gone to bed sober so that she could take care of Dean, who definitely had not moved past that phase yet._

_The last thing she remembered was lying down in bed next to Dean, rubbing his back soothingly until he drifted off, and then she had soon followed him into sleep…_

_So she must be dreaming. But this was nothing like her usual dreams, full of pain and blood and death. She was just in the library, and everything looked and felt and even smelled real._

_"__It's Julie, right?" a man's smooth, pleasant voice asked behind her. She whirled around and found herself staring at a tall, sandy-haired man with handsome, familiar features. It took her a second to place him but once she did, she gasped sharply and took a step back from him._

_That was the same man she had once seen in a corn maze what felt like a decade ago, the man she had found torturing and tormenting Sam. His worst fear._

_Lucifer._

_"__Stay away from me," Julie said shrilly, trying to keep her voice from shaking. She was literally staring at the face of the devil, after all._

_"__Easy," he said soothingly, putting his hands up in surrender. "I'm not going to hurt you."_

_Julie stared warily at him. "You're kidding me, right?" she asked finally. "You're _Lucifer!"

_"__I'm kind of surprised you recognized me," he admitted calmly._

_"__I saw you once, or a shape shifter pretending to be you, torturing my best friend," Julie said darkly. "And from what I've heard, the real you takes pleasure in doing the same thing."_

_Lucifer sighed wearily. "Oh, how I wish things were different. Beelzebub and the other Knights have ruined all of my plans. This was never how I meant any of this to go."_

_She eyed him warily, and then finally blurted out, "What do you mean?"_

_"__I don't enjoy hurting Sam!" he said indignantly. "Why would I enjoy that? He's my vessel, my partner. We were supposed to work together to right the wrongs of this world. But the angels and now the demons have ruined the plans I've spent eons creating, and now Sam will never trust me enough to join me willingly."_

_"__So just take no for an answer and leave him alone," Julie said coldly._

_"__Oh, how I wish that were possible," Lucifer said sadly, and there was such real sorrow in his voice that she almost believed him._

_Even though she knew Lucifer wasn't really here, and he couldn't really hurt her, it took all of Julie's courage to finally ask, "Why are you here, in _my _dream? Aren't you supposed to be torturing Sam right now?"_

_He shook his head. "I've tried to get Sam to see things my way by showing him how horrible things will be if he doesn't join me and Beelzebub continues to rule. I thought if I showed him the horrible things that monster would do to you and his brother, Sam would understand why he has to join me, so that I can save the world from those kind of monsters."_

_"__But you created Beelzebub," Julie pointed out, confused. "Why would you want to get rid of him?"_

_"__When I created demons, I was trying to get the humans who blindly followed a corrupt God to see the truth and be like me," he told her, so earnestly she almost believed him. "I thought I could create more angels! But instead, I accidentally created corrupt, sick beings. Demons are a mistake, and I have to rid the earth of them. All of them."_

_Julie glared suspiciously at him. "You can't seriously expect me to believe this."_

_"__You have to! Please, Julie, you're the only person that can save Sam now," Lucifer begged, taking a step towards her. Julie backed as far from him as she could, running into a bookshelf. Immediately, the fallen angel took a step back and put his arms up in surrender. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I'm really not going to hurt you."_

_"__Why should I believe you?" Julie asked coldly. "You're Lucifer. You're the devil!"_

_"__I'm an angel, just like your friend Castiel," he said soothingly._

_"__Who you killed, coincidentally," she shot back._

_For a moment, Julie thought she saw a spark of irritation behind Lucifer's seemingly calm demeanor. "He had just set my brother on fire, my brother that I loved. If someone hurt Sam or Dean, wouldn't you want to hurt them back?"_

_Julie just glared at him silently. "Julie, I promise you, I'm only here to ask for your help. You're the only person who can save Sam now."_

_"__You keep saying that," she said suspiciously. "Save him from what?"_

_"__Beelzebub's plan to get Sam to say yes to me is to torture him in horrific ways until he breaks," Lucifer explained. "Neither of us wants to see a man like Sam Winchester broken. He is far too strong and good to suffer like that, and I'm sure you agree. But if he says yes to me when I rise, there will be no reason for Beelzebub to hurt him. Then together, we can destroy Beelzebub and all the demons. We can bring back everyone he's ever lost. We can bring back your family, who have all died before their time. We can save you, Julie."_

_"__You're lying," Julie said coldly, although some tiny part of her found it hard to believe a man this earnest and charming and sincere really could be lying. "You don't care about Sam, or anyone else. You won't bring back the people he loves either. You'll kill everyone, human, demon, or angel."_

_"__And who told you that?" Lucifer asked. "Dean Winchester?"_

_"__Sam, actually, who was briefly possessed by you and saw into your mind," she shot back icily._

_"__Sam saw what he wanted to see. He saw what Dean told him he would see. Sam would much rather believe what his hero big brother says than the creature he believes to be a monster says. And Dean believed the angels, because they told him he was good and righteous, everything he so desperately wanted to be."_

_"__Dean _is_ a good man," Julie spat. "And he was right."_

_"__Dean is lost," Lucifer said sadly, as if he felt bad for Dean. "He has always been lost, always searching for someone or something to follow. First it was his father, and then, when he lost him, he turned to the angels for guidance. Now he follows you, but soon he's going to lose you, too, and that may be a loss he can't recover from."_

_"__Stop it," Julie said coldly._

_"__I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I'm sure that's a touchy subject. You've got…just over three weeks now, isn't it?" She just glared at him. "I can save you, you know. If you help me, if you help Sam and you get him to say yes, I can save you with a word. I can make you immortal. You can be by Sam's side for the rest of eternity. You can have power, fame, your family, love. I can make you his queen. I can give you whatever you want, and I will if you convince him. I give you my word."_

_"__I don't want any of that," she replied firmly. "What I want is for you to leave us alone."_

_This time, Julie definitely saw a spark of anger in Lucifer's eyes. "Julie, if you help me, you and Sam can live forever, with everything you've ever wanted, surrounded by everyone you've ever loved and lost. But if you don't help me, Beelzebub will get your soul, and he'll do horrible things to you, humiliate, torture, and break you. It may take centuries, but he will turn you into a demon, a monster just like him. And your death will destroy Dean and Sam both. Do you really want that?"_

_"__I would rather spend the rest of eternity enduring unspeakable torture than even consider helping you possess Sam," Julie spat at Lucifer, actually taking a threatening step towards him._

_Lucifer shook his head and chuckled. "You're a brave little thing, aren't you? Annoyingly stubborn, sure, but brave. And beautiful." Julie blinked. "I can see why they both love you." Julie blinked again, unsure how to handle the devil complimenting her. "You're not like most humans. You and Sam…you're both a cut above the rest. You're the kind of people I want helping me rule."_

_"__That's never going to happen," she shot back._

_Lucifer regarded Julie for a long moment, and then said flatly, "I don't know you, Julie, not very well at least. But I know Sam Winchester. And I know how desperately he needs you, him and Dean both. If you die and go to hell, he will fall apart. Then it will be far too easy for me to make him my own. But if you cooperate, you can both have everything you've ever wanted, and you won't have to die. It's your choice."_

_And then Lucifer was practically on top of her, trapping her body against the bookshelf behind her. Julie gasped in fear, terror causing her to forget how to think or even breathe. Lucifer lowered his head and breathed into her ear, "But either way, I will have Sam Winchester."_

* * *

Julie jolted upright in bed, breathing heavily, her heart beating like a battering ram against her ribcage. It took several second of deep, calming breaths for her to get her fear and doubt under control.

Damn, was he good at getting under her skin! For a few seconds there, Lucifer had almost had her convinced.

She pushed her curls out of her face and looked down at the bed next to her. Dean was sprawled out across the bed, long limbs flung haphazardly across the bed, one leg hanging off the mattress. His right hand was still curled around an empty bottle resting on the nightstand next to their bed. He had clearly drunk himself to sleep and wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.

Julie sighed and slipped out of bed. She peeled Dean's fingers away from the bottle and forced his leg back onto the bed before tucking him in properly. He didn't stir once. For a moment, she just studied his sleeping face, part of her wanting to just stay here next to him and curl up next to his warm, sturdy frame. But she needed to do something else first.

So Julie pressed her lips to his forehead for a long moment before leaving their bedroom.

She walked silently through the chilly bunker, wishing she was wearing more than cotton shorts and a thin t-shirt. But soon enough she reached his bedroom door and knocked softly. It was silent inside, unsurprisingly. It wasn't even five o'clock in the morning yet. But she needed to talk to him, so Julie called timidly through the closed door, "Sam?"

A sleepy voice called back, "Julie?"

"Yeah," she admitted softy.

"Come in!" Sam called, and she eased the door open. Sam was sitting up in bed, his shaggy hair adorably mussed from sleep, wearing a thin, grey, cotton long-sleeved shirt and sweatpants. He squinted at the clock and then at her, still half-asleep. "Julie, it's four fifty-two in the morning!" he frowned. "What are you doing up?"

"I just met Lucifer," she replied carefully, and Sam's eyes widened. Instantly, he was fully awake. He scooted over on his large bed and patted the mattress beside him.

"Come here," he said gently, and Julie gladly curled up on the bed next to Sam. "What happened?" he asked, his tone dangerously angry.

"He didn't hurt me," she started quickly, because she could already see Sam getting pissed. "He just wanted to talk to me."

"Why you? So far he's just been bothering me."

"I think he's realized none of his tricks are getting through to you," Julie admitted. "So he thought maybe he could convince me to convince you to say yes."

Sam snorted in disbelief. "And he thought that would work?"

"He was pretty convincing," she admitted, twisting her fingers in his sheets so she had something to do with her nervous hands. "He promised me all of these things, said he would protect us both and bring back everyone we had ever cared about, and he said he cared about you and only wanted to protect you from what Beelzebub would do to you. It was a load of crap, obviously, but…"

"But he's a good liar," Sam finished. "Believe me, I know. He had decades of time to mess with me and make me doubt everything I've ever believed."

"He never hurt me," Julie said after a moment. "Never even touched me. But I've honestly never been so afraid of anything before. Not even Beelzebub scares me like he does."

"Believe me, I know how you feel," Sam murmured. "My fear of him drove me crazy, almost killed me."

Julie was silent, just staring at her hands. "I can't believe he went after you," Sam growled after a moment. "God, I almost want him to rise just so I can kill him myself."

"No, Sam, it's actually better this way!" Julie said earnestly. "He came into my dreams tonight, which means he wasn't in yours, right?" Sam hesitated. "You actually got to sleep tonight, didn't you? And he's trying to get me on his side, so he's obviously not going to torture me or anything. As long as there's still a chance he might convince me, he won't hurt me. So if he keeps coming after me and not you, but he won't hurt me…it's a win-win situation!"

"I don't want him to torment you, though," Sam said uncertainly.

"Actually, it's almost better than the other dreams I've been having," she admitted, and he swallowed.

"Right."

Julie glanced up at Sam. "We haven't talked about the plan since…since Beelzebub killed them."

"You're right," her best friend admitted. "Well…it's the same way it was before all of that awful stuff happened. I still have all the research Charlie did before she… well, anyway, we have everything we need to do it."

"Now we just need to get him on board," Julie muttered. "Which will be basically impossible."

"He let me do it before," Sam pointed out.

"Before he knew how it ends, and then he wouldn't let you finish," she shot back.

"Well, Julie, we're out of options. We've got three weeks until you die and Lucifer rises and the world ends. This might be the only chance we've got at making things at least a little better."

She nodded. "I agree. I know it has to happen. I just…I don't know how we'll get Dean to say yes."

"Well, he's usually so drunk that he might agree without really knowing what he's saying," Sam said, both joking and being honest.

"I'm so worried about him," Julie breathed. "He's so unstable right now, and if I go and do this to him-"

"He'll lose it," Sam agreed sadly. "And I won't be far behind him. But this…this is better than the alternative."

She nodded. "I know. I just…I wish…"

"Me too," he sighed, pulling her into a hug. She settled into his arms, resting her head on his chest, and before he knew it, her muscles relaxed and then Julie was out cold. Sam sighed and settled back down to sleep as well, with Julie's head resting over his heart.

* * *

A few hours later, after they had woken up and gotten dressed for the day, Sam and Julie found Dean. He was sitting at the main table in the bunker, drinking a glass of water and popping painkillers into his mouth. There were circles under his eyes and a dark beard forming on his unshaven jaw. He hadn't shaved or really done much of anything but drink, do fruitless research on how to save Julie, and grieve for five days.

"Hey, Dean," Julie said gently when she saw him. "How are you doing?"

He grunted irritably in response. "Sounds about right," she sighed, walking over to stand behind him and start rubbing his tense shoulders. "You know, maybe if you didn't get wasted every night, you wouldn't be hungover in the morning."

Dean didn't reply, not that she had expected him to. He put his head in his hands and relaxed slightly as Julie massaged some of the tension out of his neck and shoulders. Sam went into the kitchen and made coffee and breakfast for the three of them. When he returned, Dean was in a better mood, actually talking with Julie.

"You weren't in bed," Dean was saying to Julie, confused.

"I woke up really early," she told him. "Like, before five. I figured you could use the sleep, so I got out of bed to give you some peace and quiet."

"Nightmares?" he guessed, brushing his fingers across her cheek.

"You could say that," Julie muttered, and Dean kissed her temple and murmured apologies into her hair.

Sam felt a twinge of sadness, even as he smiled at the two of them. He had lived almost his entire life with Dean by his side. He had seen his brother hungover a thousand times, and he was usually gruff, irritable, and silent, not this tender, caring guy he was around Julie. Dean just loved her so goddamn much, and they were down to only three weeks together before she died. There would be no recovering from that death, not for either of them.

Sam and Julie made eye contact, and she nodded slightly at him. That meant Dean was in a good enough mood for the coming conversation to at least have a chance of not blowing up in their faces.

Still, Sam waited until everybody had drank their coffee and eaten breakfast before he braved the topic. "So, Dean…" he started nervously. "Obviously, we all know Julie is down to three weeks."

Dean's fist clenched on the table, and Julie put her hand over his in a soothing gesture. "Just hear him out," she begged, and Dean relaxed a little.

"I know we've had no luck on finding a way that she doesn't have to die," Sam continued. "But…Julie and I, and Charlie, too…we thought we had found a way to avoid Julie going to hell."

Dean just stared at him. "What?" he asked slowly. "Are you serious?" His expression darkened. "Sam, if you're messing with me-"

"I would never do that," Sam snapped. "Not about something like this."

"Well then, what is it? How can we save her?" Dean asked desperately.

Sam shot a nervous look at Julie, and she nodded. He took a deep breath and the blurted out, "We can close the gates of hell."

Dean frowned. "What?"

"Well, if we close the gates of hell, then she can't get dragged down to hell," Sam said quickly, before Dean could stop him. "And it might weaken Beelzebub, or at least prevent him from calling up more troops. And, best case scenario, it might even trap Lucifer and Michael in the cage in hell for good."

His older brother was just staring at him. "Well, that would all be great," Dean said slowly. "But how do you suggest we close the gates?"

Sam swallowed nervously. "We…we let her do the trials."

He waited for the explosion. He waited for Dean to shout and rage and throw things. He waited to be reminded of the last time someone tried to complete the trials of God, himself, and how it had basically killed him before he even completed them.

But Dean just sat there in silence, staring down at the oak table, deep in thought. Sam and Julie exchanged worried looks as they waited for him to speak. Finally, Sam couldn't wait any longer, and he blurted out, "Well? What do you think?"

Dean let out a long, slow breath and looked up at his little brother. And then he said, "Okay."

Julie and Sam both stared at him in shock. "What?" Julie asked, surprised.

"I said okay," he said flatly. "Let's do it."

"Dean…do you not remember what happened to me when I did them?" Sam frowned.

"You basically died, and that was before you even finished them," Dean said calmly. "Believe me, I'm not forgetting that anytime soon. But Julie…Julie is going to die either way. At least this way, she doesn't go to hell."

The other two just stared at him in shock. "Wow. We thought it was going to be a lot harder to convince you," Julie admitted.

"Julie…in the past week I have had to say goodbye to Ben and Lisa all over again. I have had to watch Beelzebub murder one of my closest friends, and then I had to watch four more of my friends die. And for all I know, Beelzebub has dragged them all down into hell like he did with you. But I cannot watch the same thing happen to you. So if there's a way to ensure you don't go to hell, even if that means you still have to die…I say we take it."

Julie stared sadly at him. Those deaths must have utterly destroyed Dean, because the old Dean, the one she had loved for two years, would never have agreed to this, even if it was their best bet. He would have fought them to the bitter end, refusing to let Julie die for any reason.

There was a reason he wasn't fighting anymore. And it broke her heart.

He had lost all hope.

"Alright then," Sam said softly. "Then I guess…let's get to work."

* * *

"Well, don't you look chipper," Crowley smirked as he walked into the bunker and was greeted by the sight of Dean Winchester, with dark circles under his dead eyes and a dark beard covering his usually clean-shaven jaw. He was wearing jeans and a dark sweatshirt, and he looked like absolute shit.

"Don't talk," Dean replied sourly, before taking a swig of whatever dark liquid was in his bottle.

Crowley raised an eyebrow. "It's not even noon, and you're simultaneously drunk and hungover. Is that really wise?" He nodded at Dean's bottle.

"Almost all of my friends are dead and my girlfriend wants to kill herself," Dean shot back in an cold, flat voice, and Crowley decided to let him have this one.

The demon followed Dean in silence down the stairs and deeper into the bunker, where Julie, Sam, and Castiel already waited, crowded around a piece of paper on the table.

"So, what do you four need me for today?" he asked grandly, and they all looked up at him.

Cas, Sam, and Julie were all silent, and so Dean said gruffly, "She wants to sacrifice herself to close the gates of hell so that she can't be damned to hell herself," and then plopped down in a chair to watch the action unfold.

"No," Crowley said flatly, starting to turn away.

"What?" Julie cried.

"What do you mean 'no'?!" Sam snapped.

He faced them again. "I mean, no. I'm not going to help you idiots close the gates to _my_ kingdom."

Sam and Julie exchanged nervous looks. Crap. They hadn't bet on Crowley opposing them on this.

"Crowley, hell is no longer in your possession," Castiel said as calmly as possible. "We have no other way to take it from Beelzebub than to seal it off altogether."

"And I'm telling you, as long as there is even the tiniest chance that I can get my kingdom back, I'm not helping you seal the gates!" the demon snapped.

"Come on, Crowley! You're not getting hell back from Beelzebub," Sam snapped. "He's more powerful than any of us, and there is no way we're overthrowing him if Lucifer is allowed to rise. So we've got to close the gates before he can raise Lucifer and end the world."

Crowley knew that Sam was right. They all had valid points, and he knew this was his best shot at surviving this mess. But he still had his pride, and he still had to cling to that tiny spark of hope that he might become king again.

"Crowley, please," Julie begged softly from behind him. "This is my last shot at not going to hell. Please."

The former king of hell took a slow, deep breath and growled, "What do you need me to do?"

Julie breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Sam. "First, she needs to kill a hellhound and bathe in its blood."

"Lovely," Crowley sighed, his back still to them. "Well, I no longer have my pet hellhound considering I'm not the king of hell anymore. But I can find you one of the people I've made deals with whose time limit is about to expire, and you can kill their hellhound."

"Thank you," Julie said gratefully.

"Yeah, well, thank me if you can actually kill it," the demon grumbled. Then he snapped his fingers and he was gone.

Julie sagged a little. "I'm not sure I can face a hellhound, guys," she admitted softly. "Just the thought of one scares the crap out of me."

"We'll be there to help you," Sam assured her, squeezing her hand.

"And I will acquire some glasses and burn them with holy fire so that you will be able to see the hounds," Cas told her kindly. She nodded gratefully at him, and then the angel squeezed her shoulder and then vanished as well.

Sam glanced between Dean, who was sitting there in a sulky silence, and then at Julie, who was eying him anxiously. He sighed and came up with a lame excuse to leave so that they would be alone.

Dean was about to take another swig from his bottle when Julie's hand closed around the neck of the bottle and pulled it away from him. She chugged the entire rest of the bottle, coughing a little when she was finished, and set it down on the table.

"There," she said flatly. "Now you can quit drinking and just tell me what's wrong."

Dean just shrugged deeper into his sweatshirt, if that was possible. Julie sighed and sat down on the edge of the table, her leg pressed against his arm. "Are you really not going to talk to me?" she asked softly. "I mean, I thought you were okay with this. Or as okay with it as you could be."

"I am," Dean muttered. "It's just…" He shook his head. "I don't know, it's stupid."

"Nothing you could possibly say is stupid," she promised him, running her fingers through his hair.

"You didn't tell me," he blurted out. "You didn't come to me with this, you came to Sam. And I just…it makes me wonder what else you aren't telling me, but you're telling him."

Julie swallowed and thought about it. He wasn't wrong. There were a lot of things about her that she only told Sam. She had told Sam first when she thought she was pregnant, and she had told him first that she had sold her soul. She had started coming to him first when nightmares woke her, and she had come to him to make this plan. Even just this morning, she had woken up and come to Sam with her nightmare of Lucifer, and not Dean.

Maybe he was right. Maybe there really was an issue here.

She obviously didn't do this to hurt Dean. She was just trying to protect him. And so she tried to hide her pain and her fear from him, dumping it all on Sam because he could handle it better, and then he could help her recover. It wasn't that she trusted Sam more than Dean or anything like that, but that's probably how Dean saw it. And she wanted to fix that.

"You're right," she admitted softly. "I have been coming to Sam with my problems more than you. But, honestly, Dean…I do that because I'm afraid if I dump any more of my crap on you, you'll just break. You're already going through so much, and I don't want to make your life even harder."

"I don't want that," Dean snapped. "I don't want you to see me as some breakable thing that's going to fall apart if I hear about your problems. I want to be able to help you, Jules. Helping you get to a better place helps me, too."

Julie slid off of the table and settled in Dean's lap. Dean wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to his chest, and she nuzzled into his thick, warm sweatshirt. "Okay," she whispered. "You really want to hear about my crap?" She felt him nod as his stubble scratched at the top of her head. "Last night, Lucifer paid me a visit."

Julie felt his powerful arms tense up around. "What?" Dean growled angrily.

She put a hand on chest soothingly. "He didn't hurt me or anything," she assured him. "He's smarter than that. He's trying to convince me to join his side so that I'll get Sam to say yes."

"I'm guessing it didn't work?" Dean asked carefully.

"No. But he was pretty damn convincing. And even though he never hurt me… he's scary as hell."

"Believe me, I know," he said coldly. "I've watched that son of a bitch murder good people with nothing more than a thought. He's pure evil, but he's smart enough to appear like one of the good guys."

"We're not going to be able to stop him if he rises, are we?" Julie whispered into Dean's chest, really truly afraid.

Dean didn't answer that question. Instead, he just kissed her forehead and said, "He won't. He's not ever going to get his hands on you or Sammy or anyone."

Julie smiled sadly at him. "Okay. I shared something with you. Now I think you owe me something."

"Anything," he said quickly, eager to please.

"Come on." Julie pulled him up and dragged him by his hand to their bedroom. Dean was a little surprised, because she hadn't really seemed turned on or anything a few minutes ago, but he was never one to say no to sex.

But instead of trying to undress Dean, Julie just pulled him down onto the bed next to her and pulled the sheets up over them. "What-?" he started to ask, a little lost.

"Get some sleep," she begged him. "You still look like you need to sleep for about a year."

"You'll stay with me?" he asked nervously.

In answer, Julie moved closer to him, sprawling her limbs over him and burying her face in his neck. "I'm not going anywhere," she breathed into his neck before kissing at his scruffy jaw for a while.

Of course, that would only be true for three more weeks. But for now, at least, that was enough.

* * *

Julie was amazed to wake up and find that she had actually slept. Sure, it only had been for about three hours, and it had been fitful sleep, but there had been no real nightmares. She woke up pleasantly surprised, and found herself staring into Dean's green eyes. They seemed much more alert and bright than they had this morning. The three hour nap had helped him a lot, it seemed.

They lay there in each other's arms, just staring into each other's eyes for an unmeasurable amount of time. It could have been seconds, minutes, or years. But eventually, someone knocked on the door. "Hey, guys? Cas is back."

"We'll be out in a few minutes," Dean called. Julie raised an eyebrow, and he added softly, "Time to start taking care of myself again."

The two of them showered together and Julie air-dried and watched as Dean shaved his beard off. She was kind of sad to see it go, even if it made him look more scruffy and haggard, because it also made him look him pretty freaking hot. She should make him grow it full-out sometime.

And then she remembered she didn't have that kind of time anymore.

They got dressed in silence and went out into the main hall of the bunker. By the time they were both ready, Crowley had also arrived, and he was tapping his foot in irritation when they finally came out of their room.

Crowley opened his mouth to say something snappy, but he blinked when he took in a clean-shaven, properly-dressed, bright-eyed Dean. His jaw was set in determination, and he was clearly on a mission. Much different than the man who had opened the door a few hours ago.

"What happened to you?" he frowned at Dean.

"I got over myself," Dean replied shortly. "And I remembered I had more important things to than mope around feeling sorry for myself."

He nodded at Sam and Cas and then asked Crowley, "So? Have you found us a hellhound to kill?"

"We're in luck," he replied. "A woman named Melanie Coleman sold her soul to me nine years and three-hundred and sixty-four days ago."

"What for?" Sam asked curiously.

"Just for a chance to kiss me," the demon smirked in response.

"What did she actually sell it for?" Julie sighed, and he huffed in annoyance.

"Obscene wealth," Crowley grumbled. "She lives in a classy mansion in Miami, and she's absolutely desperate to live. She's been trying to hire any kind of bodyguard who can protect her from hellhounds, so that's how you three will get in. Go in there, show off your hunting skills, and get the job."

"Thanks, Crowley," Julie said, genuinely grateful. He waved his hand at her in annoyance.

"I have glasses that will allow you to see the hounds," Cas said offering a pair to each of the hunters. "Will you require extra assistance in killing the hellhound?"

Sam, Dean, and Julie exchanged looks and shrugged. "We'll be okay," Sam said confidently. "But thanks, Cas."

"Great," Crowley said. "Then go pack a couple days' worth of clothes so I can take you there and be done with this mess."

The hunters obeyed and reconvened in three minutes with bags packed full of clothes, toiletries, and weapons. Cas and Crowley were bickering over something silly, but they shut up when the hunters returned. They all said a quick goodbye to Cas, and then Crowley dropped them off outside the gates of a large, white mansion. "I've already made you an appointment," he told them in a bored tone. "Just don't screw up your interview."

They nodded thankfully at him. The demon hesitated for half a second, and then added to Julie, "Try not to die, okay?" She smiled a little at him, and then he was gone.

The three of them were silent for a moment, staring up at the towering, intimidating gates. Julie's heart was already pounding with fear just at the thought of what was coming.

Sam must have noticed, because he turned to her and asked gently, "Are you ready for this?"

Honestly, no. Julie wasn't ready to face off against a hellhound so close to the time that those monsters would be coming for her. But her only other option was just to lie down and die and go to hell.

Well, she had one other option. In her mind, she saw charming and handsome Lucifer, offering her power and safety and her family and friends back. She heard his smooth, warm voice promising to make her a queen, assuring her she would never again have to feel the pain of hell. His way was so much easier, with so many more rewards. And she wouldn't even have to die!

But Julie took one look up at Sam and Dean, and it wasn't even a choice. She took a deep breath and then nodded.

"I'm ready."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I originally meant to put the upcoming hellhound fight into this chapter, but the scenes just kind of went on and on and I ended up having to break it up into two chapters, so the ending may be a bit awkward, but oh well. Anyway, I know that this whole Trials thing has already been done on the show, but I will try to keep this storyline original and fresh. And I promise, there is still a lot of excitement left to come. And, as always, thanks for continuing to read and review!


	92. Chapter 92

**Chapter Ninety-Two**

Melanie looked up nervously as someone knocked on the door to the study. "Yes?" she asked, barely keeping her voice from shaking.

"Ms. Coleman, those 'experts' who called earlier are here," Victor called through the large oak doors. Ignoring the skepticism in her butler and confidante's voice, she blew out a slow breath and forced her hands to stop shaking, at least for a moment.

"Bring them in," she called back, and the door opened.

It was a little silly, but she had been expecting literal Ghostbusters. Or maybe FBI agents, middle-aged, and hardened with experience. But what Melanie certainly hadn't expected was three model-type people dressed in jeans, combat boots, button-down shirts and hunting jackets. They looked incredibly out of place in her beautiful, classy study, all polished, dark wood and perfect marble statues.

Victor hesitated in the door, sniffing snootily at the three of them, and she shot him a look. He turned and left, closing the doors behind him.

"Melanie Coleman?" one of the men asked in a low, rough, sexy voice. He was tall and well-built, with an incredibly handsome face and piercing green eyes. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, around her age, and definitely her type.

"Yes," she said haughtily, still seated behind her desk. "And you are?"

"Dean Winchester," Mr. Sexy replied flatly. "And these are Sam Winchester and Julie Carters." He nodded in turn at an even taller, more built man with a slightly younger face and long hair, and at a beautiful young woman with blond curls and big blue eyes who could be more than thirty.

"And you're the, uh…_hunters_ who called earlier?" she asked skeptically.

"That's us," the tall guy, Sam Winchester, said. "Apparently your deal runs out tomorrow, and you want protection?"

Melanie stared at them for a moment. They weren't laughing or looking at her in disbelief. They actually believed this whole demon deal thing.

She hadn't believed it at first. So when she had met a charming, smooth-talking British man ten years ago in a bar in New York, where she worked half a dozen part-time jobs to keep from starving from death, she had assumed he was joking when he talked about how he can make her a millionaire. But he had been so convincing, and good-looking, and so she had made the deal, half-joking, and kissed him.

And the next day she woke up to find a total stranger had died last night and left her ten million dollars in his will.

"Yes," Melanie said finally. "Can you protect me?"

The three of them exchanged looks. "We can sure as hell try," Dean Winchester said. "We know how to kill the hellhounds that are going to come for you tomorrow at midnight."

"And that will save me?" she asked, barely hiding her anxiety.

"Yes," the two men said firmly. The woman stayed silent, her lips set in a tight, firm line.

"How do I know you're for real?" she asked skeptically.

Dean Winchester lowered the duffel bag on his shoulder to the ground and opened it. He tossed her a little pouch of something, and she just barely caught it.

"What is this?" Melanie asked, half-curious and half-skeptical, as she sniffed at the powder inside the bag.

"Goofer dust," he replied. "It will repel them, or at least keep them out of whatever room you can wall yourself in. Salt works just as well."

"Salt?" she snorted in disbelief.

"You'd be surprised how many evil things can't cross over a line of salt," Sam Winchester said, dead serious.

"Iron will hurt them, but very few things actually kill them," Dean continued. "We happen to be in possession of two of the only weapons that will actually kill them." He pulled an oddly-shaped silver blade and a jagged knife out of the bag.

Melanie still wasn't sure if she really believed these guys. "I'm still not sure I believe you. How do I know you're not just messing with me?"

"Well, for one thing, we know the name of the demon you sold your soul to," the woman said, the first time she had spoken. "His name is Crowley, and he's the King of the Crossroads." An involuntary shiver went down Melanie's spine at the sound of his name. "And if that's not enough proof…you know we're your last shot at surviving this. You can send us away, but you're losing your one shot at maybe living past tomorrow."

Melanie stared down the three of them for a moment, and then her shoulders sagged. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Not if you want to live," Dean Winchester replied flatly.

She sighed, accepting that they were right. "If you three can get me to live past midnight tomorrow night, I'll pay you a thousand dollars. Each."

The issue of their payment didn't seem like a big deal to these "hunters." Anyone else would have demanded more of her, knowing how rich and desperate she was. But these people just accepted that price. That more than anything proved to Melanie that they really were more interested in protecting her than anything else.

"Do we have a deal then?" Melanie asked, trying to stay cool.

The three of them exchanged one more look, and then they all nodded. Dean Winchester stuck out his hand to shake hers and replied firmly, "We have a deal."

* * *

It was after midnight, and Dean still couldn't sleep.

He should be exhausted. All day long, he, Sam, and Julie had worked hard to demon-proof the whole house so no hound or demon had any prayer of getting in. In return, Melanie Coleman had treated them well, having her servants make them a delicious three-course meal that had made Dean's day. And then after that, she had shown them to an entire hallway of guest bedrooms. Sam had taken his own room, and Julie and Dean had taken the one next to it. The moment Dean saw the huge, comfortable-looking king-sized bed, he was dying to try it out.

A very long, blissful, exhausting time later, Julie had fallen asleep in his arms. Dean's body was tired, and this bed was so comfortable, and Julie's skin was so warm and soft up against his that it should be so easy to drift off to sleep. But his brain just wouldn't shut off.

After lying in bed for nearly an hour, just staring at the ceiling, Dean finally decided he needed to get up and get a drink. He and Julie were so tangled up that he had no idea how he would get free without waking her, but he did his best, slowly and gently maneuvering out of their embrace. She stirred a little, her blue eyes opening just a crack to blink at him sleepily. "Dean…?" she asked uncertainly, and in an instant he was back at her side, curling around her body again.

"I'm right here," he whispered into her hair. Julie made a contented little sigh and slipped back into sleep, her head tucked into the crook of shoulder. For a while, Dean was content to just feel her chest rise and fall against his and her soft puffs of breath ghost across his neck. Eventually, though, he grew restless again, and this time he slipped out of bed without waking her. Dean found his jeans on the floor and pulled them back on, and he grabbed a black t-shirt out of his bag before sneaking out of their room and down the spiral staircase to the kitchen.

The house was empty and dark, and that made it feel twice as big. Dean got lost twice on his way to the kitchen, but eventually he found his way into the stainless, white room. He found the least fancy glass he could and filled it with tap water. Even the tap water tasted classier than his back at the bunker.

"I was just about to come looking for you," a woman's voice purred behind Dean, and he turned around in surprise. Melanie Coleman was standing there, her blond hair falling in loose waves around her face, in a pretty skimpy black nightdress. Dean swallowed nervously when he saw the look in her eyes.

"Uh, hey, Melanie," he said carefully. "What's up?"

"Oh, I think you know," she said seductively, taking a step towards Dean and running her perfectly manicured fingers up his arm. She stretched up on her tiptoes, showing off her full breasts, her lips stretching up for his…

Dean stepped back so fast he slammed his head against the cabinet behind him. He rubbed the back of his head and saw that she was still coming. "Melanie…Ms. Coleman…I can't do that," he said, nerves overwhelming him.

Melanie frowned at him. "Oh, come on, Dean. You aren't seriously going to tell me you've never just hooked up with someone for the fun of it?"

"No, believe me, I have," Dean laughed nervously. "What I meant was…I'm with Julie."

"So have a little fun anyway," Melanie smirked wickedly. "I won't tell her."

"No," he said sharply. "I mean, I'm in love with her. I would never cheat on her."

She was silent for a moment, processing that. "Oh. Huh." Then she gave him a wicked smile. "Well, she can come to."

Dean blanched. "What?!"

"Well, I've always kind of wondered what it would be like with a woman, and she's nearly as pretty as you are," Melanie smirked. "So…why not? I mean, this really is my last chance."

And then Dean saw who she really was, behind her appearance. And it wasn't that Melanie wasn't attractive; she was, with obviously-dyed blond curls, a pretty, round face, and a curvy body. And she couldn't be more than thirty-five, certainly not out of his age range. But underneath her polished appearance, he could see in her big, dark eyes the real Melanie, a terrified, guilty, haunted woman who knew she was about to die and wasn't even close to ready. He could remember when that was him. When he would hook up with anything pretty and female that moved because he was dying and running out of those experiences. And he could remember quite easily when he was as scared as she was now.

It made him feel twice as guilty about the fact that had been haunting him, as well as Sam and Julie. The fact that even if they killed this round of hounds, a demon could just send some more, and she would still die. They didn't know how to get out of Melanie's deal any more than they knew how to get out of Julie's.

Suddenly, Melanie Coleman sort of crumpled. Her straight, firm posture sagged and the superior, haughty air that she had about her fell away, revealing a tired, weary, frightened woman. She turned away from him to hide her face, and Dean wouldn't be surprised if she was crying.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, still turned away from him. "God, I'm such an idiot… thinking you'd want anything to do with me..." She laughed bitterly, but it sounded dangerously close to a sob.

"Hey," Dean said gently. "It's not like that at all. Actually…the old me would have been all for finding a fun way to spend your last night," he confessed, scratching at the back of his neck awkwardly. He saw the corner of her lips twitch up very slightly, and felt brave enough to continue. "But…I'm not that guy anymore. I can't do stuff like that now. I'm with Julie and…I love her. I can't do that to her."

Melanie turned to face him with red, puffy eyes. "Must be nice," she said bitterly. "To love someone, and to have them love you. See, Dean, in the past ten years since I made my deal and got rich, I've had dozens of boyfriends and two husbands. Two handsome, charming, smart husbands who I really loved. But when it came down to it, they loved my money more than me, so they never lasted long."

Dean studied her sadly. "Then they were crazy," he told her. "I barely know you, but you seem like a smart, confident, beautiful woman. They were crazy not to love you."

"Or not," she shrugged, like it didn't matter. But of course, it did. "I'm not exactly the type of woman men fall in love with. More like your one-night-stand type of girl. I should have sold my soul to have someone fall in love with me instead. Then at least I could have been happy for my last ten years."

"I'm sure you don't need to sell your soul to have someone love you," Dean said kindly. "You just keep picking the wrong guys."

Melanie just stared at Dean for a long moment. "Why are you being nice to me?" she asked finally. "I mean, I tried to sleep with you, even though you're in a relationship. And I'm barely even paying you anything. So why do you care?"

He thought about his answer for a moment, and then said honestly, "Because you don't seem like a bad person. And you certainly don't seem like you deserve hell. And I know that you've got to be scared, and you really need some kindness right now. Trust me, I know how you're feeling."

"Really? So you know what it feels like to sell your soul and know you have one day left to live?" she asked coolly.

"Something like that," Dean replied carefully, deciding against telling her the whole truth. After all, she didn't need the terror of finding out that he had once been in her shoes and hadn't survived it.

Melanie sighed. "Well…thanks for being nice to me, Dean. Really. I needed it."

"Of course," he said, giving her a small but genuine smile. Then he surprised himself by reaching out and gently squeezing her bare shoulder. "We're going to take care of you, Melanie. I promise."

She smiled gratefully up at him, and he left then, trying to outrun the guilt of knowing he couldn't guarantee her safety. At least, not forever.

When he finally made it back to the room he was staying in, he expected Julie to still be asleep. But to his surprise, she was sitting on the edge of the bed, dangling her legs off the edge and hugging herself. She was wearing nothing but a silky robe she must have found in the bathroom or something, her hair messy and beautiful, her eyes wide and clearly still haunted by whatever nightmare had woken her up.

"Hey," Dean said softly, closing the door behind him. Julie looked up, and the heartbreaking relief in her eyes at seeing him healthy and whole made him instantly rush to her side and settle down on the bed next to her. She leaned into his side, burying her fact in his chest, and Dean heard her breath hitch to keep herself from sobbing. He tightened his hold on her, his fingers digging into her side as he pulled her even closer.

"I'm here," he whispered, brushing his lips across her forehead. "It's okay, honey. I'm okay, you're okay, I'm right here."

"You gotta start leaving me a note when you leave or something," Julie whispered into his shirt after she had composed herself, only joking.

"I'll just quit leaving," he replied firmly. "Now come on, Jules. Let's go to sleep."

"I can't," she admitted, finally pulling out of his shirt. She nervously brushed her hair out of her face and stared down at her lap. "I was dreaming about hellhounds and hell, and now I can't quit thinking…if I still have three weeks left, and I'm this bad, imagine how bad poor Melanie must be right now."

"Well, she's up and moving, which is impressive," Dean said as lightly as possible. "Not sleeping, but that's understandable. And she thinks you're hot, by the way."

"What?" Julie asked, laughing a little.

"I'll explain later," he smirked. "Now come on. Just try to sleep, Julie. Please? I promise you, I'm not going anywhere."

Julie gave in, and Dean quickly tossed his clothes back on the floor and burrowed under the sheets, curling his body around Julie's once again. They were silent for a while, Julie absently stroking her fingers over Dean's forearm. But eventually she spoke.

"Dean…what if we can't save her? I mean, what if I kill this hellhound, but another comes anyway after we're gone and she dies?"

He sighed wearily. "Well…there's really not much we can do about that, other than pray that the demons have bigger things to worry about than one uncollected soul. But we can't spend the next three weeks babysitting Melanie and waiting for the world to end. We'll just have to make sure she survives tomorrow and then leave her as prepared to defend herself as possible."

"But I still feel guilty, like we should do more to help her," Julie admitted.

"Me too. But we'll do everything we can. We'll at least give her a fighting chance."

Julie fell silent. There wasn't really anything to say. But Dean knew what she was thinking, because it was what he was thinking as well.

At least Melanie would get a fighting chance. Because Julie…well, she wouldn't be nearly as lucky.

* * *

Julie was having a hard time remembering the last time she'd been this afraid and on-edge.

It was after eleven-thirty at night the next day, Melanie's last day, and Dean had gone back upstairs to check on Melanie one last time before the hounds came. She understood that someone needed to make sure she was alright, but she was already missing his warm presence next to her, the only thing that could comfort her as she stood out here in the cold waiting for some hellhounds to come and try to kill her.

Julie heard footsteps crunching over the frozen ground towards her, and she jumped and whirled around, her body coiled tight and tense with fear and nerves. But it was just Sam, studying her sadly as he approached her slowly. Julie forced herself to relax a little, unclenching her hands a little so her knuckles were no longer white.

Sam didn't say anything, just handed Julie a pair of glasses, the ones Cas had used holy fire to make sure she could see hellhounds out of them. She nodded gratefully at him and hastily shoved them onto her face, wanting to be able to see if they came early for some reason.

Her best friend gave her a small smile. "You look cute," he told her, and she was able to force the tiniest of smiles back at him. Then he wrapped an arm around her and held her tightly, knowing she needed some comfort right now.

"I can't do this," Julie choked out. "It's too…too close to my time, and if I see a hound, I swear I'll lose it."

"It won't be able to hurt you," Sam reminded her gently. "Dean and I will both be right by you, and we won't let it touch you."

"But I have to be the one who kills it, and I don't…I don't know if I can do that," she whispered, and Sam had rarely heard her sound so scared.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Maybe he should just complete the trials again instead of her. Then Julie wouldn't have to die or do any of these painful trials, and hell would still be closed. Of course, it would also kill him instead of her. He and Julie had argued over who should complete the trials for weeks, and she wouldn't bend on this. No matter how hard this would be for her to do, she still wouldn't let him do it in her place.

And Sam knew Dean wouldn't let him do it either. But still…if he saw the chance to kill the hellhound instead of Julie and take her place, he certainly wasn't going to pass it up.

After all, Lucifer couldn't possess him if he was already dead. Sam's hope was that death by the trials would be permanent, and even the devil couldn't raise him back to life. And then, maybe, he would never be strong enough to complete the apocalypse without his one true vessel.

Eventually, Julie composed herself and forced Sam to put on his glasses, too. Then she teased him and joked about he was every girl's sexy professor fantasy. Sam laughed along with her, just glad that he was distracting her from what was coming.

Dean returned just barely before midnight. "She's pretty bad," he told his brother and girlfriend as he joined them outside, his demon-killing knife in hand. "We had better kill this son of a bitch quick, before he makes her so crazy she just offs herself anyway."

Julie shuddered, and he instantly felt guilty. He put a protective arm around Julie's shoulder until she pulled herself back together.

"How long do we got?" Dean asked Sam darkly.

The younger Winchester glanced down at his watch and said, "Four minutes."

Julie sucked in a deep breath and steadied herself. "Okay. Okay. We've got to get ready fast."

Dean pulled on his own pair of glasses, which earned him a quick kiss from Julie and a comment on how he looked like a sexy dad, and then the three of them quickly armed themselves and stood, ready and waiting.

Those four minutes seemed to stretch on forever to Julie. She held perfectly still in-between Sam and Dean, her heart pounding twice as fast as normal, trying to see everywhere at once. She forced herself to keep her breaths slow and steady, and she relaxed her painfully tight grip on her knife slightly. She would be okay. Sam and Dean were right here with her. They would protect her.

And besides, this hellhound wasn't coming for her. At least not yet.

Still, despite her best efforts to stay calm, when Dean's watch began to beep shrilly, signaling the arrival of midnight, Julie barely bit back a scream.

Next to her, Dean's breath hitched, and Sam squared his shoulders. The three of them waited in silence, eyes straining to look in every direction at once.

And then they heard the howl.

Julie involuntarily made a strangled noise in the back of her throat, and Dean grabbed her free hand with his own and squeezed it once. "I won't let it hurt you," he whispered, but his promises did little to ease the panic and fear that was beginning to seize her.

A hound howled again, and Julie shuddered but stayed silent. This howl was closer than the previous one. They waited, all of them too anxious to breathe, in dead silence, until a third howl rang out, loud and long and close.

And then Julie saw the hellhound.

It was the first time she had seen one in its earthly body. She had witnessed the true forms of the horrible beasts in hell, but this form was nearly as terrifying. A massive black dog, closer in size to a small horse than a dog, had stepped out of the shadows as was crouched on the ground, watching them with huge, horrible red eyes. The second Julie saw it, though, the hellhound sprang forward in a blur of shadow and was upon them.

Sam had seen it too, and he slashed his angel blade in a wide arc. He just managed to catch the beast across the muzzle before it sank its fangs into his shoulder, and it howled in pain, stumbling back. Julie realized this was her chance, and she dove in to try to stab the monster, but it was too fast. The wounded hound swung its large paw, and it hit Julie like a truck, knocking the air out of her and smacking her to the ground.

"Jules!" Dean roared, and then both brothers had descended on the beast. Julie watched, dazed, as they slashed and stabbed at it. But every wound they made seemed to heal insanely quickly. More than anything, the hound seemed like it was playing with them.

And then it got bored.

Suddenly, the hound's jaw was locked around Dean's forearm, and he was screaming in pain. Julie screamed Dean's name as the monster swung its massive head and sent Dean flying. Julie scrambled to her feet as the hound turned on Sam. He crouched defensively and held his knife like he was about to run the thing through.

Sam wasn't just trying to weaken the hellhound until she could kill it anymore. He was just trying to kill it.

Of course he was. Julie knew Sam, and she had known deep down he was going to pull some self-sacrificing crap like this. But she couldn't let him.

"Sam, no!" Julie shouted, and for a second his hazel eyes flicked up to meet hers, an apologetic look in his eyes.

But he still pulled back the knife to stab the monster.

Without thinking, Julie threw her angel blade. And thank God she was damn good at knife-throwing, because otherwise she would have been left defenseless and at the mercy of a hellhound. But the blade hit its mark, spiraling through the air and sinking deep into the back of the hound's skull.

Sam stared at the hellhound in shock as it stood frozen, whimpering in pain and surprise when the knife found its mark. And then Julie was there, yanking the blade out of the monster's flesh and diving under its belly. The hound, not quite dead, tried to fight her, but she stabbed the blade deep into its underbelly and pulled, slicing its stomach wide open.

Julie groaned in disgust and pain as thick, horrible-smelling, black blood poured out of the dead beast, soaking her in the filth, and then the dead hound collapsed onto her chest, its monstrous weight pinning her down. Sam stared at her, frozen in shock as he realized he had failed to kill the hound and bathe in its blood. He had failed to stop and therefore save her.

He had failed.

But at least Julie hadn't.

"Sam, help me get this damn thing off me!" Julie snapped at him, and he scrambled to help her heave the massive beast off of her comparatively tiny frame. Once she was free of the weight, she tried to wipe off the worst of the blood, although her shirt and pants were soaked, ruined.

Julie met Sam's eyes, and they stared at each other in silence for a moment. Neither of them really needed to admit aloud what had almost happened, but it was clear in Julie's expression that he wouldn't be pulling any crap like that again.

Sam nodded at her, knowing he didn't have much of a choice anymore.

And then Dean groaned in pain, and their silent conversation ended abruptly as Julie scrambled to her feet and rushed over to tend to Dean's wounds. While Julie patched up Dean's wounded arm, Sam went upstairs to tell Melanie Coleman that she was safe. He gave her the hex bag that would help hide her and told her to run, to not stop running or else the hounds could find her. He and Dean had already taught her how to defend herself against them and had even left her with a valuable and rare angel blade so she at least had a fighting chance. It was the best they could do.

In return, Melanie gave him five thousand dollars in cash, significantly more than the amount they had agreed on. Then Sam left her to pack, silently praying that this woman would get to survive beyond today.

When he got back downstairs, he found Julie and Dean waiting just inside the house, their bags already packed. Dean's arms was freshly bandaged, and Julie looked like she desperately needed a shower. But there was something she had to do first.

Julie nodded at him, and he sighed and pulled the scrap of paper with the incantation on it out of his pocket. He pressed it into her hand, and Julie studied it for a moment, trying to steady herself. Sam noticed Dean's fists were clenched and his jaw was working furiously as he tried to prevent himself from telling her to stop and taking the incantation that would finish the trial from her.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, and Dean blurted out, "Julie, wait-"

She looked him straight in the eye and said firmly, "Kahn um ahm dahr."

The effects were nearly instantaneous. Julie gasped in pain and collapsed to her hands and knees as the spell hit her hard. Both Sam and Dean rushed forward to help her, but she got out through gritted teeth, "I'm fine!" Then the three of them just watched in awe as her arms started to glow. By the time the light faded out of her arms, Julie looked significantly paler and dead tired, but at least she was still alive.

Dean helped Julie to her feet, checking her over for any signs of harm. But she gently took his face in her hands and said firmly, "Dean. I'm fine. Really."

He finally met her eyes and saw warmth and confidence there. But he couldn't muster that same confidence and positivity.

"For now," he muttered darkly. Julie ignored him, pulling him in close to hug him tightly. As she stroked the back of his head, she met Sam's eyes.

The second Sam met Julie's eyes, her façade fell away, and he saw how badly that spell had hit her. She looked five years older, weak and weary and fragile. Julie must have known how bad she looked, for her tired eyes silently begged him not to say anything. And against his better judgment, Sam nodded.

By the time Julie pulled away from Dean, her eyes were bright again, and she was smiling, happy and healthy and whole. Dean smiled back at her in relief, glad that his girlfriend seemed unharmed by these taxing spells.

But Sam knew better.


	93. Chapter 93

**Chapter Ninety-Three**

_"__Got any…sixes?" Lucifer asked._

_"__Go fish," Julie replied, and the devil sighed and reached into the draw pile._

_"__I don't understand why we couldn't at least play poker or some game that's actually fun," he complained._

_"__Because, as the father of lies, I figure you'll have an unfair advantage at a game that consists of lying and bluffing," she shot back, and he smiled ruefully, knowing she was right._

_"__So if I win, that means you'll get Sam to say yes?" Lucifer tried after a couple more hands had passed._

_"__Nice try," Julie said coldly. "If you win, I'll agree to actually hear you out and not disregard everything you say just because you're the devil."_

_"__That's probably the best I'm going to get, isn't it?" he sighed._

_"__Yep. And if I win, you have to leave," she told him firmly._

_"__Fair enough," he shrugged. "I'll just be back tomorrow night."_

_He was probably telling the truth. The cage was so close to being opened that in the past week since the first time he had visited her, he had been in her dreams for five of those seven nights. At first, he had terrified and intimidated her, but as Julie continued to go along with him and he kept up his friendly, benevolent, wronged angel act, she found his presence really wasn't so bad, and that he was better than the alternative at this point, which was nightmares of hell._

_Part of Julie knew that learning to coexist and maybe even get along with the devil was a horrible idea. Getting comfortable in his presence was probably the first step to trusting him and working for him to get Sam to say yes, and she was sure this was part of his plan. But she wasn't going to let it get any further than this. She would never let Lucifer anywhere near Sam._

_Julie opened her mouth to ask Satan if he had any eights, but before she could, she saw a bright flash of light out of the corner of her eye. She and Lucifer both turned in their seats to see their newcomer, a lean kid with sandy blond hair and strangely blank, expressionless eyes. He frowned when he saw Lucifer sitting across from Julie at the card table, and Lucifer's eyes narrowed for a moment, before he smiled broadly and cried happily, "Brother!"_

_"__Lucifer," the newcomer growled darkly. "What are you doing here?"_

_"__Playing Go Fish with the lovely Juliet here," he replied happily._

_"__It's Julie," she interjected without looking away from the new guy. She was pretty sure she knew who this was, and so she said calmly, "Let me guess. Michael, right?" The archangel blinked, mildly surprised she had recognized him. "I figured you'd be coming along to bother me at some point."_

_"__Come on over, sit down, we can deal you in," Lucifer said encouragingly, snapping his fingers and making another folding chair appear._

_Michael gave him a distrusting look. "Why are you in this girl's mind, brother?"_

_"__Because I figured out a week before you did that she's our best shot at getting through to the Winchesters," the devil smirked smugly. "Nobody has ever had as much influence on our boys as this girl. It just took you a few days longer than me to realize that."_

_"__I'm not here to try to take advantage of her," Michael said stiffly, in a rather unbelievable lie. "I am just here to talk with her about the problem at hand."_

_"__At least Lucifer doesn't lie about why he's here," Julie said coldly, glaring at Michael. His eyes narrowed a little in anger, but she didn't care. She was unafraid of him, knowing he was nowhere near as dangerous to her as the creature sitting across from her. "Did you forget about the fact that I live with Dean? That he tells me practically everything? That he has told me about every horrible nightmare you have put him through, the way he's had to watch me die or hear you threaten me or even taunt him with a demonic version of me?!"_

_Michael had the decency to look away from her accusing glare. "I believed, foolishly, that those were the best ways to reason with Dean. But I take no pleasure out of hurting him. Unlike my brother, who would relish torturing the two men you care so deeply about."_

_"__Oh, come on, Mike!" Lucifer whined. "I haven't said one bad word about you."_

_Michael glared at him. "I can get you away from him, Juliet," he told her gravely._

_"__Julie," she muttered absently._

_"__I will protect you from him. You needn't fear him."_

_"__Well, you're wrong there," Julie smirked bitterly. "My guess is he understands the human mind and how to torture and twist it a lot better than you do. So even if you tried to prevent him from hurting me, he would probably still win. But I don't particularly trust you enough to protect me anyway."_

_Behind her back, Lucifer flashed a grin at Michael, and it was clear in his eyes that he knew he was far closer to winning the girl over than Michael was._

_"__You cannot agree to his demands," Michael warned her. "My brother intends to destroy your world, and if he has his one true vessel, he cannot be stopped."_

_"__And don't you want that too? You want the apocalypse as bad as he does," she shot back at him._

_"__But I want my Father to remake your world into something better," the archangel said darkly. "Lucifer plans to destroy every human and make the world into his own twisted version. You have no choice but to help one of us, and you should not choose him."_

_"__Who says I only have one choice?" Julie shot back cockily. Too cocky._

_Lucifer stood and stepped into her line of sight. His eyes widened as he looked at her. "You actually have another way," he breathed, surprised, and she realized too late that he was inside her mind, and could therefore read it._

_Julie opened her mouth to say something, anything, to stop him, but his expression darkened, and it was clear Lucifer already knew. "You're doing the trials," he growled. "You're going to try to close the gates." There was murder in his eyes, and Julie about passed out from sheer terror._

_Oh, shit._

_Suddenly, she was pinned against the wall, his hand clenched tight around her throat. "You pathetic little bitch," he snarled. "You actually think you're going to stop me by closing the gates? It's not possible!"_

_And, because she was a freaking idiot, Julie smirked weakly and choked out, "Would you be this upset if it wasn't?"_

_Lucifer snarled and threw across the room, and she hit the wall, her back exploding in pain. Julie heard Michael and Lucifer shouting at each other, and then her whole body seemed to be on fire, every atom inside her screaming out in agony. It stretched on endlessly, and then-_

_Suddenly, the pain stopped. Julie opened her eyes blearily and looked around, and she saw that the room was empty. Both Lucifer and Michael were gone from her mind._

_But Lucifer knew. Lucifer knew what she was trying to do, and now he could warn Beelzebub…_

* * *

Sam had woken up even earlier than normal that morning, but he couldn't go back to sleep. He got out of bed, made some coffee and drank it in silence in the darkness of the bunker, and then went to work out, considering it would still be a couple of hours before Dean and Julie got out of bed.

He was in the middle of bench pressing some ridiculously heavy weights when Julie finally found him.

He never would have known she was there if she hadn't practically sobbed his name. Alarmed, he quickly set down the weights and sat up to look at her. She was wearing sweatpants and a thin tank top, and she was shaking like a leaf. Her skin was pale and beaded with sweat, like it always was in the mornings, but there was far more fear in her eyes this morning than the other ones.

"Julie?" he frowned, pushing his slightly sweaty hair out of his face and getting up to walk over to her. "What's wrong?" he asked gently.

"Lucifer," she choked out. "He knows. He finally looked into my mind and figured out what we're doing. Sam, he's going to tell Beelzebub and then he'll do everything he can to prevent us from closing the gates!" Julie was desperate, wild-eyed and scared, and to make it worse, she starting coughing and choking until Sam had to take her by her shoulders and sit her down until she could breathe again. He didn't even have to look to know there would be blood on her lips, her blood.

"Alright, just breathe," he told his best friend in as calm a voice as he could muster. "I'm going to go grab the medicine, okay? You just sit here and keep taking deep breaths. Everything's going to be fine."

Sam pressed a quick kiss to her sweaty forehead and rushed to his bedroom, where he was hiding the incredibly strong pain and flu medicine from Dean. Despite Sam's advice, Julie was doing her best to hide the side effects of the trials from Dean, hoping that if she kept him from realizing how much pain she was in, he wouldn't worry. And, because Sam was an idiot and he couldn't say no to her, he had agreed to help her in her deception.

When he got back, Julie was coughing again. She managed to stop by the time he reached her side, but when she looked up at him, he could see blood on her lips, a thin trail of it spilling down the side of her mouth.

Sam handed her a towel to clean herself up and then a bottle of water to rinse the blood out of her mouth. Once she was done with that task, he unloaded the powerful pills into her hand, and she popped them in, one right after the other. Every morning for the past week, Julie had slipped silently out of bed with Dean, come to Sam, and he had made sure she took almost dangerous amounts of medication. They didn't do much to help, considering this sickness was much deeper than any physical ailment, but they took the edge off so she could keep playing at being healthy when she was around Dean.

Once Julie was full of pain, fever, flu, and cough medicine, Sam got her to talk more. Between sips of water, she told him about the latest Lucifer-induced nightmare. She had been telling him every detail of each dream she had, afraid to confide in Dean and make him worry even further. Besides, no human knew Lucifer as well as Sam did.

He was alarmed to hear about Michael's arrival, and murderous when she repeated the things Lucifer had said once he realized their plan. When she told him about being choked and thrown into the wall and the agonizing fire she had felt in her body, he stood up angrily, half-wanting to charge down into hell and fight Lucifer himself.

"Sam, calm down," Julie begged him. "He didn't actually hurt me. I'm fine."

In response, he raised his eyebrows skeptically and looked pointedly at the bottles of pills strewn all around her.

Julie sighed and looked away from him, unable to meet his eyes. Sam swallowed and started, "Julie, I think it might be time to tell De-"

"No," she answered, as firmly as she did every time he tried this. "I am not telling Dean about any of this. He already knows that Lucifer visited me in a dream once, and that's bad enough. I am not going to make him worry even more by telling him it's a daily occurrence now."

"Then tell him how you're really feeling," Sam replied shortly. "Pretending you're not being affected by these trials isn't protecting him. It's giving him false hope."

"He knows that I'm going to die, Sam!" Julie snapped. "So why show him how badly it's affecting me? What good comes of that? He would just worry more and spiral back into some suicidal, self-hating mess all over again and kill himself worrying about me."

Sam fell silent, knowing that there was no convincing Julie. "Fine," he sighed. "But you need to tell him about this nightmare. And we need to tell Cas and Crowley, too. We don't have much time left before Lucifer warns Beelzebub and completing the trials gets about a hundred times harder."

Julie had to agree with that, and she promised to go wake Dean and tell him what had happened with Lucifer. Feeling a little more relieved, Sam packed up Julie's medicines and took a quick shower to wash the sweat off of him and help relax his tense muscles.

When he finally got dressed and walked into the hall, he saw Julie sitting at the table with Dean standing over her chair and talking in a low, frustrated voice into his phone. Julie made eye contact with Sam and gave him a tiny, forced smile. She looked better than before. Her eyes were no longer pained, and a bit of color had returned to her cheeks. Of course, that was probably from her pinching her pale skin to make it flush, which he had caught her doing countless times. At least it made her look less like a walking corpse.

"Well, find it now!" Dean snapped. "Cas, are you not hearing me? Lucifer knows, which means Beelzebub probably already knows, which means saving her is going to get damn near impossible!"

Sam's brother was silent as he listened to Cas reply. Sam walked over to Julie and settled into the chair next to her just as Dean sighed, "I know. I know. You're right. And I appreciate everything you're doing for us Cas, really, I just…"

Julie reached out and squeezed his free hand reassuringly, hating the defeat in his voice. His long, powerful fingers intertwined with hers and he squeezed her hand tightly, refusing to let go.

"Okay. Just…get here as soon as you can, okay?" Dean was silent for a moment, and then said, "Thanks, Cas. I'll see you soon."

Once he had hung up, Dean sank wearily onto the edge of the table facing Sam and Julie, looking about a thousand years old. "Cas has a lead on a reaper," he sighed, running his hand over his face. "She went rogue a few years back, and she's more likely to help us than any reapers who are still actually doing their job. But since she's off the grid, she's…well, off the grid. They're having trouble finding her."

"Cas will find him," Julie said reassuringly, resting her hand on Dean's leg in a comforting gesture. "It's gonna be okay, honey. There's not much Beelzebub can do to stop us from finding a reaper, anyway."

"But that curing a demon bit is going to be damn near impossible if he hides them all away," Dean pointed out.

"We'll worry about that when we get there," Sam said as reassuringly as possible. "But Cas is working hard to find us a reaper, and we just have to trust him."

"I do trust him," Dean snapped. "That's not what this is about. This is-"

"We know," Julie said quickly, standing up so she was eye level with him. "But we'll all be okay, Dean."

"I'm not worried about me," he grumbled. "Or Sammy, either. No offense."

Sam smirked bitterly, but his smirk softened into a smile as he watched Dean slide off of the table so he could hold Julie tightly. The two of them wrapped their arms around each other, and Dean buried his face in Julie's hair. Instantly, their world existed only of each other. Sam was pretty used to this, though, and he ducked out of the room and into the kitchen to start making breakfast.

After a few minutes, Dean joined him in the kitchen, digging through the fridge until he found a beer. Sam bit his tongue as his older brother chugged the whole bottle, despite the fact that is was only about eight in the morning.

Once Dean was done, he wiped his mouth and tossed the bottle in the trash. Then he crossed his arms, leaned against the counter next to Sam, and let out a long, slow breath. Sam carefully didn't look at Dean. He knew his brother pretty well, and he knew there was something heavy bothering Dean. Something that could end up in a pretty big fight if not handled properly.

"So," Dean finally said, clearing his throat. "Julie had another nightmare with Lucifer in it."

"I heard," Sam said nonchalantly, keeping his focus on the pancake he was flipping.

"That would be her…second one, right?" his brother asked in the same nonchalant tone.

Sam shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"Have you had any Lucy nightmares yourself lately?" Dean asked in a dangerously casual tone.

"Not in the past week," Sam admitted. If he was being honest with himself, he hated keeping this stuff from Dean, even if he was doing it as a favor for Julie. Lying to his brother in the past had brought nothing but trouble, and these were serious issues that Dean really should know about. But Julie cared too much about trying to protect Dean to think rationally.

"Weird. Doesn't seem like Lucifer to give you a break. A little too considerate of him. It would make me think that he must be giving someone else hell."

"Maybe he's busy plotting with Beelzebub," Sam guessed. "Hell, maybe he's got better things to do than bother me."

"Yeah, maybe," Dean said, and he didn't sound like he believed it. "It just all seems too good to be true." Then something shifted in his demeanor, and Sam no longer felt like he was being interrogated. "I mean, Julie is only two weeks away from dying, Sam, _two weeks_…but the nightmares have stopped. She doesn't scream in her sleep, or cry…I've quit waking up to hear her begging someone not to hurt her."

Sam couldn't look at his brother. It was too painful. But Dean wasn't done. "I don't know, Sam, I just…I can't believe that things are really just working out for us. And, you know, she actually seems reasonably healthy. I mean, sure, she's a bit paler than normal, and she's got a cold, but honestly, she should be a lot worse, right?" Sam did look at Dean now, and the hope in his brother's eyes broke his heart.

"I mean…maybe this is crazy, but…what if you weren't dying just because you were completing the trials?" Dean asked hopefully. "Maybe—and no offense, but maybe it was because of the demon blood in you. Maybe…maybe she'll get to live, Sammy."

"Dean…" Sam said warningly. "You can't think like that. As far as we know, the trials will kill the person who completes them."

"I know, I know, but…what if they don't?"

Sam wanted to go into the other room and punch Julie when he saw the heartbreaking belief on Dean's face, a belief that he really might not have to lose the woman he loved. He almost blurted out the truth, but Sam held his tongue and instead said, "We shouldn't get our hopes up, Dean. That's dangerous."

"You're right," Dean sighed, looking down. "I just…sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Sam said firmly. "I want to believe she'll be okay just as much as you do."

Dean nodded a couple of times, and then smirked a little, although there was no real amusement in his eyes. "Uh, Sammy?" he asked carefully.

"What?" Sam frowned.

"Your pancake looks a little overdone."

Sam looked down and swore when he saw the smoking, blackened, sad excuse for a pancake on the skillet. Dean chuckled as Sam threw his burnt pancake away, and then Dean manhandled the tools out of his brother's hands. "Here. Why don't I do this, and you can go keep Julie company?" Dean smirked.

"You sure?" Sam asked uncertainly, not wanting to take from their time together anymore than he already did.

"Get out there," Dean replied, firmly, and Sam obeyed.

He walked out of the kitchen and over to Julie, who was re-reading one of her favorite novels. She looked up when he drew close and smiled a little. "Hey, Sam-" she started to say.

"You need to tell him the truth, all of it, and you need to do it now," Sam snapped shortly.

Julie closed her book and stood up. "What?"

"I just talked to him, and by hiding how bad you're hurting from him, you've convinced him that the trials aren't affecting you and you're not going to die. Except for the fact that you are! Julie, you can't do this to him!"

"Sam, he can't seriously think I won't die-" she started to protest.

"Maybe he doesn't think that, but he's starting to hope, and that will just make it hurt worse. You have to tell him the truth."

Julie looked torn, but just as she opened her mouth to reply, there was a loud knock at the bunker door. Sam and Julie both frowned, and then Sam hurried up the stairs to unlock the door with Julie on his heels.

Sam was shocked to find himself staring at Cas and a tall, pale, thin man with dark, expressionless eyes dressed in a black suit. He looked to be about forty, but his presence felt ageless and icy.

"Cas, what are you doing here already?" Sam frowned. "Not that we're not grateful to see you or anything, but-"

"We were fortunate enough to stumble across Trevor here in our search for Mia," the angel replied calmly. "Hannah is still out searching for Mia, but Trevor said he is willing to at least send Julie to purgatory so she can find her way into hell."

"I assume you're Trevor?" Julie asked, eying the tall, pale man next to Cas.

"I assume you are Julie Carters?" the reaper replied smoothly.

Her lips twitched like she wanted to smirk, but couldn't muster the energy. "Come on in," Sam said quickly, stepping aside to let them in. Cas swept past him and walked over to Julie to give her a brief hug and worry over her, but the reaper, Trevor, regarded Sam with an odd look in his eyes.

"What?" Sam asked him suspiciously when his cold, dead eyes wouldn't quit scrutinizing Sam.

"Oh, nothing," Trevor shrugged. "You Winchesters are just fascinating to us reapers. You've defied death so many times sometimes we wonder why we even try."

Julie actually snorted at that. "Come on downstairs, guys," she told the others, leading the way back towards the kitchen. "Dean will want to know what is going on."

The odd little group made their way back to the kitchen, and Cas and Julie disappeared inside to talk to Dean. But before Sam could follow after them, Trevor cleared his throat.

Sam turned to look at him curiously. "May I have a word with you alone?" the reaper asked him carefully.

"About what?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"It's about that girl," Trevor said softly. "There is a way to save her. You know, one that will not end in her death."

Sam just managed to push down the hope that sprang up inside him at those words and asked, "Why can't you just tell all of us?"

"Believe me, you'll understand why once I tell you," the reaper insisted. "Now, is there somewhere we can speak privately?"

Sam sighed and led the reaper out of the main hall and into the library. Then he sighed and turned to face Trevor. "Okay. Now what is it you can't tell me in front of the others?"

There was an odd expression on the reaper's face. It almost looked like pity. "I am sorry, Sam Winchester," he said flatly. "I wish I did not have to do this. But you are Lucifer's vessel, and he cannot be allowed to possess you."

"What are you-?" Sam started darkly, reaching inside his jacket to find his knife.

He never got the chance. The reaper moved in a flash of dark clothes and pale skin, and then an angel blade slid hilt-deep into his chest.

Sam made a choked, gurgling noise as the blade slid into him, piercing organs and making a certainly fatal wound. Trevor shook his head slightly as he pulled the blade out of Sam Winchester's body and watched him slide to the floor. He knew he was breaking ancient laws of nature by killing a man whose time had not yet come, but he had no choice. If Lucifer was allowed inside this man, it would mean the end of everything, even reapers.

Trevor reached out for the dying man's face, knowing that with one touch, he could end the man's suffering and take him to his final resting place.

But he never got the chance.

Trevor hadn't heard the girl when she entered the library, but he certainly heard her now, as a horrified scream of, "_Sam_!" tore out of her throat. He whirled around, realizing he would have to kill this woman as well.

But when he finally spotted Julie Carters standing in the doorway, she wasn't alone.

Reapers didn't fear death. They practically _were_ death. But when Trevor saw Dean Winchester standing in the doorway, looking from his brother's dying form to the thing that had done this to him, when he saw the angel-killing blade in the man's hand and the murderous rage in his eyes, a fear like the reaper had never known filled him.

Running was pointless, but Trevor tried anyway. He turned around and made it two steps before the blade sank into his shoulder, causing him to scream in pain. Dean pulled his blade out of the reaper's shoulder and spun him around so he could slam the reaper's back into the wall. The ancient, deadly creature stared up at him in fear and shock, forgetting that it had the power to teleport out of there as it cowered before him.

There were a thousand obscenities and threats Dean wanted to shout at this creature that had dared lay a hand on his brother, but in the end, his desperate need to end the bastard won out. Dean drove his blade into the reaper's heart again and again until it was past dead, and he still didn't care. This monster had tried to kill Sammy. Sammy…

The blade clattered out of his hand and onto the floor as Dean remembered why he was so furious. Because Sammy had been stabbed. Oh, God. Sammy was dying, if he wasn't already dead.

By the time Dean got turned around, Julie had already fallen to her knees at Sam's side, and she was cupping his face in her hands, sobbing his name, begging him to just keep breathing. And then Cas was roughly brushing her out of the way and pressing his hand to Sam's chest. His hand began to glow with white light.

When the light finally faded, Dean ran to fall at his brother's side next to Julie. "Sammy?" Dean shouted, grabbing Sam's limp shoulders and shaking them roughly. "Sam, come on! Wake up! Sammy!"

And then suddenly Sam's hazel eyes flew open and he sucked in a huge breath. Julie shrieked in relief and then fell forward, burying her face in Sam's bloody shirt and sobbing into his chest. Dean just watched numbly as Sam's chest rose and fell and his little brother stared back at him in shock.

"Cas?" Dean finally got out after just staring at his little brother's breathing, living body for a good thirty seconds. The angel looked over at him with wide, guilt-ridden eyes. "Next time…let's wait for the other reaper."

* * *

Cas and Dean cleaned up after the reaper's body while Julie took Sam back into the hall and settled him down in a chair. She insisted on forcing a clean shirt on him, wrapping a blanket around his large frame, and pushing a mug of hot tea into his hands. Honestly, Julie probably needed the tea and blanket a lot more than he did. She was shaking like a leaf, her hands and lips trembling, and her eyes were still wide and red from crying.

Even after he had told her and Dean a dozen times that he felt perfectly fine, neither of them believed him. In fact, they spent the next two hours smothering him, and whenever they weren't hovering anxiously over him, Cas was apologizing until he was blue in the face. By the time lunch came around, Sam was completely over his near death experience and really wished the others would be too.

When Hannah eventually arrived with Mia the trustworthy reaper, Julie refused to leave Sam's side. While Cas and Dean went to let them in, she stayed by his side, just staring at him.

"What?" Sam finally asked. "Julie, really, I'm fine!"

"I know, I just…I don't think I've ever come that close to actually watching you die," she admitted after a moment, and his face softened. "That was one of the scariest moments of my life, Sam."

"I'm okay, Julie, really," he promised her, taking her small hands in his large ones. "And you will be too. This is going to work, okay? You won't go to hell."

She didn't get a chance to reply, because the others had returned. Hannah and Cas walked in with a young girl no more than eight or nine in-between them. Dean kept eying the little girl suspiciously, and both Julie and Dean move protectively in-between Sam and the reaper when she came close to him. He rolled his eyes and stood up so he could push past them.

"Mia?" Sam guessed, and she nodded coolly at him. She was a pretty little girl, with dark waves of hair, olive skin, and big, cold, dark eyes. There was something ancient in her presence that didn't suit her tiny frame or young face at all.

Dean protectively curled a hand around Sam's arm and tried to pull him back, but Sam threw off his brother's hand and stuck his hand out to shake Mia's. "Sam Winchester," he introduced himself, and she shook as much of his large hand as she could with her dainty little fingers. He heard Julie suck in her breath nervously when the reaper touched him, and he rolled his eyes. "Ignore these two," he told the little girl. "I just got stabbed nearly to death by another reaper a couple hours ago, so they're a little on edge."

"I'm not surprised," she said in an adorably high voice that didn't suit her grave tone. "You are Lucifer's vessel, after all. Not even reapers want him getting to full power. Pretty much everything in existence is going to want you dead with Lucifer's rise so near. You had better be more careful."

"You're not making me feel much better about trusting you," Dean said darkly.

Mia rolled her eyes. "Relax, Winchester. I don't want your brother dead. I don't want anybody dead."

"But…you're a reaper," Julie frowned. "Isn't that, like, your job?"

"It _was_," Mia said coolly. "Then I quit. Back when you two idiots jump-started the apocalypse, actually," she added with a nod at Sam and Dean. "For centuries I had dragged innocent souls away from life and loved ones, but when the destruction and killing increased so badly then…I couldn't do it anymore. So I turned in my resignation and tried to leave this life behind. Of course Castiel here couldn't just respect the fact that I'm _retired-_"

"Mia, we are trying to protect an innocent life," Cas pleaded. "Actually, we are trying to save billions of them. Please, just help-"

"Oh, calm down, Castiel," the little girl sighed dramatically. "I already said I would do it. That's why I'm here, isn't it? To take you into purgatory?" She looked directly at Julie.

She swallowed and nodded. "Yes. I need to find a portal to hell from there and then get an innocent soul out of hell."

"And you know which soul you wish to find?" Mia asked coolly.

"Her name is Charlie Bradbury," Julie said darkly. "She's a friend, and when Beelzebub killed her, he dragged her soul down to hell."

"Like he did with you," the reaper remarked calmly, and Julie flinched. "Touchy subject, I see. Although I doubt he is being anywhere near as hard on her as he was on you. His main concern right now is to free his lord and to make all of you suffer."

"Cheery," Dean grumbled. "Look, Mia, can you take Julie to purgatory or not?"

"I can," the reaper shrugged. "And I can do it now, if she's ready."

Two angels and two hunters looked anxiously to Julie, and she nodded, pulling out her angel-killing blade. "I'm ready. Dean and Sam have already talked me through everything I'll need to do."

"Well, that makes my job easier," the little girl said brightly. "Well, Julie Carters, if you will just come with me, I'll take you to the nearest portal and send you right to purgatory."

"Just a second," Julie said quickly. She hurriedly hugged Cas, then Sam, and then kissed Dean. It was meant to just be a quick peck on the lips, but his arms caught her and held her there, and the kiss deepened until all the others were feeling significantly uncomfortable. Eventually, Julie finally pulled away and brushed her thumb across Dean's lips. "I love you," she whispered.

He couldn't force those words out with this many people watching him, so he kissed her briefly and then whispered, "Come back, okay?"

"I will," Julie promised. The reaper held out her hand expectantly, and Julie took a brief moment to look around at the people she loved most in the world. She took a deep breath, forced a smile at all of them, and then took Mia's hand.

In a flash of bright light, they were both gone, and the four people left behind settled down to wait.

* * *

There was something kind of eerily beautiful about purgatory. When Mia and Julie arrived there, it was utterly silent and still. A maze of flat, barren ground and tall, bare trees sprawled around her in a seemingly endless expanse. There was no wind, no animals, nothing. Just silence.

It was almost peaceful. Julie looked around the silent, dead place, and she could easily see her Dean learning to survive here, to thrive here, in a simple, uncomplicated environment where all he had to do was survive. With how chaotic and complicated Dean's live was, this barren wasteland may have even been peaceful to him. And with how complicated her life had become, Julie could almost imagine just staying here. She and Sam and Dean could all just come here and just…survive.

Julie shook off those silly thoughts. There was a world to save and billions of innocent lives to protect. She couldn't be cowardly or selfish like that. She didn't have time for that.

"Alright, which way is the portal?" Julie asked the little girl next to her.

Mia raised her tiny little hand and pointed north. "After a while, you'll come across a river. You follow it until you get to the small cliff, and then you go through the waterfall. It's pretty far, and you'll go through some rough territory. You had better be ready to fight."

"Oh, I'm ready," Julie said bravely, curling her hand tightly around the handle of her blade.

"I will return in twenty-four hours," the reaper told her. "I'll wait as long as I can if you are not back yet, but it isn't even safe for me here."

"I'll be back in time," Julie promised the kind reaper.

"I hope you make it," Mia told her, and she really seemed like she meant it. Then the little girl smirked and added, "If you don't, I'm pretty sure your boyfriend will gut me."

"I'd like to think he wouldn't blame you, but…" Julie chuckled humorlessly. "Tell them all that I'm fine and I'll be right back, would you?"

The reaper nodded. "Good luck, Julie," she said in that high, adorable voice.

And then she was gone.

Julie stood alone in the silence, just breathing and taking the place in. Then she steeled herself and started her long journey north.

At first, the walk was uneventful. She walked through the empty woods, on high alert, but found nothing. After what felt like an hour or so, she found the river Mia had spoken of and followed its path through the trees. Eventually, she came across a corpse slumped over by a tree, its guts spread out across her path. She hurried past it and kept going, but she gripped her knife tighter.

Julie felt her first thrill of fear when a few minutes later, she stumbled across a four tall trees. From each pale tree hung a swollen, rotting corpse. The monsters had clearly been dead a long time, considering their faces were rotting away. Two were clearly vampires, since their sharp teeth were showing through their rotting skin. She didn't bother trying to identify the others, and she continued quickly on her way.

She didn't make it much further before they attacked.

She had figured that those corpses had been left to send a message. Probably marking the territory of whatever monsters resided here. And when they found her, it was pretty clear why they had marked their territory. There were five of them, and they appeared out of the trees, forming a loose circle around her. Even before one of them howled, their pack-like behavior had given them away.

Werewolves.

A tall, shaggy-haired man with massive arms drew closer to Julie, chuckling as she watched him warily. His nails and teeth were long and jagged, and his eyes were canine. She hadn't hunted a werewolf since she had become one, and it was kind of disconcerting seeing another one of the monsters she had briefly been.

The werewolf inhaled deeply and his eyes flared. "Human," he growled in pleasure. "Kids, we found ourselves a little human!"

A beefy black guy drew closer to Julie's back. "Are you lost, sweetheart?" he chuckled darkly. "A pretty little human like you doesn't belong here."

"It's been a while since we've had a human in these woods," a female werewolf laughed. "Not since Winchester." Julie barely swallowed her gasp, but some recognition must have shown in her eyes.

The first werewolf who had spoken, who must be the alpha, drew even closer to her, eyes narrowed. "You know that name, don't you, sweetheart?" he growled. "Dean Winchester. He killed a good number of my pack when he was here. It's been a while, but I don't forget."

"Do you know him?" the black werewolf asked her gruffly.

"More importantly, does he know you?" another werewolf, the one who had first howled, called loudly.

"I hope he does," the alpha chuckled. "I would love to kill one of his friends like he killed mine."

"Good luck with that," Julie smirked, the first time she had spoken since they surrounded her.

"Ooh, she's cocky," the black werewolf smirked. "I want her."

Julie felt his powerful hand close around her arm, and that was it. With no warning, she whirled around and slit his throat. The werewolf gurgled as he died, and she kicked him in the chest, knocking his corpse into the nearest werewolf. One of the other howled in fury, and then they all descended on her at once.

Julie did her best. She was a damn good fighter, and if it had just been two or maybe even three, she might have won. She wounded the female werewolf and killed one of the males in the struggle, but there were just too many of them. She felt claws tear into her left arm, and then the alpha threw her to the ground and fell on top of her, snarling. His breath was hot on her neck as he pulled back his fangs to rip her throat out, and her blade was too far out of her reach…

And then suddenly the werewolf's weight on top of her vanished. Julie heard a horrible snarling noise and then a dying whimper. She stared in shock as the werewolf's dead body fell to the ground beside her, his throat ripped wide open in a way that she recognized.

Vampire.

"You!" the female werewolf howled. Julie looked up to see a figure clad in dark clothes with his back to her fighting off the remaining two werewolves. He moved with speed and skill they couldn't match, and he decapitated the last male werewolf with his teeth alone before finally finishing off the already wounded female werewolf. Julie watched in horror, too shocked to move, knowing that running wouldn't do her much good anyway.

The vampire stood with his back to her, wiping his mouth. He spat in disgust and groaned. "Werewolf blood. Disgusting stuff, that is."

Julie finally came to her senses, and she scrambled over to her angel-killing blade. She was still sitting on the ground when he turned to look at her, giving her a blood-stained, shark-toothed grin.

"I've got to thank you, darlin'," he smirked at her. "I've been looking for a chance to get this pack for ages, but I could never take all five of 'em at once. And then you come along and even the playing field for me."

Julie said nothing, even as he slowly advanced on her. She knew she should be afraid, but the thing was…she recognized him. She knew that face from a picture she had seen once when she was digging through Dean's meager possessions when they first moved into the bunker. A picture of Dean, a couple years younger, with his arm slung around this guy's shoulders, both of them grinning up at the camera.

"So tell me, darlin'…what _is _a human doing here? They weren't wrong, you know. Humans don't belong here," the vampire said, kneeling down next to her in what was meant to be a threatening position. But Julie wasn't afraid. She knew this vampire. Or, rather, Dean did.

Julie didn't answer his question. Instead, once she found her voice, she choked out, "Benny?"

The vampire pulled away like he had been shocked, but the recognition in his eyes confirmed her suspicions. Julie found herself smiling, even as he gruffly demanded, "How do you know my name?!"

Her trip through purgatory had just gotten a whole lot easier.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yay, Benny! I always loved Benny, and I'm glad to have him in this story even if it's only for a short while. I hope you all enjoyed!


	94. Chapter 94

**Chapter Ninety-Four**

Benny glared down at the pretty blond woman at his feet. He'd never seen her in his life, but somehow she, a human, had gotten into purgatory, and she knew his name. She had recognized him.

"How do you know my name?!" he asked gruffly, unsure if he should try to kill her yet or not. He decided to wait and hear her out before he ripped her throat out.

"Dean!" the girl blurted out. "Dean Winchester!"

It took Benny a minute to recover. He hadn't heard that name in a long while. When he had recovered, he finally got out, "You know Dean?"

"Yeah, I know him," the girl laughed. She shouldn't be laughing here, in purgatory. She should be scared out of her wits. "I'm his girlfriend."

Benny laughed bitterly. "You almost had me, sweetheart. Dean Winchester would never have a serious girlfriend. Have you even met the man?"

"Spent the last two years of my life with him," she shot back, almost offended. He still didn't believe her, and it must have showed. "You want me to prove it? Fine. Dean has told me all about you, and purgatory. He said he was here with you for a year, trying to find Cas and then get out. He got you out of here and you lived topside for a while, but then you sacrificed yourself for him so that you could get Sam out of here." She looked him dead in the eyes with her own big, grave blue eyes. "He loved you like a brother."

"Dean," Benny choked out thickly. "He's still alive. Is he okay? Is he happy?"

"Is he ever happy?" she shot back, but she was smiling.

"Aw, hell, I'm just glad he's still alive," Benny laughed. He held out a hand for the girl, and she gladly took it and pulled herself into a standing position. "So. You really are his girlfriend, then?"

She nodded. "My name's Julie Carters. We've been together for over two years."

"Well, Julie, you're out of his league," Benny chuckled, taking her in. Even disheveled from her time in purgatory, she was still young and beautiful. She laughed, her blue eyes twinkling and her smile bright. He liked her instantly. "I'm glad he finally found a girl. That man's got a whole lot of love, and he needed to give it to someone."

Julie beamed at him. "God, I just…I can't believe I found you. I bet Dean would be dying to be here right now."

"Damn right, he would," Benny chuckled. "He always did love it here. The place suited him. And you, too. You took out two members of the toughest pack in this whole area all by yourself, and that's damn impressive."

"I could have taken them all if they hadn't ganged up on me," she muttered, and he chuckled. He was already loving this girl.

"So, Julie, why are you here?" Benny frowned. "I haven't seen a human here since Sam came here doing those crazy trials."

Julie swallowed and looked down, and he sighed. "You're kidding. You're doing them, too? So I guess that means it didn't work for Sam." A horrible thought hit him. "Oh, God. Sam's not-"

"No, he's not dead!" Julie said quickly, and he sighed in relief.

"Good. Don't know how Dean would have survived if he lost that kid."

"He wouldn't," she replied, just stating facts.

"So then why didn't he finish the trials?" Benny frowned at her.

"They were killing him, and Dean wouldn't let him finish them," she explained.

Benny snorted in disbelief. "But he'll let the girl he loves die completing them? Now, that doesn't sound like Dean."

"I'm already dying," Julie muttered, looking down. "Might as well go out with a bang."

He frowned, concerned. "What is it? Cancer? Because I'm pretty sure Cas could just fix you right up."

She snorted derisively. "No, I, uh…I sold my soul, and I'm almost out of time."

Benny's frown deepened. "When did you sell your soul?"

"About six months ago," she admitted.

"While you were with Dean?" he growled angrily. Julie looked up, and for the first time since realizing who he was, she was actually afraid of Benny. There was a protective kind of fury in his eyes as he snarled, "What the hell were you thinking? You'll kill him!"

"He was already dead!" she snapped defensively, and he blinked in surprise. "He got murdered, and when he came back, he was a demon. There was no way to save him, and he was pure evil. He was going to kill me and Sam and Cas and everyone he could get his hands on, and I had to do something!"

Benny regarded her thoughtfully for a moment, and then sighed. "I suppose that's as acceptable an excuse as any. Still, he must be going crazy. Poor guy, to finally find someone he loves and then lose them. And Dean a demon? What is going on out there in the real world?"

"A hell of a lot," Julie sighed. "And I'll gladly tell you about while we walk. But I'm on a time limit, and I have to get my friend's soul out of hell in less than twenty-four hours or I'm in trouble."

He studied her for a couple of seconds, and then nodded. "Right. Well, come with me then. I'll get you to the portal to hell safe, and I'll make sure you and your friend get back to the land of the living."

"Benny, I can't ask you to-" Julie started to protest.

"You're Dean's girlfriend, and he needs you to come home," he interrupted her firmly. "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't make sure that happened?"

She beamed up at him. "Alright then. Well…lead the way!"

And together the two of them set out for hell.

* * *

Dean didn't know how Sam and Cas were okay right now. He sure as hell wasn't.

If he was really honest with himself, he could tell they weren't okay. Sam had been staring at the same page of his book for the last four minutes, his eyes unmoving, and his leg couldn't quit bouncing with nervous energy. And in the chair next to him, Cas stared blankly ahead at nothing, his forehead creased with worry and his blue eyes dark with concern.

But they were still nothing compared to him.

It had been eight hours since Julie had disappeared with that little reaper girl. Eight hours to pace around the bunker and do nothing but worry. What if that reaper hadn't really been trustworthy? What if she had just taken Julie to some dark alley and slit her throat, and the woman he loved was lying cold and lifeless on the ground in some place he would never find her? Or what if Mia really had taken Julie to purgatory to get into hell, but that dangerous, merciless place had already killed her?

How could he have let her go?! How could he be so stupid as to let her do this?

"I can't believe I let her do this," Dean grumbled aloud, more to himself than Sam and Cas, who were also sitting in the room.

"You didn't let her," Sam called in a bored tone, only half-listening to Dean grumble. His eyes never left his book as he pointed out, "She was going with or without your permission."

"I could have locked her in the dungeon or something, anything to stop her from doing this!" Dean snapped back at him, hating how calm Sam was right now.

"That would have only angered her more, and it certainly wouldn't have stopped her from doing anything," Cas pointed out just as calmly.

"That's not the point!" Dean cried. "The point is, I shouldn't be letting her do these trials at all! _I _should be doing them."

"We've gone over this again and again, Dean," Sam said firmly, finally looking up at his brother. "She's the one who is going to die regardless. No point risking your own life as well."

"But what if the trials don't kill her? I mean, she seems okay. What if I could do them for her and survive, and she wouldn't have to risk her life like this?"

For a moment, he could have sworn he saw a knowing glance pass between Sam and Cas, but it was over as quickly as it had happened. "There is no point in doubting your decisions now, Dean," Cas said wisely. "Just try to relax and be patient."

"You're kidding, right?" he snorted derisively. "How the hell am I supposed to relax and be patient when the woman I love could be out there dying in purgatory or even hell right now?"

Sam sighed. "Dean, I know it sucks, but-"

"But worrying doesn't help anything, yeah, I get it," he grumbled, turning away. Suddenly, he couldn't stand to be around his irritatingly calm and rational best friend and brother, so he wandered off through the bunker until he found himself in his bedroom.

This was a painful room to enter right now. The first thing he saw was their bed, still unmade from when Julie had woken him and he had rolled out of it. One of her pairs of boots was sitting by the foot of the bed, and her hairbrush had been tossed haphazardly onto the bed. The closet was half-open, and some of her shirts peeked out, eerily similar, smaller versions of his own plaid flannels. Everything in this room was a dangerous reminder of her, and he could easily picture her brushing her hair in front of the mirror, hovering by the closet debating over what to wear, or lying on the bed, naked and waiting for him.

He missed her so damn much right now. Worry was driving him crazy, and she was the only thing that could calm him down at the moment.

How ironic, then, that she was the thing driving him crazy with worry.

Dean settled down on the edge of the bed, running his hand over his tired face. When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring at the framed picture of them he kept on the nightstand. Her beautiful, open face grinned up at him, her blue eyes bright and her smile genuine as she pressed close to him.

Yeah, this definitely wasn't making him feel any better.

"Dean?"

He frowned and looked up at the sound of Castiel's voice. Cas stood in the doorway, watching him with a sad, slightly uncertain expression. "Do you mind if I come in?" he asked carefully.

"Sure," Dean said wearily, and the angel joined him on the side of the bed, a respectful distance away.

"She'll be alright, you know that, don't you?" Cas asked him after a long moment.

"I know that," Dean admitted. "But I just can't quite believe it yet."

"She's tough," the angel assured him. "Julie can handle purgatory easily."

"It's not just purgatory I'm worried about," he muttered. "It's…it's hell. She's already so close to her time running out, and now she has to march straight into hell? I don't think I could do that. And if Beelzebub finds out while she's in hell, and he catches her…"

"You can't think like that," Cas told him firmly. "Worrying doesn't help anything."

"Well, what the hell else am I supposed to do?"

"I can give you rest," his best friend offered gently. "Julie won't be back for several hours even if everything goes perfectly, and you clearly need sleep."

Dean opened his mouth to protest, but sleep, really deep, peaceful sleep sounded heavenly right now. After a moment of hesitation, Dean said, "You would have to wake me up when it gets close to time to go get her."

"Of course," Cas assured him, and then Dean finally gave in. He didn't bother undressing other than to kick off his shoes and then he slid under the covers of his bed. Once he was comfortable, he felt Cas's cool fingertips press against his forehead, and then he drifted off to dreams of him and Julie on the beach, relaxing under the sun or playing in the waves and laughing, happy and healthy and whole…

For a few moments, Cas watched Dean sleep peacefully, a gentle smile on his lips, but he soon left Dean's room and returned to the main hall of the bunker, where Sam was still staring at his book and not reading a word.

"You have got to tell him the truth," the angel said sharply, and Sam looked up, startled.

"I saw her soul, Sam!" Cas snapped. "She is already growing weak from the trials, and she won't survive. Surely you know that! But she's hiding it from Dean to try to protect him, and it's giving him false hope. You heard him. He thinks she might actually survive this!"

"I know that," Sam sighed, closing his book and standing up. "And I want to tell him. Of course I want to tell him! But Julie is desperate to protect him, and she made me promise to help cover up how bad she's hurting, and I…"

"You can't say no to her," Castiel finished, more resigned than angry now. "I doubt I could either, if she had asked me. But she's not protecting him, not really. She needs to tell him the truth."

"I agree," Sam nodded. "And when she gets back, she will. Or else I'll tell him for her."

* * *

Julie watched calmly as the Wendigo stalked towards her, eying her small, human frame hungrily. When it got close enough to really breathe in her scent, its inhuman eyes flared and then it leapt towards her at an impossible speed, surely about to kill her. But she just watched, unafraid, and didn't even bother reaching for her weapon.

Out of nowhere, a dark blur flew in front of her, and she heard the sickening sound of a head being separated from a body. The Wendigo fell to the ground at her feet in two halves, and Benny straightened up and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the gore off of his blade.

"So, Dean became a demon, huh?" the vampire asked calmly, just picking up their conversation from where they had left off when he smelled a Wendigo drawing close. They had figured out a great system for making quick work of any monsters they came across on their journey through purgatory. Hungry monsters saw a small, pretty, delicious human and they threw caution to the wind and attacked without hesitation. Then she would either kill them herself or let her new vampire friend make quick work of them.

"Yep," she replied just as calmly, beginning to walk again with Benny at her side. "And he was a real ass, too. Slept with anything female that moved, said some horrible stuff, killed and tortured people and demons alike, and he ended up going full dark side and trying to kill me and Sam and Cas."

"Damn," Benny sighed. "How was Dean ever okay after going through that?"

"Oh, he's not okay, not even close to it," Julie said as nonchalantly as she could manage. "But it wasn't his fault or anything. It was the First Blade warping him, making him something he's not."

"He's been falling apart without me," Benny chuckled darkly. "If he didn't have you looking out for him, I don't know how the guy would still be breathing."

"Well, he's got Sam looking out for him, too," Julie pointed out.

"Ah, right…Sam Winchester…" Benny sighed wearily.

She studied him carefully. "So you still don't like Sam, huh?" she guessed.

"Oh, I never had any problem with the kid," the vampire shrugged. "I don't think he liked the fact that his vampire-hating brother had become buddies with one, though. Never trusted me. He did try to kill me once. That was fun."

Julie wasn't sure if she should try to defend Sam or not. "If it makes you feel any better, he felt incredibly guilty for hating you after what you did for him," she offered half-heartedly.

"Oh, I don't care," Benny said, waving off her concern. "It just made it harder, being stuck in a world I didn't belong in and not being able to see my brother because his actual brother made him choose between us."

Julie nodded sympathetically. In all honesty, she had to agree with Benny, even though she loved Sam. This vampire had never hurt her or done anything but save her life, and even if that wasn't true, Dean loved him. That was more than enough reason for her to trust and like him. But things had been very complicated between Sam and Dean back when Benny was on the earth, and she couldn't begin to understand what they had been going through. Instead, she tried to find a less uncomfortable subject.

They chatted on for a while, swapping their most amusing Dean stories. Julie was laughing, actually laughing, at one of Benny's little anecdotes when he suddenly came to an abrupt stop in front of three large boulders.

She stopped laughing and frowned up at him. "What's wrong?"

"We reached your portal," he replied calmly.

Julie stared skeptically at the three rocks in front of her, and then Benny moved forward and shifted the middle boulder over a little. Instantly, a dark portal barely large enough for her to squeeze through appeared, sucking and pulling at her, trying to draw her in. Julie could smell the sulfur and feel the heat and hear the screams even from here, and suddenly she wasn't ready for this.

"I can't," she gasped. "I don't think I can do this," she choked out, staggering back from the portal to hell.

Benny regarded her sadly. "Your friend won't be on the rack," he told her. "If what Dean told me is true, only the really special folks get the rack. So wherever she is, it won't be as bad as where they kept you. And you've got a weapon. You can fight."

Julie took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He was right. She could do this. It was just hell. It was just her only chance to save Charlie's soul. It was just her only chance to not die and go to hell herself…

"I can go with you," Benny offered, but even though he was a tough, brave, stone-cold killer, he sounded anxious and scared.

"I can't ask that of you," she said firmly. "Besides, you're right. I'll be okay."

"Then I'll be right here, ready to get you two out, when you get back," he assured her.

Julie smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you, Benny. Really, I mean it. I wouldn't still be here if it weren't for you, and-"

"Save the goodbyes for when you're really leaving," he cut her off, smiling fondly. She insisted on giving him a quick, brief hug, and he shook his head, that fond grin still there. "Well, go on then! Go save your friend."

And so Julie Carters took a deep breath, steeled herself, and then stepped back into hell.

* * *

Charlie bit down on her lip to keep from screaming as the demon hit her hard in her already bruised, bleeding stomach. He hit her twice more, only stopping when a pained moan escaped her lips involuntarily. The Mason took a step back from her to admire his handiwork, chuckling.

"I like this one," he told Clarisse, her usual tormentor, who was standing by and watching Mason torture Charlie with a bored expression. "She's tough. It takes some work to get her to scream."

"That's just because you're bad at your job," Clarisse said coldly, swiping Mason's blade from him. Before Charlie could struggle futilely to get free from the chains holding her in place, Clarisse suddenly drove her blade deep into Charlie's side, drawing out a scream from the tortured soul. Then she twisted the jagged blade, driving Charlie's screams even higher and more pained.

"See?" Clarisse chuckled, turning to smirk at Mason. "You just need where to apply pressure."

But Mason wasn't there to hear her gloat. Instead, Clarisse found herself staring at a blond woman with fierce blue eyes and a bloody knife standing over Mason's body.

Before Clarisse could even try to fight, the woman drove her blade deep into Clarisse's chest. As the demon died, the blonde growled, "That's for hurting my friend."

A strangled cry of recognition and joy tore out of Charlie's throat as she recognized that beautiful, familiar face. "Julie!" she half-sobbed in relief.

"Oh my God, Charlie, I…" Julie started, taking in the tortured soul of her dead friend. "I'm so-"

"Save that for once you get me out of here," Charlie said quickly, and Julie gladly unchained her friend's battered form. Charlie fell into Julie's waiting arms and the two women embraced for a long time, Julie not even caring when Charlie's blood stained her clothes.

"Oh, it's so good to see you," Charlie practically sobbed into Julie's shoulder.

"You too," Julie whispered in a choked voice. "I'm gonna get you out of here, Charlie. I'm going to get you where you really belong."

Charlie sobbed in relief, and Julie held her poor, broken friend even tighter. At least she was still relatively whole and sane. At least she could still form sentences. So clearly Beelzebub hadn't found time to torture Charlie yet.

Eventually, Charlie pulled away from Julie enough to brush tears and blood and sweat off of her face. She looked at Julie reverently, never having been so happy to see a familiar face in her life. Or, actually her death, but whatever…

"How are we gonna get out of here?" she asked in a hoarse, weak voice.

"Just follow me," Julie said bravely, holding out her left hand. Charlie took her friend's hand and trailed after her, still dazed by this turn of events. For what had felt like years, she had been trapped here, being teased and tortured and left to rot by demons, and then suddenly her friend was here, saving her.

"How are you here?" Charlie asked after a couple minutes of letting Julie pull her along through dark halls lit with fiery light and echoing with the screams of the damned.

"I came in through purgatory to get you out of here," Julie explained, not looking at Charlie as he addressed her, but instead scanning the halls for approaching demons.

"And Dean let you go into hell by yourself?" she asked skeptically.

"He wasn't very happy about it," Julie admitted with a bitter smirk to herself.

"How long do you still have left?" Charlie asked anxiously. "I feel like I've been down here for years…"

"Two weeks, give or take," her friend admitted.

"Well then, what the hell are you doing down here, worrying about me?!" Charlie asked, angry at her damned friend for risking her life like this.

"Just a second," Julie replied calmly, pulling her hand free of Charlie's grip, and before Charlie could even blink, Julie had rounded the corner and launched into battle with the two demons headed their way. The demons hadn't been expecting anything, and so they weren't prepared for the blur of fists and a silver blade until Julie was upon them. Charlie watched, stunned, as the two demons fell in under ten seconds. Julie brushed her hair out of her face and then gestured for Charlie to follow her, as if she hadn't just single-handedly killed two demons.

Charlie trailed after her friend as Julie continued to tell her tale. By the time Julie had explained about completing the trials and losing almost all of their living friends and even her nightmares of Lucifer, they had almost reached the way out of hell.

Both women were finally starting to believe they might actually be free of this awful place when the howls began.

Charlie gasped in horror as she recognized the familiar sound of long claws scrabbling across the stone floor and evil howls bouncing through the halls. Hellhounds. And by the sound of them, they were on a hunt, and she had a feeling she knew exactly who they were hunting for.

"Beelzebub must have found out you were here," Charlie realized, horrified. "Come on, we've got to run! Julie!"

But her friend was frozen in place, eyes wide with panic and shock, her face drained of all color. "They're coming for me," Julie choked out.

"Yeah, they are, and so we've got to run _now!_" Charlie shouted, and this time she was the one who grabbed Julie's hand and started her dragging along the corridors. Julie ran after her, still looking like she was in shock, but at least she could move.

The hounds were beginning to gain on them, their howls raising in excitement and volume, when Julie suddenly cried, "Here!" She dove to the left, dragging Charlie with her, and then the two women disappeared through a crack in the wall and disappeared into nothing.

Charlie found herself staggering into a strange, empty, eerie forest with Julie at her side. The two of them stood in place for a long moment, disoriented and still recovering from the terror of being hunted by the hounds.

Julie took a few deep breaths, expecting the forest to be silent as usual. But it wasn't. Only a few yards away, she heard the monstrous snarling and muffled thuds of fighting, and she turned her head.

Charlie followed Julie's line of sight and saw three figures grappling. Two of them seemed to be working together, and their grayish skin and the dried blood around their mouths made her think they were ghouls. Two more like them lay dead on the forest floor. One of them had the third monster in a headlock, forcing him to his knees as the other struggled to get a clear shot lined up to behead its victim. The pinned monster was struggling valiantly, snarling and snapping at them with vampire teeth, but he couldn't get free no matter what he did.

Unsure what to do, Charlie just watched, still stunned and overwhelmed. But next to her, Julie shrieked, "Benny!" and sprang into action. She threw her silver blade and it spun through the air and sank deep into the ghoul's back just before he could stab the vampire. The dying monster fell to the ground, and its partner was so shocked that its grip slackened. The vampire pulled free of its captor, turned around, and ripped its throat wide open with his bare teeth.

Charlie made a strangled noise of fear and disgust as the vampire continued to savagely tear into the dead ghoul until he had taken his fill. Then he dropped the body and calmly wiped the gore and blood from his chin. Charlie waited for Julie to turn running and screaming from the monster, but instead she just rushed to his side, ignoring the blood on his lips and asking in a concerned voice, "Are you alright?"

The vampire chuckled, smiling down at her. "You just watched me rip someone's throat wide open, and your only concern is if I'm alright?" he asked, amused. "Not even Dean was that concerned about me. You're far too trusting for you own good, you know that?"

"You know, instead of mocking me, you could say thank you for me saving your ass," Julie shot back, but she looked amused as well.

"Thank you," Benny said genuinely. "I was in a bit of a bind there, I'll admit. I could have outrun those ghouls, but I had to stay here and be ready for you when you got back."

"Well, we're back," Julie said brightly. She turned to Charlie and welcomed her over, but Charlie was hesitant to come near that dangerous vampire. She had no idea why Julie was so comfortable around him. "Charlie, I'd like you to meet Benny Lafitte. Benny, Charlie Bradbury."

"Nice to meet you, Charlie," the vampire, Benny, said politely, sticking out his hand. Charlie tentatively took it, and he smiled at her. "Glad to see you made it out of hell."

"Barely," Julie admitted. "There were hellhounds on our tail when we managed to finally escape."

Benny's eyes widened. "What? Well, that would have been some valuable information!" he snapped.

Julie frowned. "What's the problem?"

"That's a two-way portal, Julie!" Benny cried. "The hounds don't know it's there, or at least I hope they don't, but they never lose a scent once they've started the hunt. Eventually, they'll find their way in here, and if they can smell you two here, they won't stop until they've dragged you both back."

Both women paled. "Shit," Julie breathed. "Well then…Benny, you've got to go."

"What?" he blanched.

"If you're with us when they find us, they'll rip you to shreds, badass vampire or not," she said coldly. "I'm not letting that happen, so you need to get as far from us as possible." He started to protest, but she insisted, "I'm pretty sure I know how to get back from here, and Charlie and I can handle a few monsters. But you need to clear out now."

She didn't wait for an answer, instead just heading straight for the river she would have to follow. Charlie followed along at her heels, feeling like a lost puppy just like she had pretty much since Julie had arrived. But after a few seconds of walking, Charlie jumped when she realized the vampire was walking right next to her.

"Benny, what the hell are you doing?" Julie snapped when she noticed him keeping up with their frantic pace with ease. "I told you to go!"

"Julie, darlin', you may be the boss of Sam, and I don't doubt you're the boss of Dean, but you've got no control over me and what I do," he replied coolly, unimpressed. "If I want to make sure you two get out of here safe, then I will. And if I get caught by some hounds because of it…oh, well. It's not like I haven't died before."

Julie opened her mouth to protest, and then realized there was no point. Benny wasn't wavering any more than she was. So she sighed, shrugged, and kept marching along.

As they retraced their long path through purgatory, Julie and Benny explained everything to Charlie, what purgatory was and who Benny was and where they were headed. After an hour or so, Charlie not only had learned to trust the vampire, but he was really beginning to grow on her. And it was freaking adorable, seeing how close Benny and Julie were even though they had met less than twenty-four hours ago. Julie's likeable-ness apparently affected vampires too. And Charlie wasn't sure she'd ever seen two people so head-over-heels crazy about Dean. The two of them babbled on about him for half an hour at least before realizing they might be talking about him a little too much.

And when a couple monsters came across the three of them, Charlie was pretty damn grateful Benny was on their side. Julie tried to help him fight, but Benny wanted another fight. He single-handedly killed both the siren and the banshee without breaking a sweat, and he was so fast and strong and brutal that Charlie found herself thanking God or whoever else was out there that this guy wasn't their enemy.

Hours passed, but no hounds ever found them. Maybe they couldn't find the portal, or they couldn't find them in this vast expanse of woods. Maybe Beelzebub had called them back. Whatever the case was, by the time Julie, Charlie, and Benny finally returned to the spot Julie had arrived at the precise minute they were supposed to, no hellhounds had even come close to finding them.

When they reached the log Julie had arrived by, she saw little Mia the reaper sitting on the log and waiting patiently. "You're just in time," she told Julie in a flat, emotionless tone, standing up. "And you found your wrongfully placed soul," she added, noticing Charlie hovering nervously nearby.

Mia eyed Benny suspiciously. "You are aware that is a vampire, correct?" she asked carefully.

Julie and Benny both smirked, and he showed his fangs as he did so. "Yeah," she shrugged. "He's a friend. He helped Charlie and I get through this place in one piece."

"I see," the reaper said carefully, arching her eyebrows in an oddly haughty expression for a little girl. "Well. I suppose you can bring him through if you want. Your Dean did explain to you how to bring souls through with you?"

Julie nodded and turned to Benny. "Well, Benny?" she asked uncertainly. "What do you think? Do you want to come back to the land of the living? I know Dean would love to see you again."

He thought about it, he really did. But then the vampire sighed wearily. "Honestly, Julie? The land of the living sounds like a hellhole. And besides…I don't belong there. This place is my home. Sure, I'd love to see Dean, but…"

"I understand," Julie said, and she really did. "Thank you for helping us. It'll mean the world to him that you were able to protect us."

Benny gave her a sad sort of smile and nodded at his new friend. Then he stepped aside so Charlie could say her goodbyes.

"Once I get ready to transport your soul, there won't be any chance to say goodbye," Julie told Charlie softly.

"I guess we'll have to do it now then," her friend said, and then the two women embraced tightly. Charlie held Julie close, not ready to say goodbye to her quite yet. But then again, she hadn't been ready when she was killed, either.

"Tell the guys that I love them," Charlie whispered after a long, emotional silence. "And tell them I know that this is all going to work out somehow. Tell them…tell them I'll be rooting for you guys from upstairs."

Julie pulled away and gave Charlie a watery smile. "I will," she sniffled.

"Okay." Charlie took a deep breath. "Let's do this."

The two women cut their arms and Julie muttered the incantation. Charlie's soul was then sucked into the incision in her arm, and he skin glowed with the fiery light of Charlie's soul trapped under her skin.

Trying to ignore the odd, slightly painful sensation, Julie turned to Benny and offered him a bittersweet smile. She opened her arms and asked, "One more for the road?"

The vampire hugged this woman tightly, this woman he hadn't even known for a full day, but who meant so much to him. "Finish these trials, alright?" he muttered into her ear as he hugged her. "Don't end up back there, okay? Promise me that."

She pulled away and tried and failed to smile. "I'll try," she replied, going to stand next to Mia. "Bye, Benny."

"Say hi to Dean for me," he called as she prepared to go back to her world. "And tell him…he did a damn good job picking you."

Julie smiled at him, an honest, genuine smile, and nodded. "I will. Thank you," she called one last time, and he grinned back at her. And then she took Mia's hand, and the two of them were gone.

* * *

Julie staggered through the dark woods. These woods weren't silent and empty and dead like purgatory. They were real woods, full of sound and movement and life even in the dark like now. At first, purgatory had seemed beautiful to Julie, but now, back in the real world, she could see that beauty was in life, not in death.

Her body was aching and heavy. In purgatory, she never seemed to tire, not like she did here. Here, every cut and bruise she had received in purgatory seemed to drain her. On top of that, her weakness from the first trial made her want to lie down, curl up in a ball, and sleep for a month. Unfortunately, she didn't have a month. So Julie forced her tired limbs to keep staggering forward, hoping she would come across Sam and Dean soon.

She hadn't been walking for more than two or three minutes before she stumbled into a little clearing. And there he was, tall and broad-shouldered and bow-legged and beautiful. His green eyes were shining in the moonlight, wide and filled with relief when they landed on her. And oh, God, was he beautiful. He was flesh and blood and life, not the sad imitations of living things she had seen in purgatory and hell, and she couldn't tear her eyes off of him.

"Jules," he choked out, and then he was running to her. She gladly fell into his arms when he reached her, and she found herself kissing him passionately, with energy and a fire she didn't know she currently possessed. Some part of her hadn't really believed it was coming out of purgatory, and now that she really had, she was so overjoyed to be with Dean again that she couldn't get enough of him. They kissed, long and hot and deep, tangling their fingers in each other's hair and tugging at each other's clothes, pulling the other closer in a desperate attempt to be completely one. Julie probably would have started tearing his clothes off in the middle of the woods if Cas hadn't awkwardly cleared his throat.

They finally pulled apart, although Julie refused to step more than a couple inches away from him. She saw Sam and Cas standing there, smiling at her. When she saw Sam, she did manage to stagger away from Dean far enough to throw her arms around him briefly.

"I'm so glad you're okay," he told her, and she nodded in agreement.

After giving them a brief summary of what had happened in purgatory and smiling at how ecstatic Dean was to hear that she had met Benny, Julie finally got the chance to release Charlie's soul. She sliced open her arm once more and recited the incantation Sam had taught her. Then all four of them watched in awe as Charlie's pure, beautiful soul made its way up into the sky, where it really belonged.

When Julie looked at Sam and Dean, their eyes were shiny with tears, but they were smiling. Charlie was in heaven instead of hell, and even if the trial didn't work for some reason, Julie was proud of what she had done. At least she could die knowing she had accomplished something good.

"You ready?" Sam asked her anxiously, and she nodded, hoping she really was.

Julie took a long, deep breath, steadied herself, and then recited calmly, "Kahn um ahm dahr."

For a moment, nothing happened, and then her arm began to glow with a fiery light. The light spread throughout her veins, making her skin glow. Julie cried out in pain and started to collapse, but Dean was there to catch her. He held her upright, waiting for her to shake him off and protest that she was fine.

But she didn't. She screamed in pain again as the fire glowed throughout her body. Dean cried her name, but she didn't respond. And then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the light vanished. Julie sucked in a huge breath, her whole body trembling. Dean held her tightly, looking terrified.

"Jules, are you-?" he started to ask, but she interrupted him in a breathless voice, "I'm fine."

But she wasn't. She wasn't even close. Because then, with no warning, her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed to the ground where she lay with blood dripping from her nose and her mouth.

And she wasn't breathing.


	95. Chapter 95

**Chapter Ninety-Five**

Sam and Dean sat side-by-side in silence, squeezed into too-small hospital chairs, just staring at her as she lay, small and pale in weak in that hospital bed.

Julie was fine. That's what Cas and the doctors kept telling them. She would live, and she would soon be recovered enough to wake up and leave the hospital. The doctors couldn't explain what had happened. They thought she had nearly died from sheer exhaustion, and that was somewhat accurate. After purgatory and hell, she had been nearly dead on her feet, and then the second trial had drained what was left of her energy and strength. For a scary moment there, she had just lay on the ground, not breathing, and Dean had been paralyzed in fear. But then Sam had dropped to his knees and started doing CPR on Julie until there was breath in her lungs again. And then without hesitation, Cas had scooped Julie up and disappeared, flying her to the nearest hospital and abandoning the brothers in his haste.

Those had been some of the longest moments of Dean's life, just standing in silence in the middle of the woods, absolutely paralyzed with fear and shock. Sam hadn't spoken much either, but he seemed a lot less surprised than Dean was.

Julie was fine. She had been fine ever since the first trial! He hadn't seen any signs of weakness other than a slight cold, but even that was nothing out of the ordinary. And despite himself, Dean had begun to hope that everything would be okay. If the first trial didn't affect her, maybe the others wouldn't either!

Oh, how wrong he'd been.

Eventually, Cas had returned for Sam and Dean, and the three of them had anxiously paced the waiting room of the hospital until a kind male nurse finally told them Julie had pulled through. He had allowed them into Julie's room, and Sam and Dean had settled down in chairs next to her bed, and they had been sitting here for the past seven hours, unmoving.

A middle-aged female doctor had come into the room a few hours ago and sat down with Sam and Dean to talk about Julie's current state. They had used their typical hospital cover, Dean and Julie Barnes, husband and wife, and Dean's brother, Sam, a lie they had used so many times now that they almost believed it themselves. And thanks to the privileges that only family got, they had both gotten full disclosure on Julie's condition.

Her organs had all shut down briefly, and she was still recovering. They blamed it on exhaustion and excessive stress on her body. The bruises and cuts on her body were not severe, but they did lead the doctor to eye Dean suspiciously, her lips a cold, harsh line. It took him a long time to realize what she thought must have happened, and when he did he was horrified and furious.

He, the cold, abusive husband must have beaten her as punishment for some unknown crime she had committed, and then he must have kept her from sleeping or eating or drinking long enough that her body just shut down. As angry as the thought made him, he realized it was actually pretty believable, especially with Sam right there, squeezing her hand and worrying over her and looking absolutely smitten. If he didn't know better, he could easily believe that the wife had been cheating with her brother-in-law, and the angry, abusive husband had found out and nearly killed her before deciding to get her help.

These kind of things happened, he knew that. And even if the thought of him doing that to Julie made his positively murderous, Dean figured that was more believable than the truth. So he let the doctors and nurses keep on thinking that, ignoring the dirty looks he got and them constantly badgering him to give her some space.

Honestly, no matter what these people thought about him, Dean didn't care. He knew the truth. He knew he was madly in love with this girl, this girl who he now knew without a doubt was going to die completing these trials, if she even survived that long.

After several hours of just sitting in silence, Dean finally addressed the issue that had been eating at him ever since she collapsed. He turned in his seat to face Sam and just said flatly, "She lied."

Sam blinked in surprise at Dean's bluntness. "What do you…?"

"She lied about not being affected by the trials, that's pretty obvious," Dean said just as bluntly. "But she must have worked pretty hard to hide all this from me. And if she really was pretty sick, I doubt she could cover it all up without some help." Sam looked down as he realized what his brother was accusing him of. "You knew, didn't you?" Dean asked him in that same flat, dead tone.

"I did," Sam admitted. "And I helped her cover it up." Dean turned away from Sam, and he blurted out, "I kept trying to convince her to tell you, but she thought she was protecting you. I'm sorry, Dean, I really wanted to tell you, but-"

"But you can't say no to her any more than I can," Dean sighed. "It's fine, Sammy. It doesn't really matter now."

"Yes, it does," Sam insisted. "Dean, I should have just told you the truth and ignored her. Pretending she wasn't hurting…that just made this hurt you even worse."

Dean didn't reply. They both knew it was true, but that didn't change what had happened.

"She's going to die," Dean finally said in the voice of a man a thousand years old, a man who had lived far too long and seen far too much. "These trials are going to kill her."

Sam stared sadly at his older brother and then nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry, Dean," he whispered. "I wish there was something we could do, any other way…"

Dean was silent. He knew there was another way. It was his last resort, something he had been trying to avoid doing at all costs, because he knew just how badly it would destroy Sam and Julie. But he no longer had a choice. There was just no other way.

He and Sam sat in silence for a long time until finally, after eight hours of just sitting here worrying over Julie, Sam fell asleep. Cas was off talking to the nurses or his angels or God knows where. Finally, finally, Dean was relatively alone with her.

For a while, Dean just stared at Julie sleeping face. Her skin was pale and her face worn and tired, dark bags under her eyes, but she was still beautiful. Her blond curls were fanned out around her face across the pillow, making her look angelic. After he had memorized every curve and line of her beautiful face, Dean was content just to watch her chest rise and fall for a while, reminding himself that she really was still breathing.

Just not for long.

Dean took her cold, small hand in his and pressed his lips to the back of her hand. For a second, he thought she twitched a little in response, but she didn't wake. Dean trailed his lips up her arm and then stretched to kiss her. The IV in her nose made it difficult to kiss her lips, so he pressed his lips to her cool forehead for a long moment. When he pulled away, he whispered hoarsely, "I love you." Those words had once been so hard for him to say, and it had taken him weeks of being in the healthiest, closest, most fulling relationship of his life to finally confess them to her face. But now they fell easily from his lips, a statement that he knew to be so true that it defined who he was.

And then he silently stood up and left Sam and Julie behind. He dug out his car keys as he reached the Impala in the hospital parking lot, started the car, and set out for the nearest crossroads.

* * *

He didn't have to wait long.

Dean had scarcely buried the box containing every ingredient he would need to summon a demon in the middle of the crossroads before he heard a high, attractive laugh behind him. He turned slowly, not particularly worried, and took in the demon who had come to make a deal with him.

She was very beautiful, tall and curvy, curvier than Julie. Her skin was a creamy, dark color, her black hair sleek and appealing as it framed her pretty face. She took him in with smoky, sultry dark eyes, her lips curving up in a grin.

And then her eyes flashed an unnerving shade of demonic red.

He stared calmly at her, unimpressed. "I was wondering how soon I'd be seeing you," she purred, slowly drawing closer to him. She wore a tiny little black dress that barely covered her ass and her breasts, and four inch heels. He knew she was impossibly sexy, but he hardly noticed. Nothing mattered right now, nothing but the damned, dying girl lying in a hospital bed a few miles away.

"I must admit, this is exciting, even for me," the demon smirked. "It's not every day I get to meet the great Dean Winchester."

"Well, you can do a lot more than meet me," he replied coolly. "You can have my soul."

"Easy there, tiger," she laughed, leaning so close to him that the attractive scent of her perfume nearly overwhelmed him and he could feel the heat rolling off of her meat suit's body. She trailed a couple perfectly manicured fingers over his chest, right above his heart, and whispered, "I don't like to rush these things. I think half the fun is in the game."

"Yeah, well, I don't have a lot of time, sweetheart," Dean shot back coldly. "The woman I love is about to die and spend the rest of eternity rotting in hell, so I'd like to get this over with."

"You know, Dean, it was pretty stupid of you to summon me," the demon said smoothly, as if he hadn't just spoken. "What if Beelzebub had heard your call before I did? You could be dead right now, or suffering through agony far worse than death."

"Beelzebub doesn't scare me," Dean replied calmly. "Neither does hell."

The crossroads demon stretched up on her toes so her lips were within an inch of Dean's. She met his eyes and then hissed softly, so close her lips almost touched his as she spoke, "You're _lying._"

Dean pulled back slightly from the demon, and she grinned nastily. "Hell terrifies you, Dean. You know exactly what hell entails. And trust me, sweetie, you aren't going to like where you'll be headed. Lord Beelzebub will string you back up on the rack, but this time there won't be any angels to save you. And as skilled as good old Alistair was with a knife…nothing he did can prepare you for what our lord has planned for you."

The hunter just glared down at her. "I thought you were supposed to try to convince me to sell my soul, not scare me away," he shot back.

"Oh, I'm not worried," she smirked. "I know you're so desperate and pathetic that you'll sell your soul no matter what I say. I just like watching you squirm."

Dean took a threatening step towards her. "You know, I'm not afraid to send you crawling straight back to hell, bitch," he growled.

But she just laughed. "But you won't. Because you're so desperate to save poor, precious Julie that you'll do whatever it takes to get me to make you a deal."

"Look, let's just get this over with," Dean snapped.

"But toying with you is just so fun!" she whined, earning her another death glare.

"Fine, Dean," she sighed dramatically. "What do you want?"

"I want to take her place," he replied coldly.

The demon laughed, feigning surprise. "You can't be serious! I thought you just wanted to extend her deadline a few weeks. Oh, Dean, honey, I can't do that. Nobody can."

"I know you can," he growled angrily. "And you're going to. I'll go right now if I have to, I don't care. But her deal is up and Beelzebub has to leave her and Sammy alone."

"Dean, I don't think you understand how badly Beelzebub wants your little girlfriend," the crossroad demon said slowly, relishing the pain her words were bringing him. "He doesn't just want to torture her like he would you. He wants to make her his little sex slave, wants to break her spirit and turn her into some broken thing that will just give him whatever he wants. He'll probably turn her demon at some point, but he wants that sexy little thing at his mercy whenever he wants her-"

The demon was suddenly pinned up against a nearby tree, Dean's powerful hands closed around her throat. "Shut the hell up!" he snarled dangerously, murder in his eyes.

"Oh, you don't like that, do you?" she laughed, a slightly strangled noise due to his tight hold on her neck. "You don't want to think about Beelzebub inside that girl instead of you, him being the one making her scream and beg and moan every night instead of you, him owning her instead of you-"

"_Shut up_!" Dean roared, choking the life out of the demon as rage made it near impossible for him to think straight.

The demon's eyes were suddenly red again, and she choked out in a weak but dangerous voice, "Get your filthy hands off me or you get no deal, Winchester."

Somehow, Dean found the self-control to release her throat and step away from the demon. He was a little alarmed seeing the angry red marks on her neck from him choking her. He hadn't quite realized how hard he was squeezing her throat until now.

"You had better be careful, Dean," she said once she had calmed down a little as well. "I'm your last chance at saving precious Julie's soul. You piss me off and you've got no way of saving her from all of the horrible things he wants to do to her."

Dean glared at the ground, chest still heaving. "Fine," he growled. "Let's just make a deal."

"Not yet," she replied haughtily. "First, I want you to apologize to me."

"What?" he snapped, glaring at the demon again.

"Apologize for choking me, or I'll leave you and your damned girlfriend alone to die," she said coldly.

Dean took a deep breath, grit his teeth, and spat, "I'm sorry. There. Good enough?"

She thought about it, then smirked, "No. I didn't believe you. I want you to beg me to forgive you."

"What? No!" Dean snapped, refusing to beg this scum for anything.

"Unless you want that woman to become Beelzebub's little sex toy, you will get down on your knees and beg me to forgive you."

He couldn't do this. He didn't beg anyone for anything, certainly not demons. Dean honestly didn't think he was physically capable of doing this, but then the demon said airily, "Too bad. And to think you really could have saved her from going back to hell."

"Wait!" Dean snapped as she turned and began to walk away. She turned slowly to face him, her lips spreading into a grin as he slowly lowered himself to his knees. Forcing down his pride, Dean forced out through gritted teeth. "I'm sorry, okay? Please forgive me."

She regarded him thoughtfully. "That was better. But I want more. _Beg _me, Winchester."

Ignoring the horrible words he wanted to spit at this demonic bitch, he forced the words, "Please. Just forgive me, okay? I…I'm _begging _you."

The demon grinned triumphantly and walked back over to Dean. He started to stand, but she pushed his shoulders down. "Not yet, gorgeous," she smirked. "Now beg me to make a deal."

Oh, if only Sammy and Jules could see him now. Down on his knees in front of a demon, sniveling and begging for her to let him sell his soul. How far he had fallen from the proud, powerful, brave man he used to be, someone who had almost been a hero. Now he was just pathetic.

"Please…_let _me sell my soul," he forced out. "Let me take Julie's place, please."

The demon ran her fingers through his hair, and Dean forced down his disgust at this whole sick scenario. If he had known this would be so humiliating, he wouldn't have come.

No. That was a lie. He was going to do this or die trying.

"More, Dean," she teased him.

"I'll go right now," he continued. "Just promise me that she and Sam go free, and I'll take her place. I'll go to hell this minute if you just save her. Please, I'm begging you, just make me a deal!" And this time he really could beg, and mean it. He was so desperate, so pathetic that he was begging a crossroad demon to take his soul.

The demon took Dean's face in her hands and pulled him to his feet. She stretched up on her toes again, and Dean leaned in eagerly, ready to kiss her and sign his soul away, trying to ignore the fact that he would never see Sammy or Jules or Cas again, that he was abandoning them…

Her lips stopped so close to his that her breath was filling his mouth. Her lips brushed his when she spoke that one horrible, fatal word: "No."

She suddenly pulled abruptly away from him, grinning evilly. "What?" Dean asked, stunned.

"You must be joking, Dean!" she laughed cruelly. "You're not important enough to be worthy of taking her place. And to think that your soul is worth letting both of them go? How full of yourself are you?"

"But…you said…" he protested, still confused.

"I lied, sweetie," she smirked nastily. "I am a demon after all. But this was fun. Now I get to be the only demon who can say she got Dean Winchester to get down on his knees and beg for her."

The crossroad demon turned around and began to saunter away, laughing smugly to herself.

And that was when Dean pulled out his gun and shot her in the back.

She gasped in pain and shock as the bullet entered her skin and tried to whirl around to kill that bastard. But instead, to her horror, she found herself frozen in place. She struggled and fought and then began to wail as she realized what had happened.

Dean Winchester stepped into her line of sight, smirking cockily. "Fine. You don't want to make me a deal? Then if Julie really does have to die, at least she can cure you first and end up in heaven instead of hell."

She struggled wildly again, glaring at this smug son of a bitch. "Let me go, Winchester!" she snarled.

"Beg me," he replied with a nasty smirk.

Dean turned away from the trapped demon and dug out his phone. He dialed Sam's number and was about to call him and tell him to bring Cas so they could move this bitch to the dungeon in the bunker until Julie was healed enough to cure her.

And then he heard the demon speak behind him. She called cockily, "Nice try, Dean. But there's no way out of this. That little slut of yours is going to hell no matter what. Lord Beelzebub will have what he desires."

And Dean turned around just in time to see her stab herself in the heart with an angel blade.

"No!" Dean shouted, trying to run forward and stop her. The demon gurgled horribly, her insides glowing with a fiery light, and then she collapsed to the ground, dead.

"No," Dean repeated, half-sobbing, and he found himself sinking back to his knees. But this time he wasn't begging that demon. He just no longer had the strength to stand.

His only hope of saving Julie from certain death had just offed herself rather than help him in any way. And now he was right back where he had started.

* * *

"Can't you find him with your angel powers or something?" Sam asked, his tone more gruff than usual with worry and anger.

"He is cloaked from angels, you both are," Cas answered him, sounding almost as frustrated as Sam felt. "The only way I can normally find him is because he's praying to me or wishing I was there, and that broadcasts his location to me. But he's shutting me out now."

"He turned off the GPS off on his phone," Sam growled angrily. "We've got no way to find him. I can't believe he would do this, Cas! I mean, look at her! She's lying half-dead in a hospital bed with less than two weeks left to live, and _now _he decides to run out on us?!"

"Sam, you must know that's why he did this," the angel pointed out. "He has been saving this as his last resort, but now that she's like this…he knows he is out of options."

"What if he does it?" Sam choked out after a long, heavy silence. "What if whatever demon he can summon up says yes?"

"Sam, we're not even certain that's where he went-" Cas started to protest, but his heart wasn't in it.

"Where else would he go, Cas?!" Sam cried. "You know Dean. I'm almost surprised he hasn't tried this before now."

The angel was silent. There was nothing really left to say. A horrible thought hit Sam as they stood in silence, huddled in the corner of Julie's room in the hospital. "Cas, what if Beelzebub heard when he summoned a demon? What if…?"

"I'm sure that didn't happen, Sam," Cas said quickly, although he honestly wasn't.

"But, if it did…if Beelzebub has Dean…the world's as good as destroyed," Sam said darkly.

"Well, if he really does have Dean…" Cas swallowed thickly. "We…we would have to let that monster have him. We can't surrender and let Lucifer rise. You know that, Sam."

"I know," Sam said softly. "I know, I just…how could he do this, Cas?! How could he do this to us, to _her-_?!"

"Sam?"

Sam stopped abruptly at a scared, lost, almost-childlike voice calling his name softly. He turned and found himself staring into Julie's eyes. She was still lying small and pale and fragile in that big hospital bed, but her blue eyes were open and alert and afraid.

Instantly, Sam forgot all about the current issue and rushed to her side. "Julie!" he breathed, his relief clear on his face as he hovered anxiously over her. "You're okay. Oh, thank God, I'm so glad you're awake-"

"I'm fine," she insisted, rather weakly, making a face as he worried over her. "Geez, Mom."

He chuckled slightly, relieved just to hear her voice and hear her make jokes. But there was concern in her eyes as she looked around the room and saw Sam and Cas but noticed one very important person missing.

"Sam…where is he?" Julie asked softly, almost afraid of the answer. She knew Dean well enough to know that he would never leave her side when she was this hurt, not unless something terrible had happened.

Sam and Cas exchanged nervous looks, but didn't speak. "Guys, tell me," she said in a surprisingly fierce tone for someone who had been on death's door not twelve hours ago.

"We don't know," Cas admitted.

"I fell asleep, and Cas was out, and when I woke up, Dean was gone," Sam said darkly. "No note, no voicemail…nothing. He turned off the GPS on his phone and he's hiding himself from Cas."

Julie pushed herself up into a sitting position, her eyes wide. "Why would he do that? Unless…"

Sam's heart broke as he watched fear and realization fill Julie's eyes. Her face crumpled and she made a gut-wrenching moan and buried her face in her hands. "No…" she groaned, sounding on the verge of tears. "He wouldn't…he wouldn't do that to me…to us…"

Cas and Sam exchanged another look, knowing Dean most certainly would. He would think he was being selfless, saving Julie, and in doing so, he would commit the most selfish act he possibly could. Dying for any one of them didn't save them. It destroyed them.

"I'm so sorry, Julie," Sam whispered, reaching out and squeezing her shoulder. "I mean…maybe he went to do something else. Maybe he just needed some space."

"Don't lie to me, Sam," she snapped, pulling her head out of her hands to glare at him with teary, red eyes. "Not like I've been doing to him."

Sam and Cas studied her in sad silence. "Lying to him didn't protect him, did it?" she asked flatly. "It just made things worse."

"Probably," Sam admitted.

Julie moaned again. "Oh, God…if he dies…"

"Hey, it'll be okay," Sam insisted. "I promise. He'll be okay, Julie."

"What part of don't lie to me do you not understand?" she asked flatly, her expression now devoid of all emotion. She looked as dead as she probably felt at the mere thought of Dean going to hell instead of her.

Cas's sudden, sharp intake of breath caused both Sam and Julie to look up. They saw him staring in surprise at someone in the doorway, and they both turned quickly to stare at…

"Dean!" Sam cried sharply, both relieved and angry to see his brother after the scare he had just given them. But he couldn't stay angry at Dean when he looked at his brother, when he really looked.

Dean's shoulders were the low, hunched form of a man defeated and broken. His eyes were flat and dull, with dark bags underneath them. His expression was dead, his movements stiff and sluggish as he slowly entered the room and sank in silence back into the chair he had pulled up next to Julie's bed. Sam had rarely seen a more pitiful creature in his life.

Julie just stared at Dean, unsure what to think or feel or say. He stared back at her, expressionless, and then finally choked out in a voice filled with guilt, the first emotion he had expressed since returning, "I failed. I couldn't save you, Jules. I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry."

And in response, Julie whispered, "I'm not," and dragged his body close to hers, holding him as tightly as her weak limbs could and burying her face in his neck. She breathed the smell of him in, tried to memorize the feeling of his warm, smooth skin against hers, working hard to keep from bursting into tears.

She could tell Dean was utterly destroyed, feeling empty and hopeless now that he knew he had no choice but to let Julie die. But she felt nothing but relief. She was as selfish as Dean, because she would much rather be the one who had to die than the one who had to be left behind.

* * *

The next day, Julie checked out of the hospital, and they all returned to the bunker. After her body had recovered from the initial shock of the trial and the exhaustion she felt from enduring purgatory and hell, she was healthy enough to leave the hospital. She still had dizzy spells and a bad cold and occasionally found herself coughing up her own blood or suffering from severe nosebleeds. Once her legs gave out from underneath her, and Sam found her several minutes later, unconscious on the floor. But Cas was able to take the edge off of her injuries with his grace. He couldn't heal everything, since this sickness went far deeper than any angel grace could heal. But he helped her continue to function as much like a normal person as she could with this sickness. And Sam continued to try to help her with herbal teas and medicine and any other remedies he could find on the internet.

Despite Julie's protests, Cas spent the next three days at the bunker with Julie. He assured her there wasn't anything for him to do in heaven right now, with them having no idea what Beelzebub's plans were, and that he was able to do just as much research from here as he could in heaven. And in an effort to pretend everything was still normal, Julie continued to help Sam look for a way to kill a Knight of Hell or a lead on a demon for her to cure.

The only person who wasn't hard at work was Dean.

Something had happened to him when he went to those crossroads. On their second night back at the bunker, Julie had gotten him to give her a quick summary of what had happened. He had tried to sell his soul (no surprise there), and the demon had taunted and led him on for a while, but she had no intention of ever making a deal. So Dean had shot her, and he was going to have Julie cure her, but the demon had killed herself rather than let Julie use her to finish the trials.

All of that must have been hard on Dean. But something more had happened, something he wouldn't admit, something that had broken him. Because that's what he was now. Broken. He had no pride, no anger, no desperation. He didn't even seem concerned with stopping Beelzebub anymore.

It just seemed like he had given up.

At least he was finally trying to make the most of his limited time left with Julie. Dean almost never left her side, and he couldn't seem to keep his hands off of her. Julie was exhausted most of the time, but every night, and sometimes even during the day, she mustered up the strength to give Dean what he obviously so desperately wanted. And it wasn't that she didn't want sex just as much as he did. She knew she was running out of these experiences, and they were damn good experiences. Even in her weakened state, they still had mind-blowingly great sex.

But Dean was so concerned with making the most of every last moment with the woman he loved that he couldn't be bothered to care about trying to stop the apocalypse. The world could burn as far as he was concerned, just as long as he got to keep Sam and Julie and Cas.

* * *

Julie was so lightheaded she thought she might pass out. And it wasn't just because she was so weak and dizzy most of the time now anyway. Dean was kissing her, so long and hot and deep she had forgotten how to breathe, his powerful hands all over her, his sturdy body effectively pinning hers down as he moved on top of her, miles of smooth, tan, freckled skin hot against her own. And she had never been so happy to be unable to breathe…

At least until someone knocked on their bedroom door.

Dean ignored the knock other than to make an annoyed little growl in the back of his throat and hold Julie even tighter. But a few seconds later, the knock came again, more insistent this time.

"Dean? Julie?" Cas called through the door. "You need to come out here."

Dean growled in frustration again and pulled his lips off of Julie's enough to snap, "We're a little busy, Cas!"

"Crowley is here, and he insists you come out and hear what he has to say," the angel sighed.

Julie gasped a little in surprise and squeezed Dean's muscular shoulder. "Do you think he found a demon for me to cure?" she asked softly, sounding anxious and eager and horribly afraid.

Dean's whole body tensed protectively around Julie, and for a long moment he wouldn't move. But then Julie kissed his collarbone softly and whispered gently, "Dean, honey, we need to go out there and see what's going on."

In silence, he stood up and pulled his thick, grey robe on. Julie slipped into her own thin, light grey robe and quickly tied the sash around her waist before hurrying out of the room with Dean trailing after her, her face stonily blank.

Crowley, Cas, and Sam were all standing several feet apart, their body language tense and anxious as they stood waiting for Julie and Dean to arrive. Crowley looked up first as the two hunters entered and his eyes widened and then settled on Julie's barely covered body with a little too much enthusiasm for her taste.

"Juliet darling, you look lovely," Crowley purred. "You should dress like that much more often. Or, if you'd prefer, just lose the robe altogether."

Julie glared at him and wrapped the robe tighter around her, folding her arms across her chest in an attempt to draw his eyes back up to her face. Then Dean was standing in-between Julie and Crowley, a dark, over-protective anger on his face.

"Watch it, Crowley," Dean snarled angrily, which only caused Julie to roll her eyes and put a calming hand on his arm. Crowley's relentless hitting on her was annoying at times, sure, but in the end it was pretty harmless.

"Relax, Dean," the demon sighed. "I'm just paying Julie a compliment, letting her know that I would be nothing but glad if she decided to walk around here naked."

"Good to know, Crowley," Julie said coolly. "But I'm guessing that's not the reason you insisted on interrupting us while we were in the middle of something."

Crowley smirked at the two barely-clad lovers with their sex-mussed hair and smirked suggestively, "And I'm sure it was quite something, too…"

"Crowley-" Dean started to snap.

"Just tell them what you told us," Sam snapped at the demon, and the former king of hell sighed.

"Fine. You hunters are just no fun at all. Well, it's like this: almost all of my contacts within Beelzebub's circle have been killed or turned on me. But I still have one reliable source, and he has informed me that Beelzebub only has one seal left to break."

Dean and Julie exchanged a worried look. If Beelzebub broke the final seal and Lucifer rose, it wouldn't matter much if Julie closed the gates of hell or not. They would all be dead meat anyway.

"The good news is, he's such a drama queen that he's decided to wait to break it until the day Julie goes to hell," Crowley continued. "He thinks, and probably rightfully so, that you boys will be so broken up over losing your precious Juliet that you won't be in any shape to stop him."

"That is good news!" Julie said brightly.

Sam and Dean both shot her puzzled looks. "It is?" they asked in unison.

"Yeah! I mean, that gives us almost two weeks to find me a demon to cure. Hell, we've got a demon right here if we can't find any others!"

Crowley shot her a look. "You're not coming anywhere near me with that cure, darling," he warned her.

"Great, then find us another demon in the next week or so," she replied curtly.

"You're all very needy," he grumbled.

"Well, when you've got less than two weeks to live…" Julie shrugged nonchalantly, like that thought didn't terrify her.

"Crowley and I will both be hard at work finding a demon for you to cure," Cas spoke up. "And I will instruct my angels to abandon everything but the search for Beelzebub, to see if we can't stop him before he breaks the final seal."

"Thanks, Cas," Dean said gratefully, and he really meant it.

"Well, I think this was a good talk," Crowley said brightly after a moment. "I'll see you boys soon. And Juliet…try not to die." He gave her a look that really looked like he meant those words, and then he was gone.

"We'll keep a look out for any odd signs, anything that could lead us to Beelzebub," Sam assured Cas.

"And we'll keep looking for any idea what the final seal could be," Julie added, eager to help.

"Thank you," the angel told them. "And Hannah and I will not rest until we find a demon for you to cure or a way to end Beelzebub," he assured Julie.

The three of them continued to talk in determined voices, planning how they were going to combat this serious problem. They had little to no idea how they could possibly win this, but if nothing else, they were going to die trying.

Only Dean did not participate in the conversation. He stood off to the side by himself, staring blankly at nothing, uncaring. Castiel watched his best friend standing there apathetically, and a dark realization hit him.

Dean didn't care. He had already given up on getting to keep Julie by his side. And now that he knew there was no way for her to survive this…Dean had shut down. The world could burn and he wouldn't care.

Dean had given up.


	96. Chapter 96

**Chapter Ninety-Six**

After his third nightmare that night, Dean gave up on sleep and just rolled onto his side to watch her sleep.

Julie Carters was beautiful. Maybe not quite to the level of model perfection, but no one could deny that she was lovely. Her pale skin was creamy and smooth, her hair a lovely, buttery yellow color with the perfect natural curls most girls dreamed of having. This close, he could tell her nose was just a bit too long to be perfect and that she sported a few light freckles across her nose and cheeks, just like him.

So, maybe she wasn't technically perfect. That didn't matter to him. When he looked at her, lying naked and lovely next to him, all he saw was perfection.

And in six days, she would be gone.

Dean didn't have to wait long for Julie to start whimpering and twitching next to him. He knew what to do now, having months of experience under his belt. Dean wrapped an arm around Julie's waist and dragged her as close to him as physically possible. She whimpered again, almost a word, almost his name. Dean shushed her softly and whispered gentle, comforting things into her hair until Julie calmed a little.

Her eyes opened slightly, and for a brief moment, they seemed focus on him. "Dean?" she asked in a voice so soft and weak he barely heard it.

"I'm right here," he answered, his voice a little gruffer than he meant it to be due to the lump in his throat.

The tiniest ghost of a smile flashed across her face, and she made a soft, contented noise before snaking her slender arms around his neck and snuggling close to his bare chest. Dean sighed softly at the pleasant feeling of her warm skin pressed against his and kissed the top of her head, the tip of her nose, her lips for a soft, sweet moment.

"Love you," Julie breathed into his mouth.

Dean swallowed thickly and stroked her hair for a few more seconds until she had drifted right back off to sleep. He knew it wouldn't last long, but at least for the moment she was content.

In a few minutes though, an hour if he was lucky, she would be twitching and screaming as in her dreams she was haunted and tormented by demons and hellhounds. Dean would comfort her, or try, and eventually they would give up on sleep and just drag their still-tired bodies into the shower to wash away the sweat brought on by nightmares of hell. If Julie was feeling strong enough, they would probably have sex again as many times as they could stand to, with the same fevered passion that drove them desperately on every night. The terrifying knowledge that they were almost out of time made Dean desperate to always be touching Julie, and she seemed intent on soaking up as many pleasant experiences as she could with these last six days.

Eventually, they would make it out of their bedroom, and Julie would hug Sam and drink the coffee he made her and take the drugs he had prepared. He would worry and fret over her and try to distract her from her illness, and Dean would just stand by and watch. Then the two of them would go to work relentlessly searching for a way to stop Beelzebub that didn't exist. Dean would either pretend to help, or he would just sit there and watch her laugh and talk and smile with Sam, even if her smiles never reached her eyes. He would keep a hand on her leg or tangled in her hair or intertwined with hers at every possible moment, afraid to not be touching her.

But he couldn't muster up the energy to try to stop Beelzebub. He couldn't find it in him. All he cared about, all he wanted to do was spend these last six days trying to make the most of his time with Julie.

Because no matter how this worked out, there was no way she was surviving another week.

* * *

Sam was sitting at the table in the main hall next to Julie, watching his laptop sift through the complicated keyword search he had made in a desperate attempt to find some long lost clue on how to defeat a Knight of Hell. Next to him, Julie was silent as she obediently took her third dose of pills that days and washed it down with a cup of water.

He stopped to study her. She didn't look too bad for a woman with six days to live. Her hair was in a cute, slightly messy updo she didn't normally wear. She wore an over-sized red flannel and tight, dark jeans. She almost looked like her old self, other than her unnaturally pale skin and the dullness in her pretty blue eyes.

Before Sam could address how dull and lifeless her expression was, he heard a far-off knock on the door. He frowned, but hopped up anyway and hurried to answer the door. He even smiled when he saw that it was Cas and gladly opened the front door.

"Cas, I'm so glad you're here," Sam said sincerely, welcoming his friend in.

"I've been away long enough," the angel said firmly. "I wanted to see how Julie is doing."

"She'll be much better now that you're here," Sam replied honestly.

Cas hesitated for a moment, afraid of the answer. "And…and Dean?"

Sam sighed. "Same as the last time you were here. And the time before that, and the time before that…"

"This is getting out of hand," Castiel said darkly. "He can't keep this up, not showing an interest in anything but her. Just because he can't save her doesn't mean he can't at least try to stop Beelzebub and save the world."

"I know," Sam sighed. "Believe me, I know. But I can't make him change. No one can."

A dangerous glint came into Cas's blue eyes, almost like he had taken that statement as a challenge. Sam brushed it off and turned and led Cas back into the main hall, where Julie waited.

Dean had returned to Julie's side, and she had sprawled her legs across his lap as she continued to watch Sam's laptop run its search. Dean was watching her with the same rather blank, dead expression he usually wore nowadays. He sat in silence, sipping at his fourth or fifth beer that day, not even noticing when Cas and Sam entered the room.

Julie did, and she swung her legs off of Dean and scrambled to her feet to hug Cas. "It's so good to see you," she told the angel earnestly, and he smiled at her. She did look a little better than she had before she noticed him, so he hoped that his presence brought her some relief.

"You too," he said honestly, and she returned his smile. Then Sam, Cas, and Julie all turned expectantly towards Dean.

Eventually, he stood up and walked over to them, gave Cas a quick nod and a gruff, "Hello." But other than that, he continued to just stand there, drinking his beer and not participating as the others discussed their search for a demon for Julie to cure or a way to kill Beelzebub.

Cas had made no more progress than they had. As far as they could tell, Beelzebub had taken every demon on earth back to hell so that none could be found and cured by Julie. They had even tried to summon a demon, but none had come. Crowley wasn't answering their calls, but it wouldn't be long before they would have to summon him just to ensure Julie didn't die.

But Dean didn't seem to care about any of these issues. He just stood there, drinking beer and staring at Julie and not speaking. He had given up, that was clear. And it was making Cas irrationally angry.

After a long afternoon of watching Dean be listless and uncaring as they discussed the end of the world, Cas was done. He could not bear to sit here watching Dean be uncaring and lifeless, so that evening, he insisted on pulling Dean into a different room than Julie to see if he would actually talk.

"What are you doing, Dean?" Cas asked coldly.

"What do you mean?" his best friend asked in the same dull, flat way he had been speaking all day.

"You know what I mean," Cas snapped. "In six days, Julie will die and Lucifer will rise and the world will end, and you _don't care_!"

"Of course I care," Dean snapped. "You think I _want _Julie to die?"

"No, but as soon as you realized that she was going to, you checked out. You've quit trying to fight, you've quit trying to save the world. Dean, you can't quit saving the world just because she's going to die!"

"There's no point," Dean said gruffly, turning away. "I can't save the world, Cas. I can't even save her."

The angel studied Dean for a long moment, and then shook his head. "You can't quit fighting, Dean," he said softly but earnestly.

And his best friend turned to face him with a heartbreakingly lifeless expression, and said, "No, Cas. Once I lose her, I can't _keep _fighting."

He turned away and began to leave the room, probably to go back to trailing listlessly after Julie, afraid to leave her side. But he couldn't keep doing this. If he gave up, so would Sam, and the world would end for certain without the two of them fighting to save it.

And so before Dean could leave the room, Cas suddenly pressed his palm against Dean's forehead, and the man collapsed into Cas's waiting arms, unconscious.

* * *

Dean was standing in the middle of a sidewalk in a strange city. It was dark out, and he stood in a pool of light provided by a streetlight. He had no idea how he had gotten here or where he was, since this dark street full of large, tightly-packed buildings looked completely foreign to him.

Then it hit him. Cas. He had just been talking to Cas back in the bunker, and Cas had been frustrated with him for…for what? For not trying to save the world along with the others. For giving up because Julie was as good as dead.

Cas had touched his forehead after their little argument, and now he was here. Cas must have transported him somewhere, but he could not guess where and why. Finally, Dean realized he had better quit standing here in the middle of the sidewalk as people milled around him, some giving him odd looks as he just stood here looking overwhelmed.

Dean fell into the flow of traffic pretty easily, forcing his feet to keep moving forward as he tried to figure out what was going on. He trailed after a group of young women talking and laughing loudly. Pretty soon, they stepped off of the road and into a small little bar he hadn't even noticed. When they opened the door, he heard upbeat music and laughter and loud, raucous voices coming from inside, as well as a wave of warmth and the delicious smell of burgers.

Oh, God, he needed to go to a nice, warm bar and restaurant right now.

He followed the girls inside and was grateful to see that this looked like a pretty typical bar. There were a fair amount of college students, but there were also plenty of people who looked to be in their thirties like him, and even a few middle-aged groups. And the smell coming from the kitchen was heavenly. Dean hurried to grab a seat at the bar and gladly sat down so he could try to clear his head and think logically about what was going on.

The bartender came by, and he just barely stopped himself from ordering just straight vodka. Instead, he ordered their darkest, strongest beer, after checking in his pockets to make sure he still had money on him.

Once he had made his order, Dean fished out his phone and quickly dialed Cas's number. The angel never picked up, and he swore under his breath before leaving an angry message.

"Cas, you had better pick up the damn phone and tell me what the hell is going on! Better yet, just show up and get me out of here! My girlfriend's got six days left to live, and I don't want to waste time stuck wherever the hell you just dumped me. So pick up the phone!"

But Cas didn't call him back. Dean contemplated calling again, but knew it wouldn't help. Muttering a string of angry swear words under his breath, Dean shoved his phone back in his coat pocket just in time to see a waitress come over. She was pretty hot, all long, tan muscles and big curves, and she had on tiny little shorts and an incredibly low-cut tank top that didn't even come down far enough to cover her hips or her flat, tan stomach. She grinned at him, tossed her straight, dark hair over her shoulder, and asked, "Can I get you anything, hon?"

"Yeah, uh…" He glanced at the menu and decided, "Get me a double bacon cheeseburger and fries, as many as you can fit on the plate."

"Sure thing," she said with that same unfair grin. Then she sauntered away, and Dean found himself unable to tear his eyes away from her ass as she swung her hips, purposefully trying to draw his attention.

_What the hell is wrong with you?! _He asked himself, balling his fists in anger. He had a beautiful, sexy, wonderful woman that he loved, but sometimes he found himself unable to keep from staring at other women. It wasn't like he was trying to cheat on her. He would never even think of it. But so many years of one night stands and countless flings had made him a little too good at getting female attention, even when he didn't want any.

He looked away from the hot waitress and noticed a couple women a few seats down the bar staring at him. When he noticed one of them, a girl in her late twenties with a short brown bob and a cute little nose, she blushed and looked quickly away. But one of her two friends, a very curvy girl with dark skin and full lips just kept right on staring at Dean, smirking confidently when he met her eyes.

Yeah, see, this was why he didn't go to bars without Julie anymore. Too many temptations there, horny and drunk and, in the case of some of these women, barely even dressed.

But then he saw the third girl in that group of women in their late twenties. One look at her, and all he could think of was Julie. She was turned away from him, but she looked so much like his Julie, with long, slender, pale limbs and blond curls, only a few inches longer than Julie's. She was wearing a pretty, flowery, blue sundress, something Julie would never get caught dead in, but it fit her slender, curvy body very attractively. Dean felt the familiar ache of attraction and desire starting in him and tried to force it down. What the hell was he doing, staring at any other woman than Julie like this?!

And then she turned back in his direction, and he literally gasped aloud. Well, at least now he knew why he found her so attractive and so similar to Julie.

Because that woman was without a doubt Julie Carters.

* * *

Julie looked up and frowned as Cas entered the room alone. "Cas? Where's Dean?" she asked.

"He…is not feeling well," the angel said carefully. "I convinced him to lie down and rest for the evening."

"Oh," Julie said softly, looking down. She knew it was stupid and selfish, but she didn't want to waste even a second away from Dean when she had so few left. But if he needed rest, which he desperately did, who was she to deprive him of it?

"It's probably best," Sam told her gently. "He could use a pick-me-up. We all know he's been a little…moody lately."

"Moody, dead inside, same thing," she grumbled, trying to say it like a joke and failing miserably.

Sam and Cas exchanged worried looks, and then something in the angel's face changed. He suddenly spoke in a surprisingly bright, eager tone, "But you two shouldn't just sit around here waiting for him to wake up. You should go do something!"

"What?" Julie asked, at a loss. She had been so hard at work lately, trying to save the world and not die before her time was up that she hadn't thought much about what she would do for fun.

"Go somewhere, do something you've always wanted to," Cas said, smiling warmly at her. "I'll take you wherever you want to go, and Sam, you can look out for her."

"That could be fun!" Sam said in the same bright, eager tone. "What do you want to do, Julie?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "I haven't exactly had a lot of opportunities to just go do whatever I want."

"Well, now you do," her best friend said. "So where do you want to go? We could go anywhere in the world-"

"New York," she blurted suddenly, a little bit of something other than resignation and weariness and pain in her eyes. Sam blinked, and she blushed a little. "I know it's not like Paris or Rome or anything, but…ever since I was eleven or twelve, I used to always want to go to New York. It was this big city full of life and adventure and I just…"

Sam nodded at her, smiling in understanding. "I'd love to go to New York. It'll be a lot of fun. Cas?" He turned expectantly to the angel.

Their friend stepped forward and smiled at them. "New York City it is," he said, and then he laid his hands on their shoulders and suddenly they weren't in the bunker anymore.

Julie gasped aloud as she found herself standing on a sidewalk in the middle of Times Square. It was beautiful right now, with the sun about to set and the bright, dazzling screens on every building shining in the semi-darkness. People milled around them in huge, ceaseless waves, men and women, adults and children, people of every race, wearing all kinds of styles. There were even people wandering around in costumes, taking photos with tourists and locals alike.

It was breath-taking.

Julie giggled a little, a light, girlish, breathless noise Sam hadn't heard in far too long. He grinned down at his best friend as she stared around her, giddy. "Oh my God, it's beautiful!" she cried, overwhelmed and excited by everything around her.

For the first time in a long time, she didn't look sick. There was light in her eyes and a broad, genuine smile on her face. She even looked less pale and fragile. Cas was right. She had needed this.

"It _is _amazing," he admitted, staring up at the massive buildings, blotting out half the sky with walls of steel and glass. It was loud, music and voices and engines and horns all combining to make an every present dull roar. He could smell dozens of smells, smoke and garbage and gasoline, but also delicious, mouth-watering smells coming from countless food stands all around him. And he had to admit, this city was unlike any other.

"Oh, thank you, Cas!" Julie laughed, hugging her friend tightly. "I can't wait to explore it."

Cas smiled fondly at her and pulled a huge wad of cash out of his trench coat pocket. "Here. Spend a little money, do some crazy stuff. Have fun, Julie. You deserve it."

Her smile changed to something a little more bittersweet, but she accepted the money. "Thank you," she repeated in a softer, more subdued tone.

"I'll let you two have fun," the angel said. "Pray when you want me to return and take you home."

Sam and Julie both nodded, and then he gave them a quick flash of a smile and was gone.

The two friends turned to face each other, smiling a little in anticipation of the exploration they were about to do. "Well, Julie…what do you want to do first?" Sam asked her, trying to calm his excitement.

"Everything," she grinned, and she grabbed his hand and dragged him along with her into the crowd.

* * *

Dean knew he needed to stop staring, but he couldn't. He kept finding his eyes drawn over to the beautiful, pale, blue-eyed, blond woman a few feet down the bar. Julie. _His _Julie. Except that she wasn't. Because he had made accidental eye contact with her at least three times, and she hadn't given any sign of recognition.

He had to stop being so damn obvious as he sat over here, drinking his beer and finishing off his fries and just staring at here. She looked different. She wasn't really his Jules. Her blond hair was actually curled, her natural waves styled into sexy, perfect spirals. She wore mascara and light, pretty eye shadow that brought extra attention to her beautiful eyes. Her dress was tighter and lower-cut than usual, and a girlier style than her typical hunter garb. But she was still so beautiful and familiar that he couldn't keep his eyes from her for long.

Her friends had noticed. The dark-skinned woman was pouting because he hadn't chosen to stare shamelessly at her, but her friend with the brunette bob was giggling and whispering something to Julie as Dean caught himself staring again. Dammit. He had to get himself together.

Dean tore his eyes from her and quickly shoveled the rest of his fries into his mouth. Then he dug out his phone again and stormed over to the area of the bar near the bathrooms to dial Cas's number again.

He was ready to start furiously spitting insults into Cas's voicemail when, to his surprise, the angel actually picked up.

"Hello, Dean," Cas said calmly in his gravelly voice. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions-"

"What the hell, Cas?!" Dean snarled. "Where did you send me? And why is there a Julie here who doesn't recognize me?"

"I'm trying to show you something that you refuse to accept," the angel answered gruffly. "And so I sent you to another world where Julie is not a hunter and she doesn't know you."

"What? Why?!" Dean snapped.

"It will all make sense soon, Dean," Cas said vaguely. "I promise."

"No. You know what? No! Screw you and all your vague, holier-than-thou angel crap! Get here now and take me home so I can be with the woman I love before she dies!"

"You can be with her," Castiel replied flatly. "Go talk to her."

"That's not the same thing, Cas, and you know it-" Dean started.

"I have no idea how else to convince you, Dean," his best friend snapped. "I'm sorry it came to this. Now go."

And he hung up.

"Self-righteous son of a bitch," Dean growled, resisting the urge to throw his phone. He took a long moment to straighten his off-kilter shirt and take deep breaths to calm himself before turning around and going back to the bar to figure out his next move.

And he almost plowed straight into Julie Carters.

She blinked up at him in surprise as he staggered back, apologizing under his breath. But the second he met her eyes, he was frozen, just staring at this familiar stranger.

"I know you," she said suddenly, and he blinked in surprise. She narrowed her eyes a bit and said, "You're that guy from the bar who kept staring at me."

Dean swallowed. "I, uh…"

"Save your breath, pal," she said in a cool, tough voice he knew very well. "I'm not going home with you tonight no matter what line you come up with."

Dean blinked again, taken aback. "No, I, uh…I'm not trying to hit on you. I swear."

She raised her eyebrows. "Oh, really? Then why were you staring at me?"

"You just…you reminded me of someone," he managed.

She smirked. "Oh, come on. You can come up with a better line than that."

"No, really! Seriously," he assured her, and she seemed to see the real honesty in his eyes.

"Huh." She took a beat to study him. "See, my friends were telling me you were staring because you thought I was hot."

"Well, I…I think that too, but…" Dean went for a cocky smirk, but she just rolled her eyes.

"Look, I already told you, you're not getting in my pants tonight, so if that's what you're interested in, then don't waste your time," she sighed, starting to blow past him.

"No! No, I promise, I don't want to…get in your pants tonight. Seriously. I just want to talk." He was desperate just to keep talking to her, to keep hearing her voice and look into her eyes and see her happy and healthy, a weight missing from her shoulders and a lightness and spark in her that he hadn't seen in over a year.

She looked him up and down, studied for a moment, and then smiled slightly. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom. When I get back, I'll find you. And if all you're interested in is really just talking, then we should have a good time."

And she turned and disappeared into the ladies' room.

Dean found himself grinning stupidly as he returned to his seat and ordered two more beers. He ordered Julie's favorite beer before remembering this Julie might not like the same drinks.

But when she returned two minutes later, looking even prettier than before, if possible, she took the beer with a grin. "Oh, you got the good stuff!"

"Damn right," he smirked before taking a sip of his own beer.

Julie took a sip and then sat back on her stool to study him. "So. I agreed to come over and talk to you and all, but I still don't even know your name."

"Dean," he said with a smile. "Dean Winchester." He had meant to lie, but it just slipped out. Besides, he couldn't lie to her.

She smiled a little. "Like the rifle?"

He smirked in appreciation. So this Julie knew that Winchester was a rifle. Huh. "Yeah, exactly," he admitted.

"Well, Dean Winchester, it's nice to meet you," she said, sticking out a dainty little hand. There were no callouses or scars on her hand, and her nails were painted light blue, unlike his Julie's. He shook her small, cool hand and smiled even more.

"I'm Julie," she said, her expression the perfect mix of bashfulness and confidence and curiosity. "Julie Carters."

He nodded. "And it's nice to meet you, Julie Carters."

"I haven't seen you around this bar before, Dean," Julie said thoughtfully. "Not that I'm here too often, but still. You live around here?"

"No," Dean admitted.

"So what brings you to New York City, then?" she asked, seemingly honestly curious.

New York City. So that's where he was. "Well, I'm, uh…I'm actually planning on moving here," he lied on the spot.

"Really?" she asked, intrigued. "Any particular reason?"

"My old life was…pretty messy. I needed a fresh start." These lies were pretty easy.

"I can understand that," she nodded. "So. Got a job?"

"Not yet," he admitted.

"An apartment?"

"…Not yet."

"But you've at least found a good bar," she smirked.

"That I have," he replied, and she grinned.

"So what do you do, then, Ms. I-Have-a-Home-_and_-a-Job," he shot back.

"I'm a nurse," she replied. "But I'm on my way to getting my degree so I can become a doctor."

"Impressive," he said, and he meant it. "So, are those friends of your glaring at me for stealing you nurses too?"

She smirked and shot a glance towards her friends. "No. Janice—she's the one with the short hair—she's a teacher at a local private school. And Andrea, she's a lawyer."

"You and your friends are putting me to shame," Dean admitted. "I'm just a mechanic."

"Oh, that'll make Andrea's day!" she laughed. "She's the only person I know crazy enough to own a car in New York City, and she got in a fender bender last night. She doesn't want to take it in because extra effort, but maybe you could help her out!"

"Fixing up friends' cars? I usually don't do favors like that until at least the third date," he smirked, making it clear with his eyes that he was only joking.

"You'll be lucky to make it that long," she replied with a smirk.

But in all honesty, it was pretty obvious that Julie thought there was a chance this was making it to at least a third date. For almost an hour the two of them talked, ignoring her friends pouting and making faces as she and Dean chatted and flirted and drank. By the time one of her friends, the dark-skinned Andrea, finally got up and came over to tell Julie they were leaving, she was very clearly interested. She laughed at Dean's jokes, smiled at him constantly, and easily kept up their flirty, fun banter. It was light, fun, happy, but very clearly not headed for sex. She had made that blatantly obvious when he first met her.

But he was okay with that. He was happy for that, actually. Dean had never gotten the chance to just have a fun, flirty conversation with Julie. When he had met her, she was a tough, independent, seemingly uninterested hunter, and he was damaged and distraught and not looking for a relationship. But this…this was fun. This was easy and carefree and just plain fun. It was really, really good for him.

Julie watched Andrea and Janice getting ready to leave and sighed. "I should go with them. Jan is my roommate, anyway, so we're headed in the same place."

"Okay," Dean said carefully, trying to hide his disappointment.

Suddenly, she smiled a little at him. "I'm impressed," she admitted. "You never once asked for my number or tried to get me to go home with you or anything."

"You told me what you wanted, and I agreed to it," Dean shrugged. "I respect that."

Julie smiled wider. "And I'm grateful for that. But…I actually really enjoyed this. You don't suck, Dean."

"Gee, thanks," he muttered, unable to hide a grin. "You don't suck either, Julie. You're actually kind of amazing."

She smiled bashfully and grabbed a napkin, pulling a pen out of her purse. She scribbled something down on the napkin, still smiling a little, and then pushed the napkin into his hand.

He read the seven digits on the napkin and smirked. "So I'm guessing I can give you a call?"

"If you want," she shrugged, beginning to walk away. "But I'm not gonna go home with you on the first date, either," she called over her shoulder as she walked out.

Dean grinned after her, watching her go. He gave himself a couple minutes before standing up and leaving the bar himself.

He began to walk, using his phone to search for the nearest affordable motel, which in New York was pretty damn impossible. But being on his phone made the napkin in his pocket begin to burn.

Finally, Dean gave up and fished out the napkin. He dialed her number, knowing it hadn't even been twenty minutes since he had seen her last. But he honestly didn't care. He just wanted to see her again.

To his surprise, Julie picked up on the third ring. "Hello?" she asked in her beautiful, musical voice.

"Hey," he said gruffly, suddenly unsure what to say.

"Dean?" she asked, a little surprised.

"Uh…yeah," he admitted.

She laughed lightly. "Isn't there some dumb rule that says you have to wait at least three days to call a girl to ask her out?" she asked teasingly.

"I wouldn't know," he admitted. "I'm crap at this kind of stuff. All I know is…I don't want to wait three days to see you again."

She was silent, but it was somehow a warm silence. He could imagine her smiling at that, her pale cheeks going rosy with an adorable little blush.

"Are you free tomorrow night?" he asked a little too eagerly.

"Well, it's after midnight, so I'm guessing you mean tonight, but…" She laughed. "Yeah, I'm free."

"Do you want to get dinner?"

"Where?"

"Believe me, you know this city a hell of a lot better than I do."

"Fair enough. I'll pick. When?"

"Eight?" Dean asked.

"Sounds great," Julie replied warmly. "I'll text you my address and you can come pick me up. We'll go somewhere close."

"Great," Dean said. But he honestly didn't care. He just wanted to see her again.

"I'll see you soon, Dean," she said softly, her voice like an angel's.

"Bye, Julie," he almost whispered, his throat suddenly tight with emotion.

He ended the call and stopped walking in the middle of the sidewalk just to grin to himself. He didn't know what was happening or why Cas had sent him here. But right now he honestly didn't care. Just as long as he got to see Julie again.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Once, again, sorry for the delay. Life is crazy busy, as usual, but I still try to update this story as frequently as possible. Anyway, a bit of an odd chapter here. But it'll all become a lot more clear next chapter when we find out what Cas is up to. Hope you all enjoy!


	97. Chapter 97

**Chapter Ninety-Seven**

Dean found his way to Julie's neighborhood twenty minutes early. He had been so anxious to see her that he had gotten ready hours ago, pulling on the nice black pants and crisp, white, button-down shirt that had magically appeared in his cheap motel room along with a large wad of cash. Cas must be looking out for him as he put him through this weird, but oddly fun ordeal. Dean had taken the subway to Julie's neighborhood, but now that he was here, he realized he didn't want to show up at her door twenty minutes before eight. He didn't want to look _that _desperate.

So instead Dean wandered around the city for a little bit. He had to admit, New York City, or at least this alternate universe version of it, was kind of beautiful, in a cramped, noisy, busy way. There was just so much life and possibility to the city, so much hope and opportunity. And those were all things he hadn't experienced in weeks, maybe even months. But now he had been given almost a second chance, and he wanted to make it count.

He bought flowers, relatively cheap but pretty white lilies and lavender, knowing Julie loved the way lilies looked and the way lavender smelled. Of course, this Julie may be different, but so far she had been just like the woman he loved, other than the fact that she wasn't a hunter.

After buying the flowers, it was almost eight, so Dean made his way back to her apartment building and buzzed her on the intercom. And not even a minute later, Julie appeared, looking absolutely and unfairly beautiful.

She was wearing a flowy, white, knee-length sundress that plunged low enough to show a tantalizing amount of cleavage and was both casual and elegant. The loose hairs around her had been pulled back in cute little braids, but the rest of her hair was down, perfectly curled and golden in the dim streetlights. She had on a little bit of eye shadow, enough to make her eyes look even bigger and bluer than normal, and she was wearing some sandal wedges. It was the kind of outfit his Julie would never wear, because it was impractical and near impossible to fight in. But God, did she look beautiful.

Julie grinned when she saw him. "Hey," she said simply. Dean was still speechless, but after a long moment, he swallowed and remembered how to breathe.

"Hey," he got out once he remembered how to speak. "You look beautiful."

She beamed at him, unable to keep from blushing a little. "You don't look too bad yourself," she informed him, and he smiled a little.

Dean cleared his throat. "I, uh, had time to kill so…" He held out the flowers uncertainly.

She gasped. "Oh my God, they're beautiful," she gushed, accepting them. "And they smell amazing! These are my favorites, too."

"Huh. Lucky guess," Dean smirked, glad to see that her preference in flowers was still the same.

"Let me just take these upstairs, put them in some water," she told him, turning away. Dean hovered uncertainly by the door until Julie turned around and rolled her eyes. "You can come too, Dean. Unless you'd rather just stand out here on the street."

He chuckled and followed her upstairs to her apartment. Her roommate wasn't home tonight, so they were alone inside her apartment as she filled a vase with water and put the flowers inside. But Dean wasn't stupid enough to try anything. He wasn't going to risk losing her just because she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, and he wanted to be doing about a dozen incredibly dirty things to her right now.

They left her rather small but clean and well-decorated apartment and set out for the restaurant Julie had picked, a nice steak restaurant that she loved. As they walked, Julie asked Dean about simple little things like where he was staying and if he'd heard of Ricky's Rentals and Mechanic Shop, a nearby shop that might be hiring mechanics. He answered her questions and asked some of his own about what she had done today (gone to work and worked on writing a paper for the college night classes she was taking), but mostly he just wanted to hear her talk and see her happy.

The restaurant was nice, all glossy, dark oak tables and flooring with red and gold accents. And the mouth-watering smell of good steak was all around Dean, making his stomach growl. They got seats pretty easily, and then a tall, thin waiter with oily dark hair and a snooty expression came over to take their wine orders.

Dean looked to Julie for help. He didn't drink wine. Like, ever. He preferred to only drink alcohol strong enough to kill him if he drank too much.

Julie took in Dean's lost expression and smirked. "I'll take a beer," she told the waiter, who looked disgusted, like she had said something profane.

Dean grinned. "Make it two."

The waiter sniffed snootily and wandered off to find them their beers. Julie laughed and mocked his disgusted expression. Dean laughed, because it was funny, but also because on multiple occasions, he and his Jules had found themselves mocking their own snooty waiters.

Hunter or not, Julie was the same. And he loved her either way.

After their waiter returned with their beers and took their orders, Dean and Julie really began to talk. Now, he finally began to notice real differences between his Jules and this Julie. For one thing, this Julie's family was mostly still alive. Her mother had died of breast cancer when she was fourteen, but her father, Thomas, was still alive. He lived in Illinois along with her uncle, Jasper. Her cousin Taylor lived in California, where she was working as a waitress and trying to get famous. But they were still alive, almost her entire family, their lives unspoiled by hunting and monsters.

Julie had been an all-A student in this world too, and she had been popular in both high school and college. She had no shortage of friends. And, Dean would guess, she also had no shortage of ex-boyfriends. A woman as beautiful and smart and wonderful as her probably constantly had guys chasing after her. He was lucky she'd even agreed to one date with him.

In return, Dean fabricated his own life story for her. He was from Lebanon, Kansas. His mother had died in a tragic fire when he was four, and his father had died of a heart attack when he was twenty-six. All his life, all he had ever had was his brother, his closest friend and confidante. They had lived together for years, but he and Sam had recently had a falling out, and he had decided to move here and get a fresh start.

Julie was understanding and comforting as he told her this fabricated, but still scarily close to true story. She let him talk, and when he was done, she said gently, "Dean, I'm sorry. That sounds awful."

"It wasn't all easy, that's for sure," he admitted. "But I'm okay now."

She smiled genuinely at him. "I'm glad. Because you seem like a really great guy, and you deserve to be happy."

No. _She_ deserved to be happy. And in this world, she was. Which meant he should probably stay away from her. He knew from experience what happened when he got close to Julie Carters. He ruined her life, took everything she cared about from her, and got her killed.

But he was as weak as ever. All night long, as he talked and laughed and got to know this wonderful woman even better, he found himself falling in love with her again. Everything about her was wonderful, and he couldn't bear the thought of not seeing her again. He had to be with her. He loved her.

Dinner ended all too early, but after he paid the check, they just walked around aimlessly, talking and teasing each other. There was nothing he liked more in the world than to just be with her, he decided. And he missed the days when she was this happy and bright and full of life. Although, even when he met Julie, she hadn't been quite this carefree and happy. Hunting tended to harden people, to take the happiness out of their life.

But seeing what Julie would be like if she wasn't a hunter…if possible, it made him love her even more.

There were things that were different about her. She had somewhat realized her childhood dream of being a singer, and once every two weeks, she could be found singing jazz at a bar that hired live musicians. Dean was glad to hear that she was singing and hoped he would get a chance to witness this. She was still very close with her father and uncle, but she and Taylor were rather distant, only seeing each other once or twice a year.

After they had been walking and talking for almost an hour, Julie finally opened up about her love life. She had gone through a brief one-night stand phase in college and found it unfulfilling and demeaning, which was why she was very upfront with guys that she wasn't going to have sex with them right away. Since that phase, she had been in seven serious relationships and a couple short flings. She even admitted that she had been about to get engaged to a man before she found out he was cheating on her.

"He was an idiot," Dean told her, and he meant it. "Seriously. Any guy would be crazy to cheat on you."

She looked down and shook her head. "You really should quit saying stuff like that if you don't mean it," she told him. "It's not going to make me sleep with you tonight."

Dean stopped walking abruptly and grabbed her shoulders gently, surprising both of them. "Hey," he said sharply. "I've meant every word I've said to you since I met you. You are an amazing woman, Jules, and that guy was crazy to think he was going to find somebody better than you."

She stared at him for a long moment, trying to decide if he was being sincere. Finally, she just raised her eyebrows and asked, "Jules?"

"Sorry," he muttered, releasing her shoulders and scratching awkwardly at the back of his neck.

"Don't be," she said with a small smile. "Nobody really calls me that, but…it's kind of cute."

Dean smiled to himself and resisted the urge to press this girl up against the wall and kiss her senseless. This wasn't the same woman he had spent the last two years in bed with every night, the woman he had kissed so often it was natural as breathing to him. And she was very clear about her physical boundaries. Suddenly kissing her was a surefire way to lose her, and he couldn't bear the thought of that.

It was getting close to midnight, and Julie suggested they head back towards her apartment. As they walked, Dean finally braved a question that had been nagging at him. "So…what happened to you to make you so convinced that every guy who shows an interest in you just wants to sleep with you?" he asked, wincing at how blunt his question came out.

Julie smirked at him as they walked. "Well, Dean…let me put it this way. When you first saw me, did you want to sleep with me?"

"Wha—I—uh," Dean spluttered, blushing as he tried and failed to think of a good yet honest response.

"Exactly," she sighed. "I mean, I'm not trying to sound vain or anything, but I'm pretty, or so I've been told. And guys see pretty girls and they want to sleep with them. It's just the way things are. But I've spent too long being hit on and used and objectified, and I'm tired of it. So I tell every guy who shows any interest in me that I'm not sleeping with him anytime in the near future, and that usually scares away the guys who are interested for the wrong reasons."

"Fair enough," Dean admitted. "But I'm not just here because I think you're beautiful, you know."

She blushed a little and looked down. "Then why are you here?" she asked after a moment, looking almost shyly up at him.

_Because you are the love of my life and I want to spend every possible second of my life by your side, _Dean thought, knowing he couldn't possibly say that. So instead he said truthfully, "Because you seem like an amazing person, and I want to get to know you better. And I just like being with you."

"You're really freaking smooth, you know that?" she grumbled, trying to hide her smile. "And it's not fair. You shouldn't be this charming! I mean, you're already hot, and it's just not fair!"

Dean smirked and raised his eyebrows. "I'm hot, huh?"

"Oh, shut up," she said, trying to seem irritated and failing miserably. "You obviously know you're attractive or you wouldn't be this confident."

"Confident? I'm not confident!" Dean laughed.

"Yeah, right."

"Are you kidding? Going on a date and talking with a pretty girl all night? It's freaking terrifying!"

Julie laughed, high and clear and beautiful. "Well, you hide it well."

Dean just grinned at her, loving seeing a smile on her perfect face. But suddenly her smile seemed to dim, and she stopped walking. He was confused until he looked up and saw that they were back at her apartment building.

"We're back," she said softly.

"Right." Dean swallowed, not ready to leave her yet. "Well, I, uh…I guess this is goodnight." Julie stared up at him with her big, beautiful blue eyes, and he didn't know how he was going to leave. "I had a great time tonight. Like, really. I'm not very experienced with dates and all this, but…this was a damn good one."

"Damn right," she whispered, smiling at him.

Dean swallowed again. His limbs felt heavy as he tried to turn away. He could literally bask in her gaze for the rest of his life and die happy. But she had made clear what she wanted, and he definitely wasn't staying the night.

"Goodnight, Julie," he said, forcing a bittersweet smile and turning away.

He got about four steps before he heard her shout his name. And then he turned around just in time for Julie to throw herself at him. Her lips crashed against his, her slender arms wrapping around his neck and drawing him close to her. Dean was stunned for a moment, and then he kissed her back, pulling her waist closer, cupping her face, moving his lips with hers with ease, years of experience kissing this woman under his belt. She ran her fingers through his hair, grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him closer, pressed at his solid chest and gripped his arms like she couldn't get enough of him.

They kissed until Dean was light-headed and filled with a deep warmth that had taken over his entire body. When Julie pulled away slightly to stare up at him, he grinned at her hair, messy from his fingers running through it, and the happy, dazed look on her face.

He kept his arms wrapped tightly around her, and she kept her hands on him, tracing over his arms and chest as she spoke. She finally cleared her head enough to mutter, "This still doesn't mean that I'm gonna sleep with you tonight."

Dean laughed and kissed her briefly, a quick, sweet kiss. "That's fine."

"Even if you're unbelievably funny and kind and charming and sexy," she whispered, slowly pulling his face closer to hers until their lips were back to moving in sync.

Eventually, it was Dean who pulled away, although he didn't go far. "I thought you _didn't _want to sleep with me," he pointed out.

"I never said that," she breathed, brushing her lips across his jawline.

Dean suppressed a moan. She had really better stop teasing him before he lost it. "But you said-" he started to protest.

"I have rules for myself," she sighed, sounding like she really regretted them. "Rules so that I have some self-respect. And I never sleep with guys on the first date."

"Fair enough," he said. "But you had better stop kissing me then before I lose it."

"One more?" she whispered, grinning up at him with a perfect mix of sweetness and wicked desire.

Dean bent a little and kissed Julie softly, a sweet, chaste kiss. He tried to pour all of his love for this woman into that one simple action, since he knew he couldn't confess it out loud.

When they pulled apart, they just stared at each other for a long time, the space between them charged with wild emotions.

"I make myself wait until the third date to do anything more than kiss a guy," Julie whispered after a moment. Dean nodded, already trying to calculate how socially acceptable it would be to ask her out for another date tomorrow.

And then she whispered in an unfairly seductive voice, "So you had better pick me up for lunch tomorrow and then dinner, so we can get that stuff out of the way and get to the good stuff."

Dean grinned wickedly at her to match her own devilish grin. He almost blurted out, "I love you" and just barely stopped himself.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," he told her, finally extracting himself from their embrace.

"I can't wait," she replied, and she really looked like she meant it.

"Bye, Julie," he grinned at her as he began to back away.

"Bye, Dean," she whispered, smiling like he hadn't seen his Julie smile in days, maybe even weeks.

And Dean turned and walked away filled with warmth and hope and excitement that he hadn't felt in quite literally months.

* * *

Sam was grinning from ear to ear as he and Julie waited in line for a hot dog stand, listening to her babble on and on about the Broadway show they had gone to see. They had bought last minute seats towards the back to a musical called _Wicked _that Julie knew and loved, and Sam had to admit it was pretty cool. Dean probably wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much as either of them, but he would have enjoyed watching Julie watch the show. It was as happy as he had seen her in a long while.

"Oh my God, and when she flew up at the end of Defying Gravity…it was just so cool! I swear, I almost cried," Julie gushed.

Sam grinned. "I know. I was right next to you. I had tissues on hand."

"Oh, shut up," she laughed, shoving his shoulder. "It was good, and you know it."

"Yeah, it was pretty good," he admitted.

"But it's not really your scene," she guessed.

"I like theatre, really!" Sam protested. "I did a little back in high school."

"Me too," Julie smiled. "What about Dean? I can't really imagine bad boy Dean Winchester putting on tights to play Peter Pan or anything."

"No way in hell," Sam laughed. "But he came to all my shows."

"Of course he did," she said, smiling fondly. "But still, I bet there's probably something you'd rather be doing here rather than watching shows."

"This is your trip, Julie-" Sam protested.

"And I want you to have as much fun as I am! So pick. What are we doing after we get these amazing-smelling hot dogs?"

"Eating them?" Sam shrugged.

"Smartass," she said, rolling her eyes just as they reached the front of the line. Sam ordered two hot dogs loaded with condiments and wrapped in silver tin foil, and the two of them devoured them hungrily as they wandered the streets of New York, just taking in the atmosphere of the city at night.

"Seriously, Sam," Julie said after a while. "What do you want to do? I don't care, I'm sure I'll love it."

Sam thought about it for a moment, looking around at the impressive skyline. And then he saw it.

"I want to go to the top of the Empire State Building," he told her after a moment, and Julie grinned. Without a word, she set off for the towering building. Sam knew she would probably be moving a lot quicker than she was, but her body must surely be getting tired, with all the walking she had been doing. When they reached the building, she was wheezing a little and trying not to cough. He could see pain in her blue eyes, and he fished out pain meds and a bottle of water from the bag he had brought. They stood outside the Empire State Building as Julie took her medicine, and then they just sat on the curb until she felt strong enough to get up and keep moving. Sam never said a word, but it broke his heart to see a once energetic, lively young woman reduced to this weak, dying person before him.

They waited in line for a while, along with a couple dozen other touristy-looking people, and then they finally got into the elevator that went straight to the top. Julie nearly passed out when her ears popped as they flew upward, but Sam was ready, and he caught her and held her until she was steady on her feet again. After a half-dozen assurances that she was fine, Sam finally released her and allowed himself to breathe again.

And then the elevator doors opened and he found himself on top of the world.

It was an amazing thing. All of New York City was spread out below them as they stood on top of this massive building, feeling like they were part of the night sky. The wind was rather chilly up here, and much stronger than down below, so Sam worried Julie wouldn't be okay. But she shook off his concerns and hurried to a patch of railing where no other tourists hovered, and Sam joined her. Looking down on the blindingly bright, bustling, busy city below, he couldn't deny it was a beautiful, awe-inspiring place. And, from up here, he felt like he ruled it.

He and Julie didn't talk for a while, just taking in the city below. Eventually, Julie breathed, "It's beautiful from up here. This was a good idea, Sam."

"I know," he said cockily, drawing the very smile he had been hoping for from her.

Then he noticed Julie was shaking. He forced his large coat on her, ignoring her protests, and smirked a little once she finally put it on and looked like she was swimming in it. Her hands were lost in his long sleeves, but at least she looked significantly warmer and less like a trembling little leaf about to blow away.

Sam took a few photos of the skyline on his phone, but he was mostly just concerned with making sure Julie was relatively healthy and happy. They stood and talked about simple, insignificant things for a while, staring out over the grand, endless city, and eventually they sat down away from the railing to give others space to look at the view. They sat cross-legged on the hard, cold floor, their backs to the massive building, their sides touching, and began to talk about the heavy things that needed to be said.

"Do you remember the day we met?" Julie asked Sam, her voice hushed with almost reverence.

"Of course," Sam said, unable to keep from smiling. "I broke into your house while you were sleeping, and you somehow snuck down the stairs and took me down."

"Twice," she corrected, and he snorted. "I was about to put a bullet in you, too."

"I remember," Sam smirked, and he could almost feel that cold circle of steel at the base of his neck, the phantom feeling of Julie's leg pinning him in a headlock all too real. He had been confused and a little scared then, but now he looked back on it almost fondly. "You were pretty fierce."

"Well, somebody had just broken into my home and might be threatening me and the man I loved," she replied, her eyes far-off as she reminisced. "But I was so embarrassed when I found out how you were. The infamous Sam Winchester, and the first thing I did upon meeting him was try to put a bullet in his skull." She turned her head and smiled at him, a ghost of her old lively, fierce, powerful self in her expression.

"You were embarrassed? I got taken down by a woman half my size! Twice!"

Julie laughed, a high, clear, beautiful thing only slightly tainted by a bit of coughing at the end. Sam gave her a worried look, but she waved off his concern. Then he smiled a little, remembering the first time he had heard that laugh. He remembered that little rush of pride and amusement and something else, something more dangerous, that he had felt when he had first made her laugh.

Even back then, when he had just met her, he already was attracted to her. And how could he not be? It hadn't taken him long to fall in love with this smart, brave, kind, strong, beautiful woman. And he really had loved her, even if that love had made him feel guilty and dirty.

Those days had passed. Sam no longer loved Julie in that same passionate, lustful, dangerous way, although he did still love her with all his heart. And part of him, a deep, dark, secret part still knew that the two of them would have been a good fit. Maybe even better than Dean and Julie. Dean and Julie were two very different people who made a passionate, desperate, dangerous pair. Julie was sometimes the only thing that kept Dean going, and that kind of co-dependency formed a dangerous relationship. A person in a healthy relationship wouldn't shut down and quit living if the other died. A person in a normal, safe relationship wouldn't sell their soul to save the other.

But Dean and Julie weren't normal or safe or even healthy. But what they were…it was something good. Julie made Dean happier than Sam had seen him in a long time, maybe ever. She kept him sane and whole and gave him hope of a happy future. And, for some reason, Dean Winchester was the only man who had ever been able to fully satisfy Julie, the only man she could fall wholeheartedly and endlessly in love with. And even if that was unhealthy or unsafe, it didn't matter. They fit. They worked. They were soulmates, or something close to it, and they deserved to be together forever, to just be happy.

"Sam?" Julie asked softly, and he looked up and saw her studying him with concern. "You okay?"

He blinked and found his eyes strangely wet. "Yeah," he said quickly, sniffling and wiping at his cheeks to make sure they were still dry. "Sorry, I was just… remembering."

She nodded in understanding and shifted a little closer to him. "We used to be happy, didn't we?" she whispered, staring out into the night sky. "The three of us. Like, really happy. Back when we just hung out at the bunker and hunted simple little monsters and watched Lord of the Rings."

Sam smiled sadly. "Yeah. We were really happy."

"What the hell happened to us?" Julie suddenly choked out.

"The same thing that always happens to me and Dean whenever we find some way to be happy," he grumbled. "Some new monster crawls out of some pit and makes it his mission to ruin our lives."

"Life's a bitch, huh?" Julie said in a harsh, bitter voice that she hadn't possessed before she came to live with the Winchesters.

Sam studied his best friend sadly. Life had taken this kind-hearted, bright, beautiful girl full of spirit and fight and life and ruined her. It had taken her sanity, her love, her life, and even her soul. And all because she threw in her lot with him and his brother. It wasn't fair!

"Julie, listen to me," Sam said suddenly, his voice adamant. "Life has been a bitch to you, that's for sure. You've lost your parents and your uncle and your cousin and your friends, lots of them. You even lost Dean there for a while. But I swear to you on my life, you are not going back to hell. I am not going to let Beelzebub have you. I'm not."

Julie smirked bitterly. "It's usually Dean making the promises he can't keep."

"I'm keeping this," Sam growled. "That son of a bitch is never going to lay a hand on you again. I don't care what I have to do to make sure it doesn't happen, but it won't."

She stared up at him, wanting to believe him. Oh, God, did she want to believe him. Because the thought of Beelzebub having her at his mercy, of doing horrible things to her, taking anything and everything he wanted from her just because no one could stop him…God, it made her sick with disgust and fear.

"I want to believe you," she choked out, hating the tears filling her eyes. "Because if I don't…if he gets me…Sam, I'm so damn scared. Of him, of what he's going to do to me, what he's going to—to take from me-"

"He won't," Sam said firmly and darkly, pulling her into his arms to try to shield her from the fear inside her. "I will do anything to stop that. Anything."

"I know," she whispered when she finally emerged from his shirt. "And that scares me too." Sam frowned. "The knowledge that you and Dean would do anything to save me—anything—that's almost as scary as knowing what's coming. Sam, you can't do anything. You can't say yes to Lucifer and let the world burn just for me. And you can't let Dean do something like that either."

He nodded mutely, because he didn't trust himself to speak.

"Promise me that no matter what happens to me, you two and Cas are going to fight, okay? I'm just some girl that happened to run into Dean on a hunt. I'm not worth that."

Sam pulled her into another hug and pressed his cheek against the top of her head. "I promise that we'll keep fighting no matter what," he eventually told her. "But you're not just some girl, Julie. You're the reason we're all still here. Without you, my brother would be dead or a demon right now, and I might as well be dead." She pulled away from him enough to look him in the eye as Sam said, "If we do manage the save world…you're just as responsible for that as we are. You saved us."

Julie smiled sadly at him and snuggled into his side. "Thank you," she whispered, as they stared out at the New York City skyline.

And they stayed like that for a long time, just being together and trying to pretend like this wasn't probably the last time the two of them would just be together like this.

* * *

Dean set down his now-empty beer bottle on the counter of the bar and stretched his arms, allowing him a self-satisfied smile. He had been on this high ever since leaving Julie outside her apartment with promises to see each other again tomorrow, promises of a lot more than just a kiss. His lips still tingled with that kiss, and three beers later, that feeling still hadn't faded.

He hadn't felt this good in far too long. The attention of a beautiful woman was pretty much guaranteed to make a guy feel good, but when it was _his _beautiful woman, even if she didn't know it, that made it so much better. Tonight had been good for Dean. No, it had been great. Perfect. Dean honestly couldn't remember the last time he had felt this happy.

The bar he was in, the same one he had stumbled into a little over a day ago and found Julie, was all but cleared out. Dean watched as the last two people here, a couple of middle-aged men chatting in the corner, grabbed their coats and left the bar, leaving a crumlpled twenty on the table to cover their last beers and tips. He was now alone except for the bartender, who had disappeared into the back a minute or so ago and still not returned.

Dean sighed and stretched. It was probably about time to head back to his motel room and get some sleep. He would want to be well-rested because, if all went well, he wouldn't be getting much sleep tomorrow night. He hollered to let the bartender know he was heading out, left a few bills on the bar, and turned to head for the door, humming contentedly.

As he did, two big, intimidating men stepped through the door. Immediately, warning bells went off in the back of his head, but Dean ignored him. Cas had sent him into this odd alternate universe, and Cas wouldn't let anything bad happen to Dean.

He tried to walk past one of the burly guys, but he put out a beefy arm and stopped Dean's path. Dean frowned, the alarms blaring louder in his brain. And then the guy grinned wolfishly at Dean, his eyes going all black as he smirked, "I don't think so, Winchester."

Immediately, Dean took a step away from the two men and shifted into a defensive position. Thank God Cas had left him with his demon-killing knife. He reached behind him and pulled the knife out of the waistband of his slacks, squaring his shoulders and sizing up his opponents.

To his surprise, the two demons just laughed. "Look at him, getting all ready to fight," the taller of the demons chuckled.

"How cute," the other demon, a bald, tattooed guy smirked.

"You know, if I were you, I'd be a little more worried," Dean growled. "Considering I've killed just about every one of your kind I've come into contact with."

"Ooh, scary," the bald demon chuckled. "I'm not really worried, though. Are you, Stevie?"

"Nope," the other demon grinned nastily after considering it for a moment. "See, Winchester, I don't think you're going to fight us one bit."

"Clearly you don't know me," the hunter said coldly. "What makes you think I won't gut you right here and now?"

"Because we've been following you ever since you were stupid enough to show your face in our town," Baldy said cockily. Dean's blood ran cold as he thought back over what he had done since arriving in town. Met Julie, gone on a date with Julie, kissed Julie, done nothing but show interest in her and put her in harm's way.

"I'm pretty sure you'd rather surrender than let us hurt a hair on her pretty little head," the other demon smirked nastily as the door opened again and another demon dragged a struggling woman into the bar.

"No," Dean breathed when he saw her, golden hair messy and wild from fighting, her blue eyes wild and white dress ripped at the bottom from her struggling.

Julie's eyes landed on Dean and she gasped a little. "Dean," she gasped, and then tried again to struggle free of the demon's tight grip. "Dean, what's going on? Dean?"

Dean forced himself not to look at her and forced down his fear and panic and protective anger. He had to stay calm if he was going to get her out of this. So, calmly, he turned to face the two demons not holding onto Julie and said coldly, "Let her go, and we'll talk."

"Oh, I don't think you're in any position to be calling shots," Baldy sneered. "Put the knife down or Devon will snap your girlfriend's pretty little neck."

"She's not my girlfriend," Dean said in his calmest, flattest voice. "She's just some girl. She's got nothing to do with this, so just let her go and leave her out of this."

"Sorry, sweetheart," Stevie shrugged towards Julie. "I gave him a chance. But he just won't put that knife down. Devon, put her out of her misery."

The beefy demon pinning Julie grinned nastily and pulled out a switchblade to slit Julie's throat. She barely managed to contain a terrified scream as his knife came towards her.

"No!" Dean cried, losing his cool. "No, stop! I'll do whatever you want, just…don't hurt her."

Julie stared at him, wide-eyed, looking near tears as Dean dropped his knife and put his hands up in surrender. "I'm so sorry," he whispered to her, and she just continued to stare at him, lost and overwhelmed and scared out of her mind.

Stevie and Baldy descended upon Dean, one of them pinning his arms while the other hit him hard in the face. Dean was vaguely aware of Julie shrieking and begging the demons to stop as they kept whaling on him, but he just tried to focus on the sound of her voice. So she was still alive. For now, at least.

Eventually, Stevie stopped hitting Dean in the stomach and face, and he found a second to remember how to breathe. He spat a bit of blood out of his mouth and blinked blearily up at Julie. There were tear tracks staining her cheek as she stared at him. But there was a hard, determined look in her eyes very different from the terrified look he was expecting.

"Fight," she mouthed at him, and then she slammed down her heel on the toe of the demon pinning her. He howled in pain and surprise loosening his grip on her, and then she drove her elbow right back into his gut. He finally released her, and she whirled around and kneed him right in the crotch, causing the demon to howl in pain and double over. Then she shoved with all her might and sent him crashing into a table.

Dean found himself grinning at her in awe, even as he head butted Stevie in the stomach and fought free of Baldy's tight grip. God, even when she wasn't a hunter, that woman was incredible.

Then he was a little busy fighting off two angry, deadly demons. Stevie pulled a knife on him, but Dean managed to slide across the ground and scoop up his demon-killing knife. Then he rolled onto his back just in time to drive the knife up into Stevie's ribcage as the demon lunged towards him.

He threw Stevie's body to the side and tried to get to his feet, but Baldy hit him across the head and Dean stumbled to the side. Before he could recover, Baldy had already pulled a gun on him, and Dean knew this was it.

And then something shattered against the back of his head, and Dean watched as the demon stumbled to the side, dropping his gun in shock. When Baldy stumbled out of the way, there she was, Julie Carters, holding a shattered beer bottle and looking utterly shocked at herself.

Dean righted himself and finished off Baldy with a quick slitting of his throat. Then he just stood there, trying to catch his breath and just staring at Julie as she stared at the two corpses at her feet.

"They…they broke into my apartment…they said…this was about you…and their _eyes_." Julie stopped to collect her thoughts, and then glared at him. "Dean, you have a hell of a lot of explaining to do."

"I will," he breathed. "But for now, just give me a second to be glad you're okay."

Julie couldn't resist the tiniest of smiles seeing the dazed, relieved way he was staring at her, like she was the sun, moon, and stars to him. But before she could think of a good response to that, she saw a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye.

Dean was startled as Julie suddenly screamed his name and dove forward, shoving him the ground. He heard the sharp, loud pop of a gun going off, and then all the air went out of him as he back his the floor. It took him a moment to realize that he hadn't been shot, and once he knew that, he sat up and threw his knife with deadly accuracy, watching it sink into the neck of the last living demon who had picked himself up off the ground and had shot at him.

That bullet could very well have killed him if Julie hadn't shoved him.

Julie.

Dean turned around to help her up, and instead found himself staring at a pale woman, eyes wide with pain and fear, lying paralyzed on the ground as she gurgled and choked and struggled to get one good breath in. A woman with a slowly spreading red stain across her chest.

A dying woman.

"No," Dean gasped. Then he scrambled to her side, propping her up in his lap so she could try to breathe easier. "Julie, no. Just stay with me, sweetheart. You're okay. You're fine, honey, you'll be fine."

But she wasn't. She wasn't breathing and as he watched, her gurgles began to fade. And that red spot on her perfect white dress was spreading, staining her with blood. Her skin was deathly pale now, her lips going blue, her eyes going out of focus…

He'd been here before, powerless and useless, just holding Julie as he watched the life go out of her. But he couldn't do this. Not again.

"Stay with me!" Dean half-shouted, and it wasn't a request anymore. It was an order, a demand. "Jules, you have to stay with me! Just hang on, I'll get you help. You'll be fine, you're fine, you'll live! Okay, Julie? Julie?!"

The life went out of her eyes, and they stayed glassy and frozen on his face, staring up at him for the last time.

"No. No. No, no, no, no, _no_!" Dean half-screamed. "Julie, no! Don't leave me! Jules, please! No! _No-_"

And then Dean finally woke up.

He was up and off the bed before he realized he had been lying down, asleep. He looked around, disoriented, half of him still trapped in that God-awful bar, holding the dead body of the woman he loved yet again. But he wasn't there. Not really. He was here in his bedroom at the bunker with-

With Cas. Cas, who had sent him into that other world. Cas, who had willingly and knowingly put him through that nightmare.

The angel studied him sadly, and then started to say slowly, "Dean, I am sorry-"

"You son of a bitch," Dean growled in a deadly voice, and then he lunged forward and slugged the angel as hard as he could.

Cas rolled easily with the punch, seemingly unharmed, but Dean wasn't done. He grabbed Castiel's collar and slammed the angel into the wall, hard. He hit Cas again in the jaw, once, twice, three times, fury and grief clouding his mind and making him almost murderous.

For a while, Cas allowed Dean to whale on him, but when it began to really hurt, he decided he was done putting up with this. "Enough," he growled, grabbing Dean's arms and forcefully prying the man off of him and depositing him back on the bed.

"What the hell, Cas?!" Dean snarled. "How could you do that to me? _Why_ would you do that to me?!"

"To show you a fact you refuse to accept," the angel said coldly.

"That's not a good enough reason to give me a second chance with the woman I love and then have her murdered right in front of me!" Dean roared, getting back on his feet, ready to take another swing.

"Sit down and listen to me, Dean," Cas snarled, blue eyes blazing, and it wasn't a request. Dean didn't sit down, but he at least backed down enough to give his friend the chance to speak.

"You know better than anyone I'm not exactly the biggest believer in fate," Cas said carefully. "But some people's fate cannot be changed, that is clear to me. And Julie Carters fate has been and always will be to die for you."

"What?" Dean frowned.

"That woman was meant to come into your life and love you, and you were meant to love her," the angel said gravely. "And she was also meant to die to save you. And the first time she died, it was to save you. Now, she is about to die again, to save you. And even in a world where she is not a hunter, she still dies for you."

"Because you made her be-" Dean growled.

"Because she has to!" Cas snapped. "There is no other way! And no matter what happens, no matter what you do…you can't save her."

Dean suddenly found himself blinking back tears. "Why are you telling me this, Cas? Why did you put me through this?"

"Because I can't seem to convince you any other way than to show you," he sighed. "Julie can't be saved. She will die in five days. You can't change that. No one can. But just because she's dying doesn't mean you can just check out. You need to accept that you can't save her and focus on saving everyone else."

"What does it matter?" Dean muttered under his breath.

"What?" Castiel asked darkly.

"What does it matter if the rest of the world is destroyed if she's already dead?" Dean half-shouted, eyes red from tears he was just barely holding back.

"If you are truly the man I think you are, then you cannot mean that," Cas said darkly. "You are a good man, Dean. You care for others, you sacrifice yourself to protect them. You couldn't possibly believe that if one woman dies, it doesn't matter whether or not seven billion others live, including your brother."

"Okay, so maybe I was exaggerating a little," Dean grumbled under his breath, ashamed.

"But that is how you are behaving!" Cas snapped. "And we will not stand a chance if we can't work together! So you have to stop acting like you've already lost the battle and start fighting." His best friend studied him sadly. "It's what she wants you to do, Dean, and you know that."

Dean nodded mutely. "I know, I just…God, I love her, Cas. I don't know what to do without her."

The angel silently walked to his side and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I am truly sorry for what I put you through. But you needed a wake up call."

"Next time, just dump some ice water on me or stage an intervention or something," Dean grumbled. "That is, assuming there will be a next time and we won't all fail to stop Beelzebub and die in the apocalypse in the next couple of weeks."

Cas almost smiled at that, just glad that Dean could muster up any kind of his slightly twisted humor. "Hopefully, there won't be a next time because you'll get to work and we'll stop these monsters. And once we do that, we'll find a way to get her back, okay?"

Dean took a deep breath and then nodded. "Alright then. Well...we had better get to work."


	98. Chapter 98

**Chapter Ninety-Eight**

Three days.

That was the first thought on Julie's mind when she pulled herself out of a horribly vivid nightmare of Beelzebub tearing her apart back in hell. Three days to live. Seventy-two hours before she either completed the third trial and died closing the gates of hell…or seventy-two hours before she was dragged kicking and screaming back down to hell, never again to escape.

_Three days_, she thought with a shudder. And then Dean was there, wrapping her in his solid warmth, all powerful muscles and soft, warm skin trying to shield her from the world and what was coming. He nuzzled into her neck, murmuring something soft she couldn't make out. He was still half-asleep, and probably not coherent anyway. She just focused on the pleasant tickle of his stubble and the soft puffs of his warm breath against her neck. In a matter of seconds, his breaths grew steady and rhythmic once more as he slipped peacefully back into sleep. She focused on his rhythmic breaths until they started to sound like a ticking clock to her.

Three days, three days, three days…

Eventually, Dean actually woke up. He was able to briefly distract her, kissing her senseless and his hands roamed lazily all over her. They dragged themselves into the shower and wasted a few minutes just kissing under the hot spray of water. But soon enough they were moving out of the bathroom, getting dressed and eating breakfast with Sam and sitting down to do more pointless, fruitless research.

And all the while, that dark thought was there in the back of Julie's head, driving her half-mad with its heavy presence. Three days. Three days left to talk to Sam, to laugh at his jokes, to let him worry over her waning health, to do research side-by-side with him, to sip at his coffee instead of drinking her own, to fall asleep leaning into his side when research got too boring and her limbs were too heavy. Three days left to kiss Dean and hold his hand and study his handsome face as he thought and tease him and enjoy the low rumble of his voice and have hot, fast, desperate sex when Sam left the room to go shower.

Only three days.

Julie was pretty sure she was about to lose it and dissolve into tears or hysterical giggling, maybe both, when a sudden knock on the door broke that endless mantra in her brain. Despite Sam and Dean's protests, she insisted on getting the door herself, if only for something to do, and she only stumbled over her own weak feet once.

When she finally reached the door and opened it, she was stunned to see Crowley standing there. The demon had been out of contact with them for days, causing Dean no end of frustration and anger. And yet now he was here, standing on their doorstep, hands tucked into the pockets of his suit jacket and a smug smirk on his face.

Julie blinked at the demon in surprise. "Crowley," she said softly. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your soul, and more importantly, my own," he replied coolly, already blowing past her into the bunker.

"I thought you didn't have a soul," she pointed out as she trailed after him, hugging her arms to her body to fight off the chill from outside that had seeped into her bones.

The demon sighed wearily. "Fine. My life, my soul, whatever. The important thing is that I may have just found a way that we all survive this."

They had reached the bottom of the stairs, where Sam and Dean waited. When Dean heard those words, his eyes widened and he took a step forward. "What? Crowley, are you serious?!"

"Oh, except for you, darling," he added quickly, shooting a glance at Julie. "There's still no saving your life. But your soul, maybe…"

"Do you have a demon for her to cure?" Sam asked sharply.

"Why else would I allow myself within nabbing distance of you boys?" the former king of hell pointed out. "I caught one of Beelzebub's more moronic goons. Juliet can cure him, die, and pray that the trials worked and she'll go up instead of down."

Dean stepped up next to Julie and wrapped his arm tightly around her side. "She'll go to heaven," he said firmly. "But that still doesn't save us from Beelzebub and Lucifer."

"Well, I've got something even better that just might," Crowley smirked cockily. "I found us the only other thing that can kill a Knight of Hell besides the good old First Blade."

"What?" Dean snapped. "Nothing else can! That's what got us started on this whole mess, we had to kill a Knight, and there is no other way."

"The only other way went missing years ago," the demon continued. "Until it recently resurfaced. And now an old friend of ours is putting it up for auction, Dean."

"What is it?" Sam asked, lost, but one look at Dean's expression told Julie he already knew.

"The Colt," Dean breathed, and she felt his fingers tighten their grip on her hip.

"They found it?" Sam asked, shocked.

"And dear old Hades is putting it up for auction tomorrow night at his Hotel California," the demon smirked. "You three remember that place, I'm sure."

Julie sure as hell remembered. She remembered all that time spent with a demonic Dean, remembered him taunting her, walking around half-dressed just to see her stare at him, laughing when she grew jealous of the woman he slept with, killing an innocent girl just because he was angry with Julie. God, she wished she could forget her time in that hotel.

She felt Dean's fingers dig into her hip even harder, but she didn't mind. She just leaned in close to Dean and reminded herself that he wasn't that monster anymore.

"What do you want us to do about it?" Dean asked carefully.

"Hades invited me and my Knight of Hell buddy personally," Crowley smirked.

"The only two Knights left hate your guts," Dean pointed out.

"But he doesn't know there are only two left," the demon said with a pointed look at Dean.

His eyes widened. "He still thinks-" he started.

"It's unimportant. What is important is that he doesn't want the Knights of Hell to know about the Colt, and I believe he wants us to get it. He had no other reason to invite us."

"Why?" Sam frowned. "Why does he care?"

"He hates the Knights of Hell," Crowley explained. "They took his kingdom from him, and he apparently hates them even more after their behavior in his hotel. I think he wants us to take them out."

"Makes sense," Julie said after a moment. "Lucifer would end him too, like everyone else. And we're about the only people who are going to at least try to stop him."

"We should go," Dean said after a moment. "This is the best lead we've gotten on a way to kill Beelzebub and stop Lucifer from rising since before I died."

"But what if it's a trap?" Sam pointed out softly, eying Crowley suspiciously.

The three hunters regarded the demon warily for a moment, and he rolled his eyes. "What could I possibly have to gain from tricking you? We're on the same side!"

"He's right," Julie said. "And I don't see why Hades would be trying to trick you. I think we should go."

Crowley and Dean both snorted derisively. "'We'?" Dean repeated in a disbelieving voice.

"Oh, don't try to tell me that I'm not going, Dean!" Julie said warningly.

"Darling, don't try to tell me you actually think you're capable of going," Crowley cut her off. "You look half-dead right now, and you'll be surrounded by monsters and things that prey on weak humans. A pretty, weak little thing like you will get eaten alive."

"I'm not weak," Julie growled, which was effectively ruined when she almost immediately launched into a fit of coughing.

Sam laid a large hand on her shoulder. "Julie, you're going to need all of your strength just to complete the last trial. Staying home isn't just the safest option, it's also the smartest one."

"So I'm just supposed to let you two risk your lives while I sit at home?" she asked angrily.

"I've already been in contact with everyone's favorite angel," Crowley said flatly. "He is currently at work using his angels to find Beelzebub so we can end him, but he will join us for extra protection. We'll keep your boys plenty safe, Juliet."

She bit her lip, looking conflicted. "Julie, please," Dean begged her softly. "I'm not going to be able to do anything but worry about you if you're there. Stay here and stay safe. Please."

Finally, Julie sighed and gave in. "Alright. Fine. But you had all better come back in one piece."

Crowley made plans to return around this time tomorrow, and then he quickly left their bunker. Julie desperately needed a distraction from what was coming tomorrow, so Sam and Dean went to work, making pizzas and popcorn and digging out enough beers to make it a party. Then the three of them settled down on the couch for a Star Wars marathon. But only the originals, of course.

It was the most light-hearted fun Julie had experienced in a while. She talked and laughed with Sam, laughed at Dean's Star Wars obsession, and just enjoyed the classic films. The food was good, and she had a Winchester brother on either side of her to keep her feeling warm and loved and entertained.

They kept her so content she only thought about the fact that she only had three days left six times.

Eventually, somewhere towards the beginning of _Return of the Jedi_, Dean stretched out on his side, his long, muscular legs hanging off the side of the couch and his head resting in Julie's lap. She absently began to stroke his soft, short hair off of his forehead, and before long, Dean's eyes fell shut and he drifted off. Sam dozed off not long after him, and Julie smiled at her sleeping boys and finished the movie herself.

When the final credits began to roll, Julie felt foolish tears stinging her eyes as she realized this was probably the last time she would ever watch a Star Wars film. A silly thing to almost cry over, but her emotions were beginning to overwhelm her again.

So Julie turned off the TV and just focused on stroking Dean's hair, loving the feeling of running the soft, short strands through her fingers.

Suddenly, she realized his eyes were open, and he was blinking sleepily up at her. Julie stared back at him, waiting for him to speak. Instead he just stared at her like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, like he never wanted to look at anything ever again.

Julie bent to kiss him softly, her fingers still curled in his hair. His lips, soft and plump and perfect, were gentle at first. And then Dean was sitting up, his lips more insistent and desperate as they moved with hers, his hands trailing down her back and then slipping up under the hem of her shirt.

The two of them stopped abruptly when Sam stirred slightly in his sleep. Julie was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that he was less than a foot away from them.

Dean found an easy solution to the problem. He gently scooped Julie up in his arms and she pressed tight to his chest, throwing an arm around his neck and tangling her fingers in his hair as he carried to their bedroom.

After over two years together, Julie knew Dean's body about as well as she knew her own. They had had sex so many times over the years that it was as natural as breathing for them. But this time was different.

It felt like the first time again. When Dean undressed Julie, he stared at her like he was seeing her for the first time. And his body, so familiar to her, felt somehow new this time. They moved slowly, partly because Julie wasn't at full strength, but also because it felt like they were trying this for the first time. They kissed long and deep, moving slowly as they explored each other for what felt like the first time. It seemed to go on forever, new and intense and perfect.

And, as Julie eventually drifted off to sleep in Dean's arm more content and satisfied than she could ever remember being, she thought she knew why it had felt so different.

Because somehow they both knew that this had been their last time.

* * *

Julie's first thought when she woke up sent her crawling out of bed so she could puke into the toilet for a long time until her panic and fear and nausea faded.

Two days.

Dean rolled out of bed soon after her and stroked her bare back, holding her hair out of her face until her stomach was empty. Then he easily lifted her into the shower and washed her clean, not speaking once the whole time. For some reason, the gentle way his powerful, deadly hands were taking care of her brought tears to her eyes, and then she was just crying into his shoulder. Dean held her tightly, and eventually she felt his body began to shake with silent sobs, although the water from the shower washed away his tears before they could fall.

He knew it too. Only two days.

Sam was waiting for them with delicious bagels and fruit and coffee when they finally emerged from their room. He hugged Julie tightly when she first came into the room, and even though she couldn't see his face, she would guess that he had tears in his eyes.

The morning seemed to pass far too quickly, although they didn't do much. They played a few rounds of cards, chatted about insignificant little things, snacked all morning. For lunch, Julie insisted on going out and doing something, and so they drove to a nice diner nearby. Julie rode with the window down, ignoring how the wind made her shudder violently, because at least the wind in her hair reminded her she was still alive.

Lunch was delicious, sweet sodas and hot fries and thick, juicy burgers. Afterwards, they took a long, winding path back home, Dean driving slow with the windows rolled down, playing all of Julie's favorite classic rock songs.

By the time they got back, it was midafternoon. Julie wanted to do something fun or crazy, something she'd never done before, but she began to puke again, and the brothers forced her to take a ridiculous amount of medicine and lie down on the couch, where they smothered her with blankets and water and concern. At least they sat down on the floor next to the couch, their long bodies sprawling everywhere, and talked to her, telling silly little stories from their childhood just to draw a little smile out of her.

And then, all too soon, Crowley arrived to take them from her.

Dean and Sam put on their nicest FBI suits to fit in at the classy auction and party, and Julie smiled ruefully when she saw how utterly sexy her boyfriend looked in his suit. She wanted to be doing some incredibly dirty things to him right now, but all she could do was try not to hack a lung and watch him get ready to leave.

God, she hated this.

She found the strength to stand up when all three of them were armed and ready to go. "Where's Cas?" she pointed out as she dragged herself over to the three men.

"I just called him," Dean told her. "He said he'll be here in a few minutes. But Crowley says it's time to go and Hades doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"I'll send him along once he gets here," Julie promised them, putting on a brave face. "Don't worry about it. You guys should go."

Sam stepped forward and pulled Julie into a tight hug. "Do something fun tonight," he murmured into her hair. "Or at least get some rest. Don't just sit around here wasting your time worrying about us."

"I don't think that's possible," she muttered under her breath as she pulled away, and he smiled at her, although it didn't reach his hazel eyes.

Julie took a moment to fix his collar and straighten his tie, and for just a second it felt like old times. She took a deep breath and forced a smile at Sam. "Don't do anything crazy, okay?"

"You know I won't."

"And don't let your brother do anything crazy, either."

"I'll try," he smirked, and she smirked a little back at him.

And then it was time to say goodbye to Dean. She took one look at him, tall and broad-shouldered and bow-legged and beautiful, and even though she knew he wasn't leaving for good, she felt like bursting into tears. Dean saw the tears coming and dragged her into his chest before they could fall. At least Crowley had the decency to leave the room and give them a moment of privacy, with Sam not far behind him.

"Why do I feel like you're not coming back?" Julie choked out, her voice shaking as she buried her face even deeper in Dean's shirt.

"Hey," he said gently but firmly. "You know I am. I'm gonna be right by your side when you cure that demon and close the gates and go to heaven, okay?" She still wouldn't pull her face out of his shirt, so Dean gently cupped her cheeks and tilted her face to look up at him. "I promise."

Julie nodded mutely, looking tragic and beautiful with her sickly skin and her red nose and the tears trapped on her eyelashes. "Dean, just…come back to me, okay? Please."

Dean bent a little so he could kiss her for a long, sweet moment, trying to express all his love for this wonderful woman in one simple action. When their lips parted, he still kept his face close enough to hers that his lips brushed hers when he spoke one simple word:

"Always."

They embraced for a long moment, and Julie felt a little calmer breathing in the familiar, manly smell of him as she buried her face in his neck. She would gladly have stayed like that forever, but then Crowley was shouting, "Squirrel, if you don't hurry it up, we might as well just not go at all and surrender to Beelzebub now."

Julie stepped away from Dean and stared up at him, begging him with those beautiful blue eyes not to go. "Stay safe," she whispered.

"I promise," he answered, before pressing his lips to her forehead for a brief moment.

And then it was time to go.

Julie watched helplessly as the two most important people in her life walked out of the bunker, knowing they could be walking into extreme danger and knowing that in this state, she could do nothing to help them. Feeling utterly useless, she sat back down on the couch, hugged a blanket around her, and stared at the TV for several minutes, although her mind was with Sam and Dean right now, fearful and worried.

Eventually, a familiar voice broke her out of her terrified stupor. "Julie?" Cas asked softly, and she lifted her head and saw the angel standing a few feet away, looking surprised to see her.

"What are you still doing here?" he frowned. "I told Dean that you all should go ahead without me."

"They left with Crowley a little while ago," she told him flatly.

"But why-?"

"Cas, I can barely walk, let alone attend a dangerous party and maybe have to fight gods and monsters," she pointed out darkly.

The angel's expression darkened. "But…tonight could very well be your last night on earth. They can't honestly expect you to just stay here."

"I can't go," she replied. "Believe me, I want to. I _need_ to. I need to be there, making sure they're okay. But…" Her voice trailed off, and the helpless look on her face broke his heart.

Cas stepped forward and tenderly touched Julie's forehead. She was burning up with a fever, but he closed his eyes and poured out his grace into the poor girl, ignoring the heavy toll it was taking on him as he poured out his strength and essence into her weak body.

Julie gasped a little as the pain and heaviness left her body, leaving her feeling almost perfectly healthy. Then she gasped again when Cas swayed dangerously on his feet and started to fall. She sprang to her feet and just barely caught him and held him up.

But she had the strength to hold him up!

"What did you do?" she cried as Cas seemed to recover, although he still looked pretty drained.

"I gave you enough grace to make it through tonight in full health," the angel told her, and she saw the ghost of a proud smile on his face.

"But…the amount of power that must have taken…" Julie protested.

"It's too late now," he shrugged. "And it's worth it, to see you get one last good night."

"Cas…" Julie whispered, shocked and moved at what he had done for her.

"You can thank me later," he smiled. "Now, you should go put on a nice dress and get ready for a fancy event. We've got some Winchesters to look out for and a world to save."

* * *

Dean really hated being back here. Looking around at the lobby of this beautiful, grand hotel only brought back memories Dean had been trying to shove down for the past six months. But they were there, and they didn't want to die.

Right there, behind that marble pillar, he had had quick, dirty sex with a sexy female vampire staying at the hotel. And he knew one of the rooms upstairs was probably still destroyed from when he and a pagan wind goddess had gone to town on each other. And who could forget that little employee he had slept with just to get a rise out of Julie. But he had committed far worse crimes than cheating on Julie within these walls. Dean was certain he could still find the exact spot in the hotel where he had stabbed and killed the employee he had slept with out of anger with Julie.

Before he could go on hating himself, a voice pulled him out of his dark thoughts. "Well, look who it is!" Hades called, and Dean looked up to see the pagan god himself standing behind his counter. He looked far more alive than he had on any of Dean's previous visits as a demon, and there was some color to his normally deathly pale skin.

"Hades," Crowley called with false excitement. "Thank you for inviting us. We were most intrigued when we heard what items you had for sale."

"I don't recall inviting him," Hades pointed out with a nod towards Sam. "And I did invite you, I suppose," he said to Dean. "But I was envisioning someone a little more…"

"Demonic?" Dean guessed, and the god nodded. "Well, that son of a bitch is old news. I've been human for a while now."

"So I see," the god mused. "May I ask how?"

"Nope," Dean said shortly. "Thanks for the invite, though, Hades. We'll be glad to take the Colt off your hands."

"Just as long as you can kill Beelzebub, human," Hades said, spitting human like it was an awful insult.

Dean smiled cockily. "I took down Abbadon and Asmodeus as a human. And Sammy here took down the devil himself, human and all."

"Fair enough," Hades shrugged. "Well, boys, head on in."

The three of them headed past the pagan god and stepped into the elevator. It immediately took them up to the fifth floor without giving them a chance to pick a floor. The three men rode in silence, their faces stony as they prepared for what was coming.

But nothing could quite prepare Sam and Dean for what was waiting once the elevator doors opened.

They were standing in the same grand ballroom where Dean had once battled Appolyon, Adramalech, and Behemoth as a demon. The walls and floor were all glossy white marble, and the ceiling was made up of twinkling mirrors. The entire back wall was made of windows, which showed off the beautiful night sky and the gorgeous view. But Dean couldn't shake the memory of Julie Carters going sailing through those windows, and the terrifying thought of her dying, a thought so terrifying it had compelled his demon self to let Knights of Hell get away to save her.

The rest of the ballroom was completely different, except for the huge, golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling. A platform stood against the glass wall, and that was where Dean was sure Hades would auction off his items. Next to it, a band of grey-skinned men with dark sockets for eyes played soft, eerie music that the guests were dancing to. Large, round tables with strange, black flowers as centerpieces were spread out around the room along the walls. A large buffet table sat against one wall, and countless guests milled around it. Dean noticed the open bar and sighed in relief, but before he could head towards it, he got distracted by the wide array of guests.

Everyone here was dressed in their best, women in glittering, sexy gowns, men in fine suits. Almost everyone here was unnaturally beautiful, their skin glowing in an inhuman way, their eyes full of unimaginable wisdom and power. Dean found his eyes drawn to a gorgeous woman with golden skin in a plunging, glittering gown, her hair literally made out of flames. Another woman in a scaly grey dress had hair made of living snakes and dark shades over her eyes to keep others from making eye contact with her.

"Sammy, if that is Medusa I swear…" Dean muttered to his brother, and Sam shook his head in wonder.

"I've never seen this many gods in one place," Sam breathed, staring at the powerful beings milling around them, sipping at champagne and chatting calmly and dancing to the soft music.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to excuse me, boys," Crowley said, his dark eyes on a tall, stately woman in a dress so thin and slutty she might as well be naked. "I've just spotted an old friend of mine, and I think it high time we go catch up."

Dean rolled his eyes as the demon headed towards the sexy, silver-haired woman. "So much for protecting us," Sam muttered.

"We don't need it," Dean replied confidently, and he headed towards the buffet with Sam at his heels.

They both slipped into line and quickly reached the food. Dean began to load his plate with juicy hunks of meat, fluffy rolls of bread, and chocolatey desserts, but he froze when he reached a fountain at the center of the table which seemed to be filled with blood. Next to him Sam gagged and set his plate down, his appetite gone. But Dean was really freaking hungry, so he kept on eating anyway.

A beautiful woman in a tight, low-cut black gown stepped around Dean and dipped a golden goblet into the fountain of blood. She turned to study him as she sipped the blood, her big dark eyes drinking him in hungrily. She was truly lovely, with long, straight, dark hair and smooth pale skin. Her full red lips curved up in a smile when she saw his face, but the pretty smile was ruined by the blood on her lips.

The woman inhaled deeply and her eyes flared. "You're human," she remarked calmly.

"And you're a vampire," he replied coolly.

She smiled wider, showing sharp fangs stained red with blood. "And you're not just any human, are you? Tall, dark, and handsome…that makes you Dean Winchester, doesn't it? And taller, dark, and handsome here must be little Sammy Winchester."

"It's Sam," Dean's brother said coldly.

"So it really is you two then," a man's voice remarked, and the brothers turned to see a monster of a man with a bald head and rippling muscles studying them. An impossibly tall, thin woman with skin black as night and bright green eyes was draped over him, studying them with a cat's intelligence and curiosity and hunger.

"What are a couple of humans doing here?" the woman on his arm asked in a voice that could only be described as a purr.

"And hunters at that," another short, stocky man whose hands and neck were weighed down with glittering jewels asked gruffly.

"You boys are pretty brave to show your faces here, considering how many of our kind you've killed," another god growled, his flaming red eyes burning into Dean.

Dean realized they were drawing a crowd. Gods and monsters alike were beginning to congregate around them, some angry or curious or, from the looks of it, hungry. Without a second thought, Dean positioned himself between these oncoming monsters and his little brother protectively.

"Brave little humans," a woman purred, her long fingers reaching out for them, and her nails scraped over Dean's arm.

"Stupid little humans," another, gruffer voice snapped, and a formidable god pushed forward to try to take a swing at them.

"Don't break them!" the vampire who had first addressed Dean snapped. "We wouldn't want to waste that blood."

"It does smell delicious," a male vampire called, a hungry look in his dark eyes.

"I want a taste!" a goddess called.

"Not if I get one first!" another god shouted.

The monsters and gods began to push and fight, clamoring loudly as they all tried to get their hands on the Winchesters. Dean closed his hand around his angel blade, but before he had to pull it out, Crowley appeared between the monsters and the two brothers. His suit jacket was missing and his tie was undone, and Dean had no doubt he had been in the middle of something dirty with that sexy woman from before when he remembered he was supposed to be looking out for them.

"Now let's not be hasty!" Crowley cried. "We wouldn't want to break Hades' rule of peace. He doesn't tolerate violence at a peaceful night like this."

Slowly, the gods and monsters backed off, muttering in agreement and milling away. Sam and Dean relaxed a little as their enemies wandered off, forgetting all about their victims and returning to eating and drinking and dancing happily.

"Rule of peace, huh? That would have been good to know," Dean grumbled.

"You're welcome," Crowley replied shortly. "Now, if you two can manage to stay alive for five minutes without me, I was kind of in the middle of something."

The demon vanished, and Sam and Dean were left alone. They took a moment to recover from that close call, and then Dean headed straight for the open bar.

The two brothers drank in silence for a few minutes, just watching these strange, powerful beings dancing and talking and swirling around them. But then suddenly Sam gasped and breathed, "Oh my God…" Dean followed his line of sight and then his heart fell out of his chest.

The most beautiful woman he had ever seen was walking into the room on the arm of a trench coat-wearing angel. She had golden hair that fell around her face in perfect curls, and she wore just enough makeup to make her beautiful blue eyes pop in her pale face. She wore a tight, strapless red gown that flared out around her feet and made her as much like a goddess as any of these true goddesses.

And damn, if she wasn't the most perfect thing he'd ever seen.

Julie Carters smiled when she saw Sam and Dean staring at her, and she and Cas headed towards them. Dean finally picked his jaw up off the floor as she reached them.

"Julie, what…? How…?" Sam sputtered.

"Cas came by, saw how miserable I was, and healed me up for a few hours," Julie told him.

"Wow. Well, thanks, Cas," Sam said, still looking flustered. Then he grinned at Julie, an honest smile on his face. "Julie…you look amazing."

She grinned back and hugged her best friend tightly. "I sure as hell better," she replied. "This is probably my last night on earth, and I'm going out with a bang."

"Damn right," Sam smiled at her. But then he suddenly stepped aside, and Cas went with him, the two of them giving Julie some space. Dean was confused for a moment until he realized they were giving him a private moment with her.

Julie smiled almost shyly up at Dean, looking straight like someone out of a fairytale. "Hey," she said softly.

"I…Jules, you look…" Dean stopped to try to rearrange his thoughts and regain the ability to speak.

Julie stretched up on her toes to curl her fingers around Dean's face and kiss him gently. He could feel her lips smiling into his, and Dean found himself pulling his beautiful girlfriend close, not caring if any of these monsters and gods were watching. Hell, he was proud he could call this amazing woman his.

When Julie pulled away, she chewed on her full bottom lip nervously even as she stroked her fingers over his chest. "Dean…are you okay with this? I mean, I'm healthy for now, and I'm armed, but-"

Dean dragged her mouth back onto his and kissed her hard and fierce for a moment before pulling away and saying, "I'm so damn glad you're here, Jules."

She grinned up at him and wrapped an arm around her waist as she turned to look around the room. She whistled under her breath. "Wow. Hades sure cleans this place up nice."

"He's got nothing on you," Dean murmured into her hair, and felt gratified to see her grin.

Suddenly Julie grabbed his hand and gently began to pull him towards the dance floor. Dean hesitated, so she asked gently, "Dance with me?"

He made a face, but she gave him one last pleading look and he caved. Despite his better judgment, he let Julie pull him out onto the dance floor, surrounded by gods and vampires and werewolves and shifters as they waltzed and swirled to the music.

Typically the man would lead, but Dean wasn't exactly a confident dancer. Julie guided one of his hands to her waist and clasped the other one in her own. She rested her hand on his shoulder and guided him into an easy, swaying motion. He stepped on her toes a couple of times at first, causing her to roll her eyes, but it wasn't really that hard. Eventually, Dean got accustomed to the easy movement, and then he was just able to focus on how perfect this moment was.

Sure, they were surrounded by hungry monsters out for their blood. And sure, Julie only had twenty-four hours to live. But right now, she was the most beautiful woman in the room, in the world, and she was in his arms, for the moment healthy and whole. And she was smiling. Julie hadn't smiled like this in far too long, and whenever that woman smiled like that, he couldn't help but join in.

They danced for a long while, swirling and waltzing and just swaying back and forth in time with the other couples. Sometimes they talked, but other times they just moved in sync, smiling at each other, unable to look away from each other.

Dean lost track of time, but all too soon Hades was up on his platform calling for everyone to sit down so the bidding could begin. Dean stood there, mesmerized, just staring at Julie, but she took his arm and dragged him over to the table where Cas, Sam, Crowley, and that silver-haired woman he had run off with earlier were all sitting. Sam had saved two seats for them, and they gladly sat down, Dean just now realizing how tiring that had been.

"Nice moves, Squirrel," Crowley smirked as he sipped at a dark glass. "Didn't know you danced."

"He doesn't," Julie replied calmly, entertwining her fingers with Dean's as she spoke. "He also doesn't work with gods and monsters. But we're all trying something new tonight."

The silver-haired woman leaned over and murmured something into Crowley's ear. He smirked. "Yes, love, that's the ex-Knight of Hell. And that pretty little blonde is the girl with one day to live."

The woman blinked her inhuman eyes and said something that sounded vaguely sympathetic in another language. Crowley translated for them. "She says she's been there, done that. Not fun."

"Are you ever going to tell us who this is?" Sam pointed out.

"Nope," Crowley shrugged, and then Hades began the auction.

Dean watched, uninterested, as Hades auctioned off weapons, spell ingredients, and magic-enfused items. He was more focused on Julie's thumb running across the back of his hand than anything else going on.

And then Hades was suddenly on the last item. The Colt.

Dean stared, wide-eyed, at that infamous gun. That gun had saved his life, and his brother's, and his father's. He had killed the monster that had killed his mother, father, brother, and even himself with that very gun. And it was right there, with the power to kill anything but the four archangels and God himself. That weapon could end Beelzebub, save the world, and maybe even save his love.

It took everything he had not to try and take on every one of these monsters at once so that he could just take it.

Crowley made the first bet on the Colt. A goddess countered his offer. Crowley bet again. The goddess went again. Another god topped her. Crowley bet even higher. The vampire coven topped him. By now they were past a hundred million dollars. And it just kept going. God, goddesses, werewolves, vampires…everyone seemed to want to get their hands on the Colt.

Eventually, Crowley turned a little in his seat to give Dean a pained look.

He was out.

The goddess who had first topped Crowley ended up on top. Hades sighed, shot a look towards the Winchesters, and then called, "Going once, going twice…"

And then Crowley stood up and called sharply, "I've got a better deal than any of them."

Hades and all the others turned to the demon, curious. "Please, Mr. Crowley, do explain," Hades said coolly.

"I can offer two prizes worth far more than any silly little gun," the demon said confidently. Julie frowned, lost and confused.

And then Crowley said loudly, "In trade for the Colt, I offer up Sam and Dean Winchester."

"What?!" Dean shouted, and he and Sam both stood. The monsters murmured in excitement. Hades considered it for a moment, and then smiled.

"Mr. Crowley, you have yourself a deal," he said finally. He snapped his fingers, and the Colt appeared in Crowley's hand.

And in return, Sam and Dean appeared up on the platform, their hands in chains.

"Dean!" Julie shrieked, springing to her feet. "Sam! No!" But before she could run to help them, the silver-haired woman sitting at their table waved her hand lazily and Julie was slammed back down into her chair.

The monsters and gods clamored as they began to bet on the two men she loved most in the world like they were animals. Julie struggled against the woman's powers, shouting and swearing, but she could not overpower this witch or goddess or whatever she was.

And then Cas was putting his hand over hers in a soothing motion. "It's okay," she heard her friend whisper. "They're okay. Keep shouting and fighting to sell it though."

"What?" she choked out, scared and confused.

Behind Cas, Crowley winked at her.

Cas suddenly vanished, and Julie blinked in confusion. A god finally won out over all the others betting on Sam and Dean, and he eyed the brothers with a hungry, murderous look in his eyes.

He couldn't have them. She wouldn't let him.

But neither would Cas, she realized. And whatever was going on, he seemed okay with it. Which meant...

This was all part of the plan.

Just as the god was stepping up on the platform to receive his prize, Cas sudeenly appeared between the two brothers. He laid a hand on each of their shoulders, and then all three of them were gone.

Julie stared at the spot they had been, too shocked to fully comprehend what was going on. The monsters clamored and shouted in shock and anger at being tricked.

And then they all began to turn towards Crowley and Julie, looking murderous.

"Thanks for the gun, Hades," Crowley called with a smirk, laying his hand on Julie's shoulder. And, just before the god who had bought Sam and Dean ran them through with his blade, the two of them vanished.

* * *

Julie found herself standing in the bunker with Crowley next to her and Sam, Cas, and Dean standing in front of her. "Did you get it?" Dean asked sharply, and Crowley waved the Colt in the air in response.

"I can't believe that crazy plan worked," Sam breathed. "Of course, now all those dangerous gods and monsters want to end us, but…"

"We have the Colt," Dean finished. "We can end this."

Before he could take too long to be happy about that fact, though, he felt something painful explode on the side of his face. As he recovered from the hard blow, he heard Julie shouting, "What the hell, Dean? How could you do something stupid and suicidal like that and not even warn me?!" Sam winced, and she whirled on him. "And you too! And you, Cas! What the hell, guys?!"

"Julie, we're sorry," Sam said quickly. "We didn't tell you because you weren't coming, and you would only worry."

"And then when you did get here, I was a little distracted," Dean pointed out, still rubbing his sore jaw.

Julie shook her head in disbelief. "You have no idea how scared I was," she said accusingly. "I thought I was going to lose you two!"

Sam and Dean exchanged looks. "Believe me, I think we know how you feel," Dean said coolly after a moment, and Julie winced when she realized how insensitive her words had been.

Cas and Crowley quickly cleared out of the awkward situation, with promises to return tomorrow with a demon for Julie to cure. Cas hugged Julie briefly, and then he and the demon were gone, leaving Julie alone with Sam and Dean.

"Julie, we really are sorry," Sam said earnestly. "But you were having so much fun with Dean, and I didn't want to worry you…"

"I did have fun," Julie sighed. "And it all worked out, in the end. I mean, we have the Colt! You guys stand a chance at stopping Beelzebub now."

"But our top priority is making sure that you close the gates and go to heaven first," Dean said sharply.

Julie shook her head, knowing she would need to get his priorities straightened out but knowing she did not have the energy right now. That night, as fun and then terrifying as it had been, had drained her, and she could feel Cas's grace wearing off. She excused herself, hugging Sam goodnight tightly, and then went into her bedroom to change out of her dress and into pajamas.

She got all of her makeup off and changed into a tank top and pajama shorts. Julie did her best to ignore the throbbing pain building in her head as Cas's healing wore off. Her bedroom was gratefully dark and cool and quiet at this late hour. The only light was a patch of moonlight on their bed, coloring their sheets silver.

This time tomorrow, that moonlight would warn her: death was coming. This time tomorrow, she would have mere minutes. And soon, she would hear a howl go up in the darkness, and then another, far-off, but still terrifying. Her heart would begin to pound as a primal fear filled her. More howls would join those howls, growing closer and louder, until they were snarls and growls, and there were teeth and claws tearing at her door, breaking it down, raw, unstoppable power breaking through every barrier and reaching her, invisible and evil, finding and tearing her apart until her blood stained the ground and her screams filled the air and then she was in endless agony and fear, back in hell again…

Julie realized she was trembling violently, frozen as she stared at that patch of moonlight. The visions had truly begun, and added to her weakness from the trials, Julie could barely stay on her feet. Every time she closed her eyes, all she saw was evil red eyes and foaming maws and knives and hooks slick with her blood and Beelzebub's terrible true form before her, forever burned into her brain. But when she opened her eyes, that moonlight burned into her eyes. Everything hurt, everything was agony and fear. Everything was pain and death. No matter how this next day went, she would not survive it.

Her stomach lurched and her knees buckled. Julie hit the icy bathroom floor hard, bruising, but she barely noticed. She scrambled to the toilet and made it just before she began to puke up every delicious food she had consumed at the party while she had felt healthy and happy and whole.

Bile burned her throat, her stomach lurched painfully, her head throbbed. Everything hurt. And yet, just a couple hours ago, she had been happy and whole and beautiful, spinning and dancing in Dean's arms, stumbling and laughing along with him, resting her cheek against his chest to hear his pounding heart, kissing him, touching his face lovingly. Getting the Colt back, being with her boys, and looking flawless while doing so…she had felt like her old self. Not this dying woman, a weak, pitiful woman with an ultimatum that had all but run out. The tough, smart, funny, fierce, loving, beautiful woman Dean had fallen for years ago.

She clung to those happy memories as she emptied her stomach and a cold, sore, draining ache spread through her, weighing her down and turning her into a trembling mess. Julie just focused on those memories. Fast music. Soaring violins. Haunting, beautiful melodies. Pressing close to Dean as they spun around, her red gown flaring out, his steady arms keeping her steady and upright and safe…

"Easy, honey." Julie didn't know when he had arrived, probably just at that moment, while she was lost in memories of him. She couldn't peel her eyes apart, but she heard him drop heavily to his knees beside her. His steady, large hands gathered her hair behind her head. One hand stayed there, fingers brushing softly against her skin in a comforting way that make little tingles go up and down her spine. His other arm went around her shoulders, supporting her and spreading warmth through her cold, trembling body. The warmth spread through her slowly, sweetly. It wasn't enough, but it was nice.

Dean sat there patiently with her until she had nothing left to puke up, all the while muttering, "Hey, easy, Jules. You're okay, honey, just…you're okay. You'll be okay. I've got you."

His voice was so familiar, warm and rough at the same time, gentle and tough just like him. It soothed her a little as her body slowly returned to the failing state it had been in before Cas healed her briefly.

When there was finally nothing left in her, Julie collapsed backwards into his chest. He let go of her and wiped her mouth clean gently. "Easy, Jules." He pulled her further into his arms, enveloping her thin, trembling frame in his sold warmth. She let her head rest on his shoulder, and it settled into the natural space between his shoulder and neck. That familiar position soothed her a little more.

For a long time, they sat like that. Once Julie felt a little more in control of her body, she opened her eyes and lifted her head. "Hey," Dean said gently, giving her a small smile. He brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear with his gentle fingers.

"Dean…" She sounded apologetic, and he waved her off.

"Let's get you up," he said firmly. "Can you stand?"

With quite a bit of help, she got on her own two feet. She brushed her teeth twice to get the taste of bile out of her mouth while Dean hovered anxiously nearby, ready to catch her if she fell. "Do you need anything?" he asked. "Are you cold?"

She nodded and started to head to the closet to get a sweatshirt. But then her eyes landed on the patch of moonlight on her bed.

A howl, piercing and terrifying, rang in her ears. She heard snarling, growling, tearing, biting, screaming, her own screams…

Julie realized abruptly that she really was screaming. Her knees had buckled, and Dean was the only thing holding her up. "What? What is it?!" he cried, helpless and terrified, desperate to help.

"The…the light…" she moaned, turning her face away. Dean gently lowered her to the ground and then he was gone. A moment later, the moonlight vanished as he drew the shades. Of course, the moonlight wasn't really the problem. These visions were a side-effect of selling your soul, the real problem.

Dean scooped Julie up easily and deposited her on the bed. He grabbed her a baggy grey sweatshirt and helped her into it like one would a child. It was a little humiliating, having to let another man dress her, but Julie was too weak and frightened to care. Besides, Dean had gone into his big brother mode, where he worried and fretted over someone he loved until he was certain they were alright.

After making sure she was completely comfortable, Dean removed his shirt and his slacks. He crawled into bed under the covers, tucking Julie in with him, and pulled her close to him. When she saw his expression, forcibly calm and clearly barely holding it together, she touched his cheek and tried, "Dean…"

"Don't," he said shortly. "Jules, don't worry about me. Just…sleep."

Her body was heavy and aching, and sleep sounded heavenly. But every time she began to drift off, the hellhounds were there, sometimes with Beelzebub accompanying them. She would wake up screaming every time, and each time, Dean would cradle her like a child, stroking her hair and whispering words that really meant nothing into her ear, things like, "Shh, Jules, it's okay. It's going to be okay, honey, I've got you. You're okay, sweetheart."

But she wasn't. He was lying to her, to himself, unable to accept that this was his last night with her.

His attempts to comfort her were not working. "Distract me," Julie pleaded, desperate for relief from these awful nightmares.

Dean pulled her sweatshirt up a little and traced his fingers across her stomach and back. His touch felt as good as ever, but it was somehow different now. He handled her like a fragile little thing, kissing her softly and barely touching her. He kissed the tip of her nose, her cheeks, under her jaw, all the way down her neck. Julie focused on the tickle of his stubble, eventually running her hand over his jaw to feel it under her palm. She traced her fingers over the lines of his face, through his hair, over his lips, trying to commit every freckle and scar and imperfection to memory.

No matter where she ended up tomorrow, it wouldn't be with Dean. She had to remember him the way he was now, a tortured, broken, hurting, tragic guy who had lost too much and was about to lose her too. A man who had never wanted anything but to be a good son, a good brother, a good man, and to be loved. Perfectly imperfect. Her Dean.

Losing Sam would hurt like hell. Losing Cas and even Crowley would hurt. Losing Taylor and James and Charlie and Jasper and Jody and her parents and all the other people she had lost in her short lifetime had hurt her bad. But losing Dean, being separated from him, possibly forever…the mere thought of it killed her.

If nothing else, she had to preserve the memory of him.

Julie tugged at Dean, needing him close to her. She trailed her fingers over his muscular chest, down his arm to the smooth skin of his forearm. No Mark of Cain. She had done that. She had saved him, and for a moment, she was so damn proud. Then Julie rested her hand over his heart, and Dean sighed audibly. She could feel his heartbeat, strong and steady under his warm skin. Warm and strong, that was her Dean. He was strong. He would survive tomorrow, now that he had the Colt.

But would he even want to?

"I love you," Julie whispered, touching his lips with gentle fingertips.

Green eyes locked on blue ones. Even in the darkness, she could see tears on his eyelashes. "I can't lose you," he replied, and she could almost hear her heart break.

And she couldn't even promise he wouldn't.

Julie burrowed tight into Dean's chest, pressing as close to him as humanly possible. And as she blinked away the tears in her eyes, she saw the clock on their nightstand and her heart nearly stopped.

12:00

Tears rushed back into her eyes and Julie Carters clung tightly to Dean Winchester as a terrifying thought bounced around in her skull.

She had exactly one day to live. One day left to hug Cas and laugh with Sam and bicker with Crowley and fight the evil things in the world. One day left to be with her best friend in her home. One day left to kiss Dean and touch him and tell him she loved him. One day left with the man she loved.

One day.


	99. Chapter 99

**Author's Note: **I am so sorry.

* * *

**Chapter Ninety-Nine**

When the sun rose on Julie's last morning, she and Dean were still awake, like they had been all night, to watch the dim bit of light begin to seep through the shades. Part of Julie wanted to get up and watch her last sunrise, but she decided it couldn't possibly be as beautiful and worth looking at as the face she was staring at.

And God, was he beautiful. Handsome, sure, but Julie really felt that beautiful was the right word to describe Dean Winchester. His perfect jawline, his sculpted cheekbones, his proportional features, his plump, full lips, his gorgeous green eyes…he was far more beautiful than any silly old sunrise.

She probably would have laid there just staring at him like she had been for what felt like hours, but eventually their alarm began to ring. Dean rolled over in bed to turn it off, the first time the reassuring warmth of his body had left hers in hours, and she shivered involuntarily, her hands moving on their own accord to seek out his skin again. Dean rolled back into her reach, and Julie stroked her hands over him for a while before she finally felt calm enough to let him go.

Dean stretched, and Julie admired the way his beautiful, sculpted body rippled and moved as he stretched out his limbs and got up. She sat up, ignoring how that simple act made her head spin, and watched him get dressed in silence.

Whether he knew it or not, Dean pulled on Julie's favorite one of his shirts, a dark green, button-down that he rolled up at his elbows. It was generous enough to show off his muscular arms, and the green made his eyes pop. He pulled on his own favorite pair of jeans, not uncomfortably tight, and well-worn so that they stretched in just the right ways to give him full range of motion. He sat down on the bed next to Julie to pull on socks, and then he reached for his boots. But Julie was suddenly desperate to help him, and so she dropped to the ground at his feet and wordlessly slipped his boots on and laced them up, ignoring how her fingers were shaking.

Julie looked up at Dean from her position kneeling at his feet, a deep, terrible kind of sorrow in her eyes. Dean reached down and gently brushed his calloused fingers over her cheeks, slid his hands down her sides until he reached her hips, and gently lifted her to sit next to him once more. He kissed her once, soft and gentle, not leading anywhere, just to kiss her.

She probably would have gone on kissing him forever until the hounds came for her, but eventually Dean's large hands were pulling her up and gently guiding her over to her closet. Julie thought about what she wanted to wear on her last day of life, and then a grim sort of determination came into her eyes.

Dean watched in silence as Julie pulled on his favorite pair of her jeans, the ones that fit her ass and thighs just right, but still gave her easily enough range of movement to fight. Then she pulled on a generously low-cut blue t-shirt, her favorite, and slid the leather jacket Sam had bought her on. She reached for her own combat boots, but Dean insisted on having her sit down on the bed so he could put her boots on like she had for him. Once he was done lacing them up, he just brushed his lips against Julie's legs, silently worshipping at her feet while she tangled her fingers in his hair.

And then all too soon, it was past time to be up. The two of them quickly finished getting ready and stepped out of their bedroom. Neither of them had spoken a word yet all morning, but they walked in silence, holding hands, into the kitchen.

Sam waited there, with a mug of coffee for each of them. His lips twitched as he tried to smile at Julie, and failed miserably. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he clearly hadn't slept much more than they had.

Before he handed Julie her coffee, he silently wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She stayed in his arms for a long moment, and when she finally did pull away, she could barely even muster up a weak smile for him. He returned an equally pitiful smile and gave her the coffee she so desperately needed. Then the three of them sat down for leftovers from yesterday's extravagant breakfast, sitting close together and eating in silence.

No one had said a word all morning yet. There was nothing to say, really. At least, nothing good.

An hour or so later, Cas arrived on their doorstep. He entered the bunker wordlessly as well and went straight to Julie's side to give her a quick hug. When he pulled away from her, he finally spoke the first words anyone had heard all day, breaking their somber silence with, "I've got purified blood for Julie to use for the trial. I figured it would help her stay strong if she wasn't losing blood on top of everything."

"Thanks, Cas," Sam said gratefully. Then he swallowed and asked anxiously, "Any news on where Beelzebub might be hiding?"

Castiel looked down briefly. "Well…yes." All three hunters looked up, intrigued. "We…we discovered where he means to break the final seal yesterday."

"And you didn't tell us?" Dean snapped, the first words he had spoken all day.

"Well…he isn't exactly hiding," Cas admitted. "He means to break the final seal at the same church where Ruby once tricked Sam into raising Lucifer the first time." Sam looked down, his jaw clenched painfully tight. "And I don't think he cares if we know where he is. The reason Crowley was able to capture a demon is because Beelzebub has brought dozens of them to the surface to defend the church, make it a fortress. He doesn't care if we know where he is because it will be very near impossible to reach him."

"Of course it will," Sam sighed. "Well, what were we expecting? Him to just let us stop him?" He took a moment to collect his thoughts. "Any ideas on what the final seal would be?"

"I imagine it must be something like the original final seal was," Cas pointed out. "Sam, you had to kill Lilith for Lucifer to rise the first time. My guess is that Beelzebub will have to sacrifice an equally valuable demon."

"I don't suppose he could just off himself and save us the trouble," Dean grumbled.

"I doubt it," the angel replied. "But the good news is, I doubt he knows we have the Colt and can kill him."

"How much time do we have?" Sam asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"As far as we can tell, until the next sunrise," Cas explained. "Lucifer can only be freed at sunrise, according to the Word of God we have discovered."

"And he would want to wait and do it until after Julie had died," Sam muttered. "To try and weaken us."

The angel nodded mutely, his expression filled with grief and sorrow. "Julie…I wish there was any other way-"

"There's not," she said softly, her first words on her last day. "But that's not your fault, Cas. You're doing everything you can, and I'm so thankful."

Again, he just nodded mutely. Before anyone had to think of something to say, there was another knock at the door. Sam went to open the door and let Crowley and the chained victim he was dragging in with him.

"There you are, Juliet," Crowley sighed, throwing the chained demon at her feet. "One demon, ripe and ready to be cured."

The demon's eyes flashed black and he snarled angry, foul words at them, but they were muffled by the gag in his mouth. Julie sighed and turned away from the demon to give Dean a pleading look. Without needing another word, he and Cas scooped up the demon and dragged him into the dungeon, where they were surely chaining him up for her to cure later. Crowley and Sam briefly went over the game plan while Julie stood there, not really focused on anything, leaning into the comfort of Sam's side until Dean returned.

It was time to get to work. Sam sat down and sent texts to Chel and Ian, Mitch and Ellie, and Leah and Jim requesting that they all meet at the bunker at noon tomorrow, but giving no details other than that it was urgent. Then he sat down and wrote a letter, with Julie helping him when she could. Meanwhile, Cas and Dean set up the dungeon for Julie to cure the demon they held captive. When they were done, Cas and Dean joined Julie, Sam, and Crowley and went over battle plans.

Sam and Cas were to go and gather as many angels as they could and organize them for war. Crowley was going to go scope out the church where they would soon be battling, and then meet up with the army and prepare for war. Honestly, Dean should probably go with them, too, but he was insisting on staying here and being by Julie's side as she cured the demon, closed the gates, and died.

Before Crowley left, Julie insisted on getting an honest goodbye from him. The demon looked her up and down, smiled ruefully, and said in a voice that almost seemed to have real emotion behind it, "It's too bad it has to be you dying, Juliet darling. You always were my favorite out of these imbeciles."

"Because I'm hot?" she guessed, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, that certainly helps," he smirked.

"Well, if I really am your favorite, can you grant me one dying wish?" Julie asked sweetly. Crowley smiled indulgently. "Once, just once…call me Julie."

His rueful smile widened a little. "Goodbye, Julie. I really do hope this works out. I'd really rather not see you go back to hell."

And then the demon was gone.

Before Sam and Cas left, Julie insisted on sitting them all down and making lunch. It was nothing special, just sandwiches and some fruit and bottles of water, but Julie made it all on her own, and she was proud she could complete that one simple act. She gladly fed the three most important men in her life, smiling thankfully at Cas when he ate the food even though he didn't really need the sustenance. No one really talked much, because they couldn't think of anything not horribly depressing to say, but just being together, the four of them, for what was probably the last time was enough.

But all too soon, Sam and Cas had to go. Cas pulled Julie aside to say his last goodbye to her, but once they were alone, he could not find the words to speak. He took her in, this pale, fragile, weak, wonderful woman, and remembered when he had first met her. He didn't know her. She was just some girl sharing Dean's bed and acting like she belonged with him and Sam, and for some reason he had felt threatened by her presence, like they didn't need him anymore.

But once he had gotten to know her, he realized how wrong he had been. Julie Carters was wonderful, everything he would want in a partner for Dean. She was strong and brave and brilliant and kind and loving, and she took care of the damaged man that was his whole world. That had really been the defining thing that had brought them together and made Cas realize how much he loved this human girl: for both of them, Dean was their whole world. And even though she was destroying him now, she had saved him and made him happier than Cas had ever seen him.

Cas would always love Julie for that.

Julie sniffled and gave Cas a watery smile. "I don't know how to do this," she admitted softly.

"Julie," he said gently, taking her shoulders in his hands. "It has been a pleasure to know you. You are a truly kind, noble, good person, good enough that you put most angels to shame." She laughed shakily, her eyes sparkling with tears.

He swallowed and continued as best he could. "I…I am so very glad that Dean found you. You are the only person I have ever known who not only deserves him, but truly makes him happy. And I am so glad that you are my friend."

"Dammit, Cas," Julie choked out through the lump in her throat. "You're too good at making me cry!"

He laughed shakily and pulled her in for a tight hug. There was no one alive he had hugged anywhere near as much as he hugged this woman. She just had such an easy, likable quality that he felt more comfortable around her than just about anyone.

"You deserve heaven," he whispered into her hair. "And if I could, I would die to make sure you go where you deserve."

Julie pulled away to smile gratefully up at him, tears still in her eyes. "Thank you, Cas," she whispered. "You have no idea how much that means to me. And I am so, so glad that we're friends. Thank you for accepting me."

"Of course," the angel said, surprising himself by touching her cheek in an almost parental gesture. "And I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to protect them once you can't anymore."

"I know you will," she whispered, smiling up at him.

And then there was nothing left to say. Cas took a deep breath, steeled himself, and then said softly, "Goodbye, Julie."

Julie blinked back tears and choked out, "Bye, Cas."

She watched the angel go, barely fighting back her tears. Then she took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes until she got her tears under control.

When she finally got her emotions in check and opened her eyes, she found Sam Winchester standing in front of her with the most heartbreaking look on his face, and then she promptly burst into tears.

Sam pulled her into his shirt and let her bury her face deep in the fabric to muffle her sobs. He clutched at the jacket he had bought her, grabbing fistfuls and clinging tightly to her as he blinked back his own tears. God, he wasn't ready to lose her, the best friend he had ever had, a woman he had loved with all his heart, a woman he still loved…

Julie tried just breathing in the familiar smell of Sam, hoping it would calm her, but it only made her want to cry harder. Here was her Sam, so warm and steady and comforting as he held her, and this could very well be the last time he ever held her like this.

"God, Sam," she sobbed into his chest. "I…I'm not ready to lose you."

He felt a tear fall and didn't bother trying to wipe it away. Instead he squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his cheek against the top of her head.

"If there was any other way," he choked out, his voice breaking as he spoke. He felt Julie's grip on his shirt tighten at the sound of his voice.

Sam had no idea how long they stood there like that, crying softly as they clung tightly to each other, but eventually Julie got her sobs under control enough to pull out of his shirt. She wiped at the tears staining her cheeks and stared up at him, her face tragic but still beautiful.

This was not the same woman Sam had met all those months ago. That first image of her was forever burned into his brain, her standing there in the moonlight, pale and slender and curvy and blonde and beautiful. And she wasn't the same woman he had fallen in love with either, a beautiful, funny, brilliant, relatively carefree, loving woman who had quickly become his closest friend in the world. And she was still beautiful, even dying and heartbroken like she was now. And he still loved her, although not in that same way. It broke his heart to see how much being in their lives had changed and ruined Julie Carters.

But he had to admit, even with all the death and tragedy they had experienced in the past two years…he would still rather have met her than not.

Julie couldn't think of enough words to express everything Sam meant to her, to tell him how grateful she was and how much she cared about him. There weren't words. Besides, everything she could possibly say, he already knew.

So Julie just choked out in a tear-filled voice, "Sam…I love you."

"I love you too," he whispered, brushing a giant thumb across her cheek to wipe away her tears.

Julie stretched up as far as she could and pressed her lips to his cheek for a long moment. Sam wrapped his arms back around Julie, and they stayed there embracing for a very long time, until Sam knew he had no choice but to leave now, or they would have no time to get everything they needed to done before the world ended.

Still…letting go of Julie Carters and walking away from her was one of the hardest things he ever did. He wanted to run back to her and tell her how much she meant to him, to stay by her side and protect her or die trying. He wanted to do anything other than leave her.

But instead, Sam walked away from his best friend in the world, knowing deep in his heart that he would never see her again.

* * *

"I'm fine, Dean, I just need to sit," Julie protested weakly as Dean fretted over her. She had only passed out for a moment, but that didn't matter to him. He was asking as if she had just gone into cardiac arrest or something the way he was worrying over her anxiously, effectively smothering her.

Julie pushed away from Dean weakly and staggered out of the dungeon. He followed close behind her, ready to catch her if she fell, but Julie leaned on the wall for support and made it to a couch in the library where she collapsed gratefully onto the comfortable chair.

Dean settled down next to Julie, watching her with anxious green eyes. Julie smiled weakly up at him and brushed her fingers across his cheek in a simple, tender gesture.

"I'm fine, honey, really," she whispered.

Dean snorted derisively. "No, you're not. One way or another, you're dead in two hours."

He wasn't wrong. It was ten o'clock at night, and for the past several hours, she had been injecting purified blood into their captive demon, curing him and weakening herself at the same time. They had lost a couple hours after the fifth injection when Julie had passed out for more than a moment. She had been out for nearly two hours, and Dean hadn't even tried to wake her, wanting her to keep her strength up as much as possible. Unfortunately, that left them with no wiggle room. In two hours, she would either have finished curing the demon, or the hellhounds would be coming for her.

But all Julie did was snort, "Cheery," and settle back into Dean's side. He draped an arm around her shoulders and they settled down to wait another hour before she could give the demon another injection.

"Remember the time we hunted that shifter in New Orleans?" Julie asked absently after a few moments of silence. They had been doing this for hours, thinking back over their two years together and reminiscing.

"The one who tried to pretend to be me, but was so shitty at it you stabbed him on day two of the hunt?" Dean guessed.

"Oh, he wasn't that bad," Julie protested. "I'm just an amazing hunter." Dean smiled fondly at that. "But I was actually talking about what happened after that."

"Oh, right," he said. "We thought we'd be there for a week, so we got a nice hotel for the whole week."

"Right," Julie said, smiling at the memory. "So we stayed there for five days, did some sightseeing. That was really fun, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "The city was cool, I guess. But all the sex was better."

She laughed and pinched his arm. "Dean! I'm trying to look back on all our fond memories!"

"What, and you aren't fond of those memories? Because I sure am." He nuzzled a little closer to her, brushing kisses across Julie's neck before continuing. "We'd only been together for like three weeks, so we were still in that sweet honeymoon phase…"

Julie smiled and leaned back into his touch. "Okay, you're right. Those are some pretty damn good memories."

"Remember how trashed that hotel room was? God, those poor employees," Dean chuckled. Julie found herself laughing as well at fond memories of a simpler time, where their only concern was a simple little shifter hunt, and they had the time to just sightsee or spend the whole day having wild, hot, break-the-bed sex.

They carried on like that for a while, remembering the early days of their relationship for a while. Those were days Julie didn't think about very often anymore. It seemed like a different lifetime, leaving her home with a man she barely knew but already loved and traveling the country with him for a month, going on hunts and living in crappy motel rooms until they decided they wanted to settle down. Leaving her family for a man she'd known for two weeks is something she normally never would have done. She was a reasonable, sensible, practical woman, at least until it came to Dean. This man made her come undone, made her rethink everything she had ever believed. For Dean Winchester she had sold her soul, something she had sworn she would never do. For Dean Winchester she had gone to hell for ten years. For Dean Winchester she had lost her sanity, her safety, even her soul.

But staring up at him as he smiled sadly down at her…she decided it was all worth it. She was going to die with no regrets.

All too soon, her hour was up. It was time to go inject more blood into the demon and come one step closer to death. Julie shuddered when Dean's watch began to beep, signaling that she only had one hour to live. He squeezed her hand tightly and gently helped her to her feet. Then Julie walked with her head held high and Dean at her side back to the dungeon.

But when she opened the door, she saw the most terrible sight imaginable to her right now.

The demon was slumped low in the chair he was chained to, his left hand twisted at a terribly wrong angle, but free. But far worse than the fact that he had broken his wrist to get one hand free was the angel blade he had driven into his heart and the dead look in his eyes.

Julie could hear her blood pounding in her ears as she took in the dead demon before her. He had killed himself rather than let her finish curing him. He was dead. He was dead, and she had failed to cure him, and she was almost out of time.

She probably would have stood there, horrified and frozen in shock and fear, but Dean suddenly grabbed her arm and slammed the door. Without a word, he started dragging her through the bunker, and Julie trailed after him, lost and terrified and overwhelmed.

She finally understood when Dean stopped at the door to the bunker and grabbed a large bag of salt. He began lining the door with thick lines of salt, and then moved on to every window in the already well-guarded building. Julie watched him in silence, a dark thought blooming in her mind and growing as she watched him work feverishly.

When Dean finally stopped pouring salt, it was only to stalk into the other room and return with his arms full of guns and knives. He dumped them at Julie's feet and then gripped her shoulders tightly. "Don't worry, Jules," he told her firmly. "I'm going to keep you safe. I'll die before I let them get to you."

He would die before he let the hounds get her. That thought was obviously meant to reassure her, but it only made Julie more terrified. Dean would gladly die to protect her, but he needed to be elsewhere, fighting Beelzebub and stopping the apocalypse.

"Dean, you can't," Julie said softly. "You've got to go with Sam and Cas. You have to stop Beelzebub…"

"They have the Colt," Dean said. "They'll be fine. I need to protect you."

"No, you need to help stop Beelzebub!" she insisted. "Dean, if they can't stop him, the world ends."

"I don't care," he growled suddenly. "That doesn't matter if I can't save you."

He turned away from her and started loading devil's trap bullets into guns. Julie watched his tense back, trying to think through the whirlwind of emotions she was experiencing right now.

She was terrified, scared out of her mind. In less than an hour, hounds would come for her. They would eventually find a way through all these defenses, and they would tear her to pieces. Even more terrifying, Dean would stand in-between them and her, and they would tear through him to get to her.

She was angry. Angry that the trials had failed after all this effort. Angry that Dean wouldn't listen to reason and just go help Sam and Cas save the world.

And part of her was grateful, grateful Dean was staying with her. She wanted to believe he really could protect her and just hide behind him. Dean was strong and deadly, and maybe he really could save her. And if not…well, at least she wouldn't have to die alone.

And there it was. If Dean stayed with her, he would die. But he wasn't leaving willingly. There was only one way to do this, to keep him safe and still get him out of here in time to try to stop Beelzebub.

Julie picked up one of the guns Dean had dumped her feet and took a deep breath. She stared at his back, taking in the way his muscles rippled and the power in him one last time, and then she choked out, "I'm so sorry."

And before Dean could turn around, Julie brought the butt of the gun down on his head, knocking him out cold.

* * *

Julie could barely breathe. Her heart was pounding so hard it hurt. She could barely fight the urge to curl up in a ball and cry, to run and hide behind Dean, to let him protect her from what was coming in…she checked her phone and barely bit back a sob.

Eight minutes. Oh, God. Eight minutes to live.

Her hands were shaking so much she feared she would drop and break her phone, so she put it away. But then there was nothing to distract her from the visions, hellish and all too real. Slobbering, snarling hounds broke down the door and descended on her, ripping and tearing at her until there was nothing left. She gritted her teeth just to keep from screaming at the awful, vivid visions of what was soon to come.

Why couldn't she just hide behind Dean again? He was strong and powerful and deadly. There was a reason so many monsters feared him. He could protect her, at least for a time, and he would do anything to keep her safe.

But that was the problem. He would stay here by her side, protecting her instead of stopping the apocalypse, and he would let the world end just to keep her safe. And she couldn't let him do that. Her time for being selfish was over. Time to do one last good deed before the hounds dragged her back to an eternity in hell.

Julie had been doing a good job of not looking behind her. If she did, she would have to look at him lying there slumped against the wall, his wrist chained to a pipe, looking peaceful in sleep. And if she saw him lying there, peaceful and defenseless, she would have to think about what she was about to do to him.

To distract herself from that awful thought, Julie checked her phone again. Seven minutes now. God. She felt sick.

Behind her, Dean stirred.

Julie's stomach and fists clenched. She had half-hoped he wouldn't wake up until it was too late, so he wouldn't have to be conscious for this awful ordeal. But the other half of her had hoped to spend her last few minutes with Dean, telling this man how much he meant to her, how much she loved him, and how she couldn't bear to leave and do this to him.

Dean groaned behind her, and she still didn't turn. She heard him ask in a sleepy, confused voice, "…Jules?" She steeled herself and turned to face him, and there he was: the same handsome, charming, funny, tough, brave man she had met only a couple years ago. Except he wasn't the same. He was even more broken and hurting than he had been then. And part of that was her fault.

"What…?" Dean started to ask, pulling towards her. But then he was yanked back by his wrist, expertly handcuffed to a pipe, and his eyes widened and then narrowed when he noticed his position. His expression and he growled out, "No."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, feeling tears spring to her eyes.

"No!" he practically roared at her, more furious than she had almost ever seen him. "You are _not _doing this to me, Julie! I am not losing you to hell! Not again."

There was so much heartbreaking pain and fear in his eyes she wanted to cry. "It's the only way," she whispered brokenly.

"It sure as hell is not!" he snapped. "We can fight, we can protect you-"

"If you do that, you won't be able to stop Beelzebub, and then Lucifer will rise, and the whole planet will be destroyed," she finished in a firm, cold voice she didn't know she still possessed. "I'm sorry, Dean. This is the way it has to be."

"No," he said, and now he was begging, his voice breaking. "Honey, no. You can't do this to me. Please, Jules, no…"

Okay. She was definitely crying now. She didn't bother wiping the tears away as they spilled down her cheeks. "Honey…I'm so sorry…if there was any other way…"

"Jules," he begged, and a tear rolled down his cheek, too.

Before she could think of anything to say, his watch began to beep.

Visions of hounds coming at her, tearing off her lips, ripping open her throat, lapping up her blood overwhelmed her. By the time Julie came back to herself she was on her knees, hugging herself, and her throat was raw from screaming.

"Five minutes!" Dean was shouting. "Julie, that just means it's five minutes until midnight!"

"Oh," she whispered from her crumpled position on the ground, still shaking with fear and sobs.

Dean turned off the alarm on his watch, his eyes never leaving her. She must have looked utterly pathetic, trembling and sobbing and scared out of her mind.

"Come here," he asked her softly, holding out his unchained arm to comfort her, and like she had every time Dean had given her that request, she obeyed.

Julie crawled into the warmth and comfort of Dean's embrace, and he held her tightly, stroking her back with his free hand in simple, soothing motions. He pressed his lips to her forehead and whispered comforting words into her hair. This was such a familiar position to her, Julie could almost forget what was coming in less than five minutes.

What a wonderful man he was. How many men would comfort the woman who they loved even though she was about to abandon them and go and die on them? She doubted many men were that selfless. But he was.

After a few minutes, she was calm enough to say her last words to him. "I love you," Julie choked out, pressing close to the man she loved for the last time. "Dean, I love you so much."

"I guarantee you, I love you more," he said in his soft, deep, gravelly voice. "And I can't lose you."

Those words made her eyes sting with fresh tears. How could she do this to him? After all they'd been through, could she really leave him like this?

And then Dean's watch began to beep as midnight arrived.

She expected overwhelming panic to seize her as Dean's arm tensed up around her. But instead, a strange, soothing, steely kind of calm settled over her. Julie knew she didn't possess this kind of strength and calm, and she absently wondered if there was a God, and if he was trying to help her in this difficult moment as a reward for the good works she had done.

Whatever the case, it didn't matter. It was time to go.

Julie turned in Dean's arm and cupped his face in her hands. He just stared at her, looking for terror and finding none. She leaned in and kissed him one last time, pressing her lips to his for one last long, sweet, heavenly moment.

And then she abruptly stood up and pulled away.

Or at least she tried. But before she could get out of his reach, Dean's hand clamped around her wrist in a death grip. She stared at his hand, then back at him, and saw the terrifying, steely determination in his eyes.

"Dean, let go of me," she said as firmly as she could.

"You'll have to hack my hand off before I let you go out there and kill yourself," he said coldly, unyielding.

She stared him down for a moment, and then pulled a gun out of her waistband and leveled it at his head. "Let go," she warned him.

Dean just smirked bitterly at her. "Yeah, right. You and I both know you aren't going to shoot me, Jules."

"Dean, please," she begged him, not wanting to do something to hurt him, but knowing he wouldn't relent.

"No," he growled. "You want to kill yourself and go to hell, and you can't honestly expect me to let you do that."

"Fine," she snapped, and then she brought her gun down hard on Dean's knuckles. The pain stunned him enough that his grip slackened slightly involuntarily, and then she pulled free and far out of his reach.

"No!" he cried, reaching for her and falling short. "Julie, no!"

She shook her head, feeling the tears well up in her eyes again. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't do this!" he shouted desperately, even as she knelt down and picked up an angel blade.

Before she could reply, she heard the first howl.

They both felt silent as they heard distant, blood-chilling howls start up, growing higher and louder and hungrier as the seconds ticked away. They had found her. It was time.

Julie was shaking slightly. Her expression was brave, but she was still shaking. And honestly, who wouldn't be, with her death and return to hell so imminent?

"Jules, honey, it's okay," Dean called gently. "We'll find another way, okay? Just let me go and I'll take care of you. You'll be okay. I promise."

She wouldn't look at him, though. She shook her head slightly, steeled herself, and headed for the door.

"Julie, no!" he shouted, desperate, begging. "I'm begging you, honey, no! Please, Jules, don't! Don't do this to me, please…"

She turned to look at him, tears in her eyes. "Dean…I want you to know how much I love you. And I want you to know how sorry I am."

"No."

"Give Sam and Cas my love."

"Stop."

She smiled sadly. "Even Crowley."

"Please!"

She turned and walked over the door. "No, please! Don't do this to me, Jules! I love you, and if he gets you, I…don't do this…"

Julie turned one last time and gave him the most dazzling, beautiful smile, tarnished only by the tears running down her cheeks. "I love you," she said simply. Finally.

And then she swiftly opened the door, stepped out into the night, and sealed it behind her.

Even through the thick door and over his desperate shouts, Dean still heard the fierce growls of several hellhounds. In the back of his mind, he was proud and pleased to hear the loud, dying keen of a hellhound falling at her hands. Another hound whined in pain, but the next sound of pain was horribly familiar and human. Julie.

Dean cried out, screaming her name, and in response there was another pained scream. And then another, a long, drawn-out sound that almost sounded like his name.

And then it ended abruptly.

Then there was silence.

Dean roared her name until his voice broke, straining so hard against the handcuffs that they cut his skin and made him bleed. He vaguely became aware of the fact that he was sobbing, huge, gross, painful sobs like he hadn't cried in years.

It was still silent outside. Deathly silent.

He cried her names a few last times, but there was never any response. Just silence. And Dean sobbed brokenly, too destroyed to be ashamed, because he knew. He just knew.

Julie Carters, the love of his life, was dead. She was back in hell, waiting to be tortured and violated and broken by Beelzebub.

And he was alone.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Wow. That was tough. Killing Julie was like killing a part of me, since I feel like I've been writing this character forever. Once again, I am so, so sorry for what I've done. But I promise, it will all make sense by the end of the final chapter. And speaking of...to make up for how rarely I've been updating lately, I will be releasing the final chapter of A Different Road either tomorrow or sometime on Monday, depending on when I get it wrapped up. It'll be a pretty huge showdown, so be ready. Until then...I am so sorry. (And thanks for continuing to read and review. I love you all, even if you hate me after this!)


	100. Chapter 100

**Author's Note: **Buckle up, guys. This one's about to get rough.

* * *

**Chapter One Hundred**

Before Sam even came within sight of the bunker, he knew something was wrong.

It was silent. Not the natural quiet of nighttime, almost silent, but filled with the soft sounds of wind blowing and bugs chirping. It was the unnatural sort of silence that followed a great and horrible death.

So he knew he should have been expecting it when he rounded the corner and saw the body just outside the bunker door. But nothing could really prepare him for the awful sight of his best friend's ruined, lifeless body lying in a pool of her own blood.

At first he just sort of stood there, staring but not comprehending. His brain shut down, refusing to accept that the shredded, bloody body there was hers. The real Julie, the Julie he loved, was a whole, strong, beautiful person, not a ruined shell like that body was.

And then the damn broke.

Cas watched with a heartbroken expression as Sam took off running for her body. He fell to his knees, not caring when her blood stained the knees of his jeans. He scooped her body up, large hands gathering up her tiny little frame and cradling her close to his chest, ignoring the blood and gore staining his hands and shirt.

Sam felt futilely for a pulse in her neck, trying to ignore how cold and stiff she was, even though it wasn't even one in the morning yet. She couldn't have been dead that long, for she was clearly dead. Even if her cold body and lack of a pulse couldn't tell him that, her shredded stomach and mangled leg and the horrifying amount of blood she had been lying in did.

At least not all of the blood was hers. Some of the blood was the dark, thick blood of hellhounds, so at least she had taken a couple down with her.

But it hadn't been enough.

Sam rocked back and forth on his knees, clutching Julie's body in to his chest and muttering an endless chant of, "No, no, Julie, no, not like this…"

Cas felt an intense sort of sorrow like he had almost never felt as he stared at Julie Carters' dead body in Sam's arms. She looked so tiny and frail in his massive arms, a pretty, broken little doll. He didn't even have to reach out with his grace to know Julie's soul was long gone, and this was just an empty shell of her.

After what felt like an eternity, Sam lifted his head from where he had buried it in her neck and stared up at Cas with wide, tear-filled eyes. "Dean," he choked out, sounding terrified.

Cas frowned, not comprehending the panic rising in Sam's eyes. "Cas, if the hounds got to her…Dean wouldn't have let that happen. He would have died before he let them get her…"

And now Cas understood. Without a moment of hesitation, he teleported just inside the door to the bunker, looking around wildly for any sign that Dean was alive and that he hadn't died defending her or been dragged off to suffer at Beelzebub's hands.

He didn't have to search long. Just a few yards away, his best friend sat with his back slumped against the wall, his wrist shackled to a pipe. Cas immediately understood what Julie must have done to protect him.

And clearly Dean understood what had happened. His shoulders were sagged down with such defeat, his eyes so dull and lifeless, his cheeks still stained with tear tracks. But the tears had dried up, and now Dean just sat there, looking listless and utterly destroyed as he stared up at Cas.

"Dean, you're alright!" Cas cried relieved.

Those dull, emotionless green eyes just stared blankly at him. "She's not though," he said in a low, hoarse, flat voice. "Is she?"

Before Cas had to answer that awful question, someone knocked on the door. Cas snapped his fingers and Dean's handcuffs sprang open. He slowly rose to his feet, watching warily as Cas walked to the door and unlocked it.

And then Sam walked in, carrying her body like one would a child. Her pale, lifeless face was turned into his chest so Dean wouldn't have to see her dead eyes, but the sheer amount of blood all over her body and Sam's clothes answered his question.

Dean couldn't seem to turn away from her body as Sam slowly carried her into the bunker, eying him anxiously. "Dean…" he finally tried weakly. "God, I'm so sorry…"

"We've got to end him," Dean said suddenly, sharply, looking away from her limp, bloody frame.

"What?" Cas asked bewildered.

"Beelzebub. We have to go end him now before he has time to go down to hell." Dean's voice was hard and deadly. "I will die before I let him touch her."

Sam nodded, trying and failing not to think about how Dean had sworn he would die before he let Julie die and go to hell. And yet here she was, a cold corpse, while her soul prepared for eternal suffering in hell…

"My army is ready to fight," Cas said after a moment. "Sam has the Colt. Whenever you are ready, Dean, we will attack."

Dean watched in silence as Sam lay Julie's body down on a nearby couch, stretching her out in an almost natural position. He pulled a blanket over most of her body, leaving only her neck and face uncovered, the least bloody part of her. Looking at her like that, Dean could almost believe she was just asleep, if it weren't for the deathly pallor of her skin and the lack of air passing between her lips.

"I just…I need a second," he admitted softly. Sam and Cas both nodded sadly at him. Sam paused a moment to kiss Julie's cold forehead, blinking back tears, and then he followed Cas outside, leaving Dean alone with her body.

He didn't really have any words left to say. Not that it mattered. She couldn't hear him anyway. But he approached her body slowly, almost afraid to get to close to her corpse. He sank to his knees beside the couch, staring at her face, almost peaceful in death. He waited for tears to come, but he had already shed every tear left in him.

Dean reached inside his jacket and pulled out the two wooden jewelry boxes he always carried with him now. Some foolishly hopeful part of him had hung on to these rings given to him by Jasper in case they all survived this mess and saved the day. Then he could finally marry the wonderful woman he loved and have a shot at a semi-normal, happy life.

Well, he finally had to let that dream go. Despite all those whispered promises of surviving this and declarations of love, Julie was dead. Julie Carters was dead, and there was no point in hanging onto these rings anymore.

He opened the box that held Katrina Carters' old ring and found Julie's small, cold hand under the blanket. Ignoring the blood on her palm, he slid the simple, silver ring onto her ring finger and then pressed his lips to her cold knuckles for a long moment until his warm breath brought some warmth back to her skin. Then he dropped her hand, blinking back a few tears that had fought their way to the surface, and placed the box containing Thomas Carters' old ring in her hand. He curled her lifeless fingers around the jewelry box, pressed one final kiss to the forehead of the woman he loved, stood up, and walked away.

He would gladly stay here forever, grieving at her side, but he couldn't. He would gladly search desperately for a way to save her, but he didn't have the time. The monster that had taken her life and her soul was still alive, and he could not let that remain true.

He still had work to do.

* * *

Beelzebub stood at the entrance to the old, white, stone church, smiling as he breathed in the night air. One-thirty in the morning, and Sam and Dean Winchester had yet to arrive. They must still be grieving over their precious little pet. He had felt her die through their bond made by her deal, and it had brought a fierce, perverted kind of joy to him. The thought of her soul waiting for him down in hell thrilled him. His fingers itched to start taking that pretty little thing apart.

But he had to be patient just a few more hours, just until the sun rose. By then, Sam Winchester would come along and try to fight him, and he could take the vessel captive just in time for his lord to rise. And when Sam arrived, he would bring Dean with him, and Beelzebub would finally get to end that irritating, arrogant nuisance and put him in hell with his little slut.

Finally, the plans he had been making for the last six months were coming to culmination. If all went well, he would get to tear the wings off of that irritating angel Castiel like an insect, dismember that meddling Crowley, and rip Dean Winchester apart before the night was out.

If they would just show up…

Beelzebub looked around the grounds of the church, noting with approval the nearly two dozen demons guarding the church from outside. Andover two dozen more waited inside, anxious for a chance to take out the infamous Winchesters and their pet angel and demon. Their reign of terror was about to end. Those hunters had somehow survived this long, but they would not be surviving tonight, at least not without becoming Lucifer's vessel.

Beelzebub was so caught up in his fantasies of hacking the angel to pieces while the Winchesters watched that he didn't even notice the first demon fall.

The first four demons died so quickly the others didn't even have time to notice. Finally, one of the demons had a chance to give a quick cry of alarm before Dean Winchester ran him through with his demon-killing knife.

Beelzebub's head whipped to follow the sound and he watched as the fifth demon fell, revealing Dean Winchester standing there, tall and dark and murderous. When Beelzebub met the hunter's eyes, he saw fury and vengeance and darkness like he had never seen before. The man held his gaze, unflinching, murder in those green eyes, and for one of the first times in his existence, Beelzebub felt something almost like…fear.

He shook it off and smiled nastily at the man whose life he had just destroyed. Then he turned on his heel and retreated deeper into the church, knowing that man would do or kill anything to get to him.

There were two dozen demons waiting outside, armed and ready for battle. They should have been able to at least hold their own against the ten angels, two humans, and one demon that had arrived to fight them. But one of those men fought with such a fury that he cut down more than even the powerful warrior angel leading the angels. Eight demons fell at the hands of a murderous Dean Winchester, and he still did not look sated.

It took barely two minutes to kill every demon standing in their path. Dean didn't hesitate, though. As soon as all the demons outside the church were dead, he headed inside, with Sam and Cas on his heels. But Cas hesitated outside the church, eying sigils painted along the walls.

"Dean…" he started slowly.

"What?" the hunter snapped, turning to face him.

"These sigils…they greatly weaken the power of angels," he admitted. "We're not going to be able to smite or fly or really do anything but fight physically."

"Then fight physically," Dean said coldly. "We can't stop. We have to end that monster before he raises Lucifer."

"He's right," Cas told his nervous-looking angels. "I am going in. Those of you who are willing, follow us."

He was gratified to see every angel that had come to fight follow him in. But as soon as they were in, Cas almost regretted leading his followers in here. Dozens of demons, close to thirty of them, descended upon them, and without the majority of their powers, the angels were pretty equal in power with the demons.

This fight was much more difficult and bloody. There was less room to fight, so the waves of demons pressed down on them, nearly overwhelming them. Two angels fell under the onslaught, and Hannah and two other angels were severely wounded. Crowley nearly lost a hand as he took on three demons at once. Sam and Dean fared the best, fighting back to back, stabbing and parrying and slicing with their blades. Sam refused to use the Colt though. It had only come with one bullet, just their luck. They had one shot and one shot only to end Beelzebub.

Eventually, the fighting subsided. The floors of this beautiful church were soaked in blood, bodies of demons littering the halls. The angels huddled over their two fallen, grieving silently as they took in the image of their fallen brethren's wings burned into the walls.

Cas ordered the three wounded angels to retreat, taking the bodies of their fallen brothers with them. He felt a lot less confident with only four other angels besides himself, especially since they now had to face Beelzebub and almost certainly Apollyon. But he refused to let it show, following bravely behind Sam and Dean as they headed for the center of the church, the room where once Lucifer had risen the first time.

Someone must have reconstructed this church, because it had been all but destroyed when Lucifer rose the first time. Still, they had recreated it eerily well, because Sam was getting extreme dejavu. He could almost see Ruby walking at his side, egging him on, almost feel the demon blood pumping through his veins. Here had been his greatest failure. He had failed to trust his brother, listening to a demon instead, drinking her blood and sleeping with her and letting her warp him into something almost monstrous. And here he had ended the demon who had dragged his brother to hell, thinking he was doing the right thing.

Here he had freed Lucifer and started the apocalypse. Here he had become responsible for the deaths of countless innocents. Here he had lost a part of his brother's trust he could probably never fully regain.

He wasn't ready to be back here. But he had to be, if he wanted to make up for that awful mistake. This time he was here with Dean, trusting his brother instead of a manipulative demon. This time he was here for vengeance, true, but it was for his best friend, for a woman he loved.

And this time, he was not going to fail.

Sam, Dean, Cas, Crowley, and four other angels threw the huge oak doors open and walked into the center of the church. Beelzebub and Apollyon stood at the altar, Apollyon riding a tall, statuesque blonde with blue eyes and ridiculous curves. Beelzebub's lips curved up in a cruel smile when he saw how much their numbers had diminished, and then he slammed his bloody palm down onto a sigil painted on the white stone altar.

A white light flashed through the room, banishing all the angels and even Crowley. When the light faded, Sam and Dean were alone against two near-invincible demons. They both shifted into fighting positions, but the Knights seemed to be in no hurry to kill them.

"Hey, boys," Apollyon purred. "How's Julie doing?"

"You bitch," Dean snarled, lunging towards her. Sam barely managed to grab his arm and pull him back before he was within striking distance of the Knights of Hell.

"You'd better watch that mouth of yours, Dean," Apollyon laughed. "Boys with dirty mouths usually end up downstairs. Although, at least you'd get to be with her again."

"Why don't you do us all a favor and shut the hell up?" Sam growled at her. "We're not here for you, Apollyon."

"Ooh," Beelzebub chuckled, amused. "Sam's feisty tonight. And you're usually the more stable one."

"That was before you murdered my best friend," he shot back icily.

Apollyon licked her lips as she eyed Sam. "Damn, Sam, you're sexy when you're pissed," she said seductively. "I've always been a little distracted by big brother, but he's old news now. Maybe I've got my eye on the wrong brother…"

She began to prowl closer to Sam, and Dean bristled, ready to defend his little brother. "Apollyon, back off that one," Beelzebub said sharply. "I need him in one piece for our lord."

"Oh, I'll leave him in one piece," she crooned. "I'd hate to ruin something so fine."

Sam rolled his eyes at her, unimpressed. At least until she suddenly lunged forward, lightning fast, and got ahold of him. Before Dean had realized what was going on, Apollyon had her hands on Sam, her sharp nails digging into his forearms as she pinned him against the wall several feet away from Dean. Dean started to lunge towards her, but she suddenly had a dainty little knife at Sam's throat, forcing his head back.

"Take one more step and I'll spill his blood like my brother's hounds spilled your precious Julie's," she said viciously, her eyes steely and cold.

Gritting his teeth in anger, Dean took a step back from her. Sam's teeth were also gritted as he tried and failed to break free from her inhumanly powerful grip. Apollyon trailed her blade up and down Sam's exposed throat, then slid it down to teasingly pop a couple of the buttons off of his shirt, exposing more skin. She pushed his shirt to the side and traced the outline of his anti-demon possession with the tip of her knife.

"I remember you, Sam," Apollyon purred. "You were one of the first men to ever reject me. Remember? I was riding your precious Juliet, and I tried to kiss you, to make it seem like she was picking you instead of silly old Dean over there. And I thought I was pretty damn convincing, too!" She leaned in close to whisper in his ear, "But you…you turned me down. Sent me packing. Not many men can do that, Sammy."

She bit his earlobe, and he groaned in disgust, trying once again to throw her off.

"Get off him, bitch, before I make you," Dean snarled, unable to bear just standing here watching her torment his little brother like she had done repeatedly to him.

"You know, I was always kind of jealous of that Julie," Apollyon continued, as if Dean hadn't spoken. "She had both of you worshipping at her feet. She could have had either Winchester brother with a word. But silly Juliet…she just settled for one." She leaned closer to him, pressing her full breasts against him. Sam looked away, disgusted by this woman he would normally find very sexy. "If it makes you feel any better, Sam…I would have at least let both of you have me. I don't mind sharing."

"You're disgusting," he told her flatly, unimpressed.

She laughed and dug the knife into his chest, breaking skin and drawing blood. He groaned through gritted teeth, and Dean went mad, roaring at Apollyon to stop.

"That's enough, sister," Beelzebub called coldly. "I told you that you could have Dean for a little bit. I didn't say anything about this one."

"But I've already gotten to have a little fun with Dean," Apollyon whined, sounding like a petulant child. "I want this one now."

"I warned you not to hurt him," the king of the Knights snarled. "We want that one whole for our lord."

"Oh, that didn't hurt, did it, Sammy?" she asked teasingly, twisting the knife in his skin and causing him to suck in a quick, pained breath. "We're just having fun, you and me."

"Get your filthy hands off him, bitch, or I swear to God I will tear you apart-" Dean started.

Before he could finish his threat, though, Apollyon suddenly screamed in pain as the First Blade sank into her back. Sam watched in shock and horror as a fiery light burned inside her, and then she sagged to the floor, dead.

Dean rushed to Sam's side and dragged him away from Beelzebub. The demon who was not the only living Knight of Hell calmly wiped his Blade clean on Apollyon's shirt. "Sorry about her, Sam," he said conversationally. "She was always one of my more annoying siblings. Horny, pathetic little bitch that could barely even fight. I don't know how she outlived all the others."

"Why did you kill her?" Sam asked as he pressed his hand down on the cut on his chest, trying to slow the bleeding.

"Same reason you killed Lilith," he replied calmly. "The final seal requires the sacrifice of a Knight of Hell. I was going to have to kill her sometime, and she wasn't listening to my orders. Might as well just kill her now. And as soon as the sun rises, I can complete the ritual and my Lord Lucifer will rise again."

"That's not happening," Dean growled.

"Right," Beelzebub smirked. "Because a couple of tough guy hunters are going to stop me with some toothpicks. Face it, boys. You can't kill me or stop me from raising Lucifer. Just like you couldn't save Julie."

"You don't get to say her name," Dean snarled in a deadly voice.

"Oh, I get to do a lot more than that," he laughed cruelly. "I own her now, Dean. She's _mine_, for the rest of eternity. And ever since your angel buddy Castiel took her from me the first time, I've been planning out every dark, dirty thing I'm going to do to her." He smirked nastily at the murderous look on both brothers' faces. "You boys know as well as I do how…_desirable_ she is. And oh, the things I'm going to do to that sweet little body, the ways I'm going to make her scream-"

It was actually Sam who snapped first. He lunged forward, surprising Dean and Beelzebub both, and lodged his angel blade in Beelzebub's chest. While the Knight was still recovering from the shock and pain, Sam slammed him into the wall and began punching him in the face over and over again, shouting between blows, "You—will—never—touch—her!"

And then Beelzebub finally recover. His face twisted in rage, his eyes filled with a darkness Dean recognized as the Mark of Cain taking over, and then he ripped the angel blade out of his own chest and buried it in Sam's.

"_No_!" Dean roared as his brother fell to the ground, the blade straight through his heart. He ran to Sam's side, straight past Beelzebub, ignoring the demon as he stood there, staring in shock at what he'd done.

Dean collapsed next to his little brother, pulling Sam's head and shoulders into his lap and trying to prop him up so he could breathe better. "Just hang on, Sammy," he breathed, cupping Sam's face in his hands. "Just stay with me. I'll get you out of here, I'll find Cas, you'll be okay…just hang on…"

Sam's hand was moving weakly, reaching for something in his jacket. Dean understood and slid his hand inside Sam's jacket. His fingers curled around the Colt and he instantly understood what Sam wanted to do. He quickly slipped it into his own jacket before Beelzebub could notice.

"It's okay, Sammy," Dean choked out as he tried to shift his brother into a more comfortable position. "You're okay, I'll take care of you. I'll get you out of this."

But he was already too pale. His chest was barely rising and falling with each weak breath he sucked in, and there was already too much blood staining his chest.

Sam locked his hazel eyes on Dean's, staring up at him like he used to when he was just a chubby-cheeked kid, the same kind of faith and trust and hero worship in his eyes at this moment. Sam sucked in a rattling breath and rested his hand over Dean's on his chest as he spoke two last words: "Stop him."

And then Sam let out his last breath and his eyes fell shut.

The church was silent. The whole earth was silent. Dean was fairly certain he wasn't breathing either as Sam's face became blurry through the film of tears in his eyes. He just clung tightly to Sam's huge hand and tried not to think.

For some reason, he was remembering a moment over twenty years ago. Sammy was little, seven or eight, a skinny little thing lost under a mop of shaggy brown hair. Dad was out, as usual, and so Dean was taking care of a sick little Sammy. He had tucked his little brother in, fed him soup, taken his temperature, and even gone to the store and bought flu medicine with some of his own money he had earned doing odd jobs. He was sitting next to his little brother, feeling his clammy forehead and fretting over him like the mother Sam would never have.

And little Sammy had reached out with his tiny little hand and taken Dean's hand. He had squeezed it and smiled up at him with grateful hazel eyes. "Thanks for taking care of me, Dean," the kid had said sweetly.

And Dean had replied firmly, "Always."

"Oops," Beelzebub said innocently behind Dean. "That wasn't supposed to happen."

Dean squeezed his dead brother's hand one last time and slowly rose to his feet, his back to the last Knight of Hell, something dark and angry and terrible filling him as he turned to face this monster who had taken so much from him.

Beelzebub smiled innocently and shrugged. "He was pissing me off, and I sort of lost control. You know how it is with the Mark and the Blade, Dean. Oh well. My lord will just have to forgive me and find a way to bring him back. Or I wonder…maybe there would be a way to just possess his corpse…"

"You killed my brother," Dean said slowly in a deceptively calm voice.

"Well…yes," Beelzebub admitted. "But if it helps, it was an accident."

"You killed the woman I love. Twice. And you dragged her soul down to hell. _Twice_." Anger was slowly beginning to build in his voice as he stared Beelzebub down.

"Yes, well…that wasn't an accident," he smirked nastily.

"You killed Charlie. You killed Taylor and James. Because of you, Matthew died. Because of you, Jody died. Because of you, Jasper died."

"Was that their names?" he mused. "Well then, yes. All true."

"Every friend, every loved one I have lost in the last two years…all of that is because of you," Dean said in a cold, deadly voice. "Hell, I died and became a demon because of you."

"It's too bad that didn't work out," Beelzebub mused. "You would have made an excellent Knight-"

He suddenly gurgled horribly as Dean stabbed him through the neck with his demon-killing knife. He forced the Knight of Hell back against the wall, glaring at him with a positively terrifying, murderous look in those eyes.

"You killed my _brother_," he growled, and even though Beelzebub knew this man couldn't kill him, he still felt true fear bubble up in him.

This was wrong. No human had the right to make him this terrified. But then again, there was nothing more terrifying than a dangerous, deadly man with nothing to lose.

Suddenly, Dean was thrown back into the altar, where he fell to the ground, stunned. Beelzebub pulled the knife out of his throat and threw it to the ground. "I did," Beelzebub snarled, looking utterly terrifying with blood dripping from his neck and chest and the First Blade in his hand. "I killed your Julie and all of your friends, and I killed your precious little brother. And now, I'm going to kill you, and you can join them all in hell."

Somehow, Dean found the strength to get back on his feet. He ducked under Beelzebub's first swipe with the Blade and punched him in the face hard, breaking his nose. The demon barely noticed, though. He kept swinging and stabbing at Dean, who just barely managed to dodge each strike. He managed to hit the demon once more in the gut before Beelzebub managed to nick him in the side. It wasn't a fatal wound, but it slowed him down enough that the next strike was.

Beelzebub sank the First Blade deep into Dean Winchester's stomach. He knew he could have slit his throat or stabbed him through the heart like he did to his brother, but he wanted this man to die slow. This pathetic human who had been his rival all this time, his opponent who had somehow managed to survive everything Beelzebub had ever thrown at him. The only human who had ever frightened the Knight of Hell.

Well, he wouldn't be bothering Beelzebub anymore.

Beelzebub stopped to study the man's blood on his weapon as he pulled it out of the hunter and let him slide to the ground. Sam and Dean Winchester's blood was on this weapon at the same time. He would go down in history as the demon who had taken down both of the deadliest hunters alive in one go.

"It's too bad you gave up this Blade, Dean," Beelzebub said absently. "If you hadn't, you might have been able to kill me and get revenge for all the people I've taken from you. But instead, you get to die knowing all their deaths will go unavenged." He knelt down to be on the dying man's level and asked condescendingly, "How does that make you feel?"

In response, Dean spat a bit of his own blood into Beelzebub's face.

The demon took a moment to wipe his face clean before kicking the hunter savagely in the stomach and smiling at his pained groan. "I would have liked to keep you alive a little longer," he told Dean as he stood up. "I wanted you to live to see me capture Castiel and rip off his wings. Then, once that meddling little angel was human, I could torture you both side by side, send you to hell together. You could all have a little reunion with Juliet downstairs."

He turned his back on Dean to look out one of the windows at the night sky. Unless he was crazy, it somehow already seemed lighter than before. Sunrise was coming.

He was too busy studying the sky to notice a weak, dying Dean Winchester reach his hand into his jacket.

"Maybe I should find a way to at least keep you alive until sunrise," he mused. "Then you could at least see how badly you failed. You could watch Lucifer rise and possess your little brother and end your pathetic little world. Oh, that sounds fun! But I doubt you're going to make it that long."

"Well then, at least I'll get to take you with me," Dean growled in a ragged voice, and Beelzebub turned around just in time to watch Dean fire the Colt straight at his head.

Dean watched as the bullet lodged in Beelzebub's skull. The demon's mouth fell open in shock, stretched in an endless, silent scream of pain as he burned from the inside. And then Dean watched as his demon-black eyes rolled back in his head and the final Knight of Hell fell to the ground, dead.

He had done it. He had avenged Jasper and James and Taylor and Matthew and Jody and Charlie. He had kept that monster from ever getting his hands on Jules again. He had gotten revenge for Sammy. He had killed the king of the Knights of Hell, stopping him from raising Lucifer and ending the world. He had quite literally saved the world.

Huh. He had thought he would feel a little more celebratory right now.

The now-empty Colt clattered out of Dean's hand as he pressed his left hand to his stomach, trying to slow the bleeding. He was already weak, but he somehow found the strength to drag himself pathetically across the stone floor towards Sam. His head throbbed with pain, his body was heavy, his thoughts were fogging over, his breaths were getting harder and harder, and yet Dean still dragged himself along.

He made it to Sam's side just before he collapsed.

Dean lay on his side, his blood spilling onto the white stone along with his brother's, his arm flung out on top of Sam's. With the last of his strength, Dean curled his hand around Sam's cold hand once more. He locked his eyes on Sam's face, which looked almost as if he was peacefully sleeping. Just asleep…

As Dean stared at his little brother's face, his life began to flash before his eyes. He saw his mother's smiling face, felt her stroke his hair, heard her call him her little angel. He watched her burn on the ceiling. He took care of little Sammy, taught him to read, taught him to cook, taught him to hunt. He shot down zombie after zombie and beamed at his father's proud grin. He watched a teenage Sam walk out the door, watched his little brother abandon him. He saw Sam, four years later, with his arm around Jess, heard him agree to help Dean look for Dad. He saw Jess burn on the ceiling and dragged his brother out of the burning room for the second time.

It was coming in quicker flashes now as his brain began to fail. Sammy shooting a ghost. A demon's black eyes. Dad, dead on the floor. Bobby calling him "Idjit." Sammy's dead body in his arms. The crossroads demon's lips on his. Lilith's white eyes. Hellhounds. Cas, badass and terrifying with black wings behind him. Ruby with her hands on Sam, taking him from Dean. The blinding light of Lucifer rising. Jo, dying on the floor of a gas station. Sam with Lucifer inside him, killing Dean. Sam overpowering Lucifer and letting Dean go. Sammy falling down, out of Dean's reach...

The flashes were growing dimmer, Dean's entire life sliding away as he bled out onto the floor. Lisa and Ben, beaming at him. Cas with Leviathans inside him. Bobby dying in a hospital bed. The silent forest of Purgatory. Benny's head separated from his shoulders, Dean's doing. Sam lying, dying, in a hospital bed. Kevin on the floor, his eyes burned out. The Mark of Cain on his arm. Abbadon on the ground, dead. Sam looking at him in fear as he went borderline demonic.

And then her. Her, saving him from himself. Her smile, her laugh, the smell of her hair, the shape of her legs, the color of her eyes. Her hands patching him up. Her killing a werewolf to save him. Her lips on his. Her body on his. Nothing mattered, nothing but her...

And then even the memory of Julie began to fade. Dean tried to cling to the memory of her, tried to envision her smile or imagine her laugh or relive her lips on his. But she was fading. He was fading...

Finally, Dean was able to focus on one last memory. It was a simple one. It shouldn't stick out, it shouldn't be the only thing he could remember, but it was. Julie sitting by his side, her hand in his, Sammy and Cas across from them as they drank beers and played cards and laughed. A simple, happy thing. His last memory.

And then even that faded until the only thing he could cling to was Sammy's face lying still and peaceful next to his.

With his last breath, Dean exhaled one word that was so soft it could barely be heard, the only thing left to say, the only thing that mattered.

In the still, silent church where Lucifer had once risen and once been stopped, Dean Winchester breathed his last word: "Sammy."

And then the life left his eyes for the last time.

That was where Cas found them a couple hours later: Sam on his back where he had been lovingly and gently set down, his body stiff and cold, and Dean with his body sprawled out uncomfortably, a trail of blood leading from him to the place where Beelzebub lay dead, Dean's stiff, cold hand curled around Sam's.

Cas's grief was a silent, wordless, powerful thing. The whole church seemed to tremble as grief wracked his body. Then abruptly everything went still as the angel sank to his knees next to them. He didn't bother to move Dean, knowing this was where he would want to be. With a gentle hand, he closed Dean's eyes and wiped a bit of blood from his chin. And then he just sat there next to the two men who had been his everything, the two men who had taught him what it was to be human, the two men he had lived the past six years or so for.

He probably would have stayed that way forever if he hadn't heard that familiar voice say, "They are at rest."

Cas looked up to see Death standing a couple feet away, leaning on his cane heavily and studying the bodies at his feet. "Neither one of these men would be able to rest if one was dead but the other lived," he said gravely. "But they have both passed on together, and they have completed their task. They are at rest."

"You mean, I can't try to bring them back," Cas guessed flatly.

"I mean that, should you try, I shall be forced to stop you, something I have never done before," Death said calmly. "Every time in the past the Winchesters have died, it was not their time yet, and so I let you raise them. They still had work to be done. But now, their work is done. It is time to let them rest."

Cas nodded slowly. It was hard to accept, but he knew Death was right. But then a horrible thought hit him. "They will be in heaven, I assume?" he asked anxiously.

"I cannot say," he said carefully. Then he smiled slightly. "But I can guarantee you that they are going where they truly belong, and that they will receive a hero's welcome."

Cas felt a little relief, but there was still a major issue. "But…Julie," he said softly. "She is still in hell. You cannot honestly believe that she belongs there!"

"She made a deal, and I cannot change her fate," Death said gravely. Cas opened his mouth to protest, but the horseman added, "However, the new king of hell may not see fit to keep the same ruling as the old king. Perhaps he will not desire to keep her in hell. Who can say?"

Before Cas could ask who the new king was, Death vanished. But another pair of footsteps approached behind him, and the angel turned around in time to see Crowley walk into the room.

The demon's eyes widened as he took in the angel kneeling on the ground next to the two fallen Winchesters. Then he looked around the room and saw Apollyon's body, and a few feet away from hers, Beelzebub's. He nodded in satisfaction, noting the bullet hole in the dead Knight's forehead, and guessed, "Dean's work?"

"It would appear so," the angel said softly. "They both died by the Blade, judging by their wounds. But it appears before Dean died…"

"He took good old Beelzebub down with him," Crowley finished. "Well. I must admit, even I'm impressed. Those boys did it again."

"They just didn't survive it this time," Castiel added quietly.

Crowley studied the angel. He looked older than Crowley had ever seen him. For the first time, he could really see millennia of experience and wisdom and loss in Castiel's blue eyes. There was grief in every line of his face, but a sort of resigned acceptance in the way he held himself.

"I suppose you're going to bring them back?" the demon asked carefully.

"Not this time," Cas said gravely. "And I suppose you're going to take hell back?"

"They're a bit lacking in leadership at the moment," Crowley said, nodding at Beelzebub's corpse. "And I plan to rise to the occasion."

"And…Julie?" Cas asked, almost afraid of the answer.

Crowley's expression sobered. "She doesn't belong there anymore than I belong here with you. Besides, she'd probably never stop harassing me down there."

Cas nodded gratefully at Crowley, almost smiling. "So…" the demon said after a moment. "The Winchesters are dead. The world is saved. You're going to keep ruling heaven, I assume?"

"And you'll rule hell," Castiel said flatly.

"In other words, this partnership is over," the demon finished, not seeming too broken up about it.

"We can go back to despising each other," Cas said, almost smirking.

"Oh, goody!" Crowley said with mock-excitement. "Well, Castiel…I guess, I'll be seeing you."

Cas had nothing left to say to the demon, so he just nodded curtly, and then Crowley was gone.

The church was silent once more. Cas settled down into a more comfortable position by the two fallen hunters, knowing he would be here for a while. Beelzebub was dead, but he still felt that he needed to be thorough.

And so Cas stayed there, his hand resting over his faded handprint on Dean's shoulder, and watched in peaceful silence as the sun rose.

* * *

_Fire. Blood. Screams. Flesh sizzling, bones breaking, voices cracking. Heat and suffering and death everywhere._

_She was back._

_Julie sobbed and begged and fought against the demons who held her, but it was pointless. She was nothing but a weak, damned soul, unable to defend herself against the demons in their own home._

_They pushed and pulled and kicked her past other poor souls in their cells, some burning or rotting or bleeding or drowning. They were all piteous creatures, trapped in eternal suffering, but she couldn't feel too sorry for them. Compared to where she was headed, they had it easy._

_Harsh laughter and taunts and threats rang in her ears. Rough hands grabbed at her, pinching and hitting and pulling at her body. They dragged her along, tormenting her with dark promises of what Beelzebub would do when he arrived and telling her just what he was surely doing to Sam and Dean right now. She cried silently, fighting futilely, so terrified she couldn't speak._

_She was back._

_When they finally reached the rack, she remembered how to speak. She began to scream and wail and kick and bite, begging them to have mercy, screaming for Dean to help her. The horrible hooks hung there, coated with blood and gore. All of his favorite tools were here too, acid and fire and knives and blunt weapons for breaking bones. Seeing those brought back all the memories, made even more vivid by being back here. The memories were almost as bad as what was coming._

_They started pulling at her clothes, trying to take away her only defense, her only protection, hissing horrible threats of what he was planning to do to her. That was the one thing he hadn't done the first time she was here. He had put her through every torture imaginable, but he had left her body undefiled for some reason. But now they were taking her clothes and promising her that he would not hesitate to violate her, not this time._

_She was stripped down to her underwear, with demons snarling about how soon he would be here, about soon she would be begging and screaming and suffering, when the first one fell, writhing and flaming, a knife in his throat._

_She watched from her huddled position on the burning, blood-coated ground as a familiar demon swept easily through the three demons who had been tormenting her. She stared up at him, not comprehending, assuming this was just another torture they had planned to get her hopes up and then take them away._

_But then he killed the last one and held out his hand to her. "Come on," Crowley said shortly. "You're going where you belong."_

_"__I don't understand…" she whispered, still huddling on the ground, not caring how it was burning her skin. Much worse tortures were coming._

_"__Beelzebub is dead," he said almost kindly. "Your Dean saw to that."_

_"__Dean," she gasped. "He's alive?"_

_"__No," he said flatly, and then she understood. So this must be her torture. To believe that Dean was dead. "They both died. But they took Beelzebub and Apollyon with them, and they're in a better place now." He shuddered and added, "I can't believe I just said that."_

_That was such a Crowley thing to say…she was almost beginning to hope. "If Beelzebub is dead…" she whispered._

_"__Then the position of king of hell is open again. And considering I just killed every truly Knight-loyal demon left in hell, I would say that makes me king." A crown appeared on his head and he smirked. Then he extended his hand again. "Now, get up. My first decree as the new king is to get a soul that doesn't belong in my kingdom out."_

_"__Crowley…" she said softly, almost reverently. "I can't believe you would do this for me."_

_"__Yeah, yeah, stop talking before I change my mind," he said gruffly. "Now, take my hand or I really will leave you here."_

_And finally, she took his hand and he helped her up. "Thank you," she whispered, and she really meant it._

_"__Say goodbye to Moose and Squirrel for me, will you?" he asked, almost smiling. She nodded, and then he touched her forehead._

_And Julie smiled, honest-to-God grinned in the middle of hell as she felt her soul being freed and going where it belonged._

* * *

Jim and Leah were the last hunters to arrive, and they were only two minutes after the other groups. Jim pulled up his truck behind Chel and Ian's minivan, and then he glanced over at Leah.

"You sure you're going to be alright? It sounded like this could get pretty rough," he asked her gently.

"Yeah," she said, taking a deep breath. "I mean, the world was supposed to end this morning. The fact that we're all still alive is probably a good thing, right?"

"Right," he nodded.

"Just as long as Sam is okay…and Dean and Julie," she added quickly, immediately feeling guilty for thinking of her ex-boyfriend first.

"Come on," Jim said brightly. "You know those three as well as I do. There's nothing on this earth that could take them down."

Feeling a little less anxious, Leah climbed out of Jim's truck and walked over to where the other four hunters were huddled by their cars. Chel smiled warmly at Leah and Jim as she saw them approaching, and cute little Ellie Nelson waved excitedly.

"Hey, guys," Ian said, nodding at both of them. "Glad you could make it."

"Does anyone know what this is about?" Jim asked the group.

"No idea," Mitch grumbled. "I just got a text from Sam yesterday saying we should all meet here at noon if the world wasn't already ending for something urgent."

"Same here," Leah said, not wanting to admit the thrill she had felt getting a text from Sam. They had always talked about how, if he could survive this mess, they might want to take another shot at being together. And the thought of seeing tall, strong, and handsome Sam Winchester and getting to be with him again was embarrassingly exciting for her.

"Well, it's noon," Chel pointed out. "We should probably head on in, right?"

"Guess so," Jim shrugged, and then he and Ian led the way over to the bunker.

Jim was about to knock on the door when Ellie suddenly asked, "What's that?" The other five hunters peered around the corner and followed her line of sight. Leah felt a chill go through her when she saw a pyre built by the back of the bunker. And there were already two bodies wrapped in a black tarp on it…

"What the hell…?" Jim frowned, and the pack moved towards the pyre. Before they could reach it, though, the familiar, dark-haired, blue-eyed, trench coat-clad angel appeared around the corner. What was his name? Oh, yeah. Castiel.

And there was a long, broad shape wrapped in a black tarp in his arms.

Jim gulped. "Uh…Castiel?" he asked anxiously. The angel looked away from the body in his arms and spotted the six nervous hunters watching him. For a moment, he looked bewildered, and then understanding filled his eyes. "Oh," he said softly. "Sam's text…"

"Yeah," Leah said more bravely than she felt. "Where is he? What's going on?"

Castiel shifted nervously, and as he did so, an arm rolled out of the tarp. A cold, stiff arm with a hand covered in blood. A hand bearing a familiar silver ring and an even more familiar watch.

"Oh, God," Leah suddenly moaned, recognizing that hand. Chel and Ian both gasped in horror as they recognized it, too. "Oh my God, that's…that's _Dean_."

Ellie made a soft, horrified squeak, and Jim swore under his breath. Castiel looked down, grief filling his eyes. And then Leah's eyes flew to the pyre, where two other bodies lay. One body was about a foot shorter than the other body, and a lot more slender. And the other body was gigantic, long and broad, about six feet and four inches long, with broad shoulders and a large chest and muscular arms…

"God," she choked out, feeling tears spring to her eyes. "That's Julie. And that's…"

She couldn't say his name. She couldn't. Just like she couldn't accept that that was his body lying up there next to hers. Leah felt Jim's arm go around her, but it didn't help. She only wanted to feel one pair of arms comforting her right now, and now apparently she had lost that…

"It can't be," Ian choked out. "Please tell me this is some sick joke or something."

"I'm so sorry you had to find out this way," the angel said in a grief-choked voice. "They…they died saving the world. They stopped Beelzebub."

"No," Chel half-sobbed. "Not Julie…no…"

Castiel watched, grieving and helpless as Chel began to cry into her husband's shoulder. Leah was crying as well, and Jim was comforting her while shaking his head in disbelief. Mitch was just staring at the man in Cas's arms in disbelief while Ellie sniffled and murmured about how kind they were and how they didn't deserve this.

"How?" Jim asked coldly. "Who killed them?"

"Beelzebub," Cas admitted. "But Dean killed him. They stopped him before Lucifer could rise."

"How could this happen?" Leah asked, her voice breaking. "They're…they were good people! They didn't deserve this."

Cas had nothing to say to that. He turned his back on the grieving hunters and carried his best friend's body to the pyre. He gently lay Dean's body in-between Julie's and Sam's, knowing that's where he would want to be. Between the brother he loved and the woman he loved.

"Why did they call us here?" Mitch asked coldly after a long, somber silence broken only by the soft sounds of crying. "To watch you burn their bodies?"

"They had hoped to survive this," the angel admitted. "Well, Sam and Dean at least. But if they didn't…they wanted you here to hear their will."

"What?" Chel asked shakily. "We're in their will?"

"You're the only people they know who are still alive," he pointed out, and they all looked down at the ground.

"What did they say?" Leah asked, almost afraid of the answer

"They didn't write anything down," Cas admitted. "But they told me what to say in case this happened." He took a deep breath. "Mitch and Ellie, Dean wanted to apologize for frightening you when he was a demon, and, as he put it, 'Just being an ass in general.'" Mitch almost smirked at that.

"Chel and Ian, they all wanted to thank you for your friendship," he continued. "And Julie in particular wanted to tell you how much she loved the both of you and how glad she was that you two found the kind of happiness she and Dean couldn't." Chel looked down at that and wiped at the tears on her cheeks.

"Jim, they wanted to thank you for your help in that first vampire case, and for continuing to help out Leah. And Leah…they all wanted to say how glad they were to have you around, and how they thought you would become a truly great hunter. And Sam…he wanted to apologize for not surviving past this. He said he was really looking forward to that 'after all this crap is over' part."

Leah nodded, smiling a little through her tears as she imagined Sam saying that to her. God, she wasn't ready to say goodbye to him. But now it was pretty clear she didn't really have a choice anymore.

"And all of you…they left you this," Cas finished, gesturing to the building behind him.

Leah frowned. "They…they left us the bunker?" she asked, confused.

"They are…were the last living Men of Letters. But they didn't want all this knowledge to go to waste, so they left the Men of Letters bunker and all its contents to you six."

The six hunters shook their head in disbelief. "They…they left this all to us?" Jim asked, awed.

"You are their only living friends," Cas pointed out. "And just because they're gone doesn't mean the monsters are. There needs to be another generation of hunters to keep fighting the darkness. And they want you six to lead it."

"But…we're not ready for that!" Ellie protested.

"They were never ready for what was coming," he said, a small but fond smile on his lips. "They just kind of winged it, according to Dean."

Jim shook his head, smirking a little. "So…we're it, huh?"

"You're it," he nodded. "I will try to assist you if absolutely necessary, but quite honestly…I'm going to need some time to recover." His blue eyes flicked to the three bodies on the pyre, and Jim felt sorry for this ancient, powerful being, knowing that he was closer to those three bodies than any of them had been.

"Okay. Well…I'm in," Jim said after a moment of silence.

"Me too," Chel said bravely, and Ian nodded.

"Someone needs to carry on their legacy," Leah said softly, her eyes on Sam's body.

"We're in too," Ellie said bravely, ignoring her brother's hesitant expression.

Castiel nodded gravely at them. "I am glad. Here is your key." He handed Jim the key to the bunker and nodded one last time at the six hunters who were to take up the Winchester legacy. Then he turned his back on them and pulled out a lighter as he faced the pyre.

Cas took one last moment to remember the three humans who had been his closest friends on earth. He thought back over fond memories and dark memories alike, of times of happiness and of times of suffering. But they had been at his side through it all, and he would never forget any of them.

He sent a silent prayer of goodbye up to heaven, wondering if souls in heaven could hear prayers and hoping they would at least hear that one.

And then he lit the pyre, and the seven of them watched Sam, Dean, and Julie receive their final hunter's burial.

* * *

_"__Hey Jude, don't make it bad_

_Take a sad song and make it better_

_Remember to let her under your skin_

_Then you'll begin to make it better…"_

Dean stirred slightly as he heard the familiar song playing softly just outside of his consciousness. When he was finally able to peel his eyes open, he found himself sleeping in his beloved car, with the song his mother used to sing to him as a baby playing through the car radio.

Dean frowned, looked around. The last thing he remembered was…was dying. Taking Sam's hand, breathing his brother's name, staring at Sammy's face, and then…dying.

So why was he back in his car, sitting on the side of the highway along a beautiful, sunny meadow?

But before he could go on being confused much longer, he heard a soft knock on his car window. He looked up, surprised, and saw…

Her.

Julie Carters' beautiful face beamed at him from outside the car. She grinned at him, eyes twinkling, and waved. There was color in her cheeks, and the sunlight made her curls golden, framing her face like she was an angel.

Which, as far as he was concerned, she was.

Once the fact that Julie was outside his car sunk in, Dean swung the door open and was out of the car in record speed. She stepped back to let him out and laughed at his eagerness, opening her mouth to say something.

Before she could even try, he was there, cupping her face in his hands, tangling his fingers in her hair, and kissing her like he had never kissed anyone before. He kissed her long and hard and fierce, desperately searching for proof that this was real, that she was real. At first she was surprised, but then Julie melted into him, curving her body around his and meeting his kiss with the same fevered passion. She ran her fingers along the side of his face and through his hair, her other hand resting over his heart. Dean slid one of his hands down to her neck and felt his pulse thrumming there.

Alive. She was alive.

When he was finally forced to pull away from her for lack of air, Dean kept his forehead pressed against hers. "How?" he breathed, his eyes opening to search hers.

"Crowley," she answered, running her hands up and down his arms. "He's back in control of hell, thanks to you. And his first act as king was to let me go."

"I always did love that annoying, British little bastard," he laughed, and then he kissed her again. He could go on kissing Julie for the rest of his existence and be happy.

And then he pulled away again. "Wait. So if I'm dead, and you're dead, then…"

"We're in heaven," she finished, smiling up at him.

"Heaven," Dean repeated, a little dumbfounded. "Wow. I can't believe I really made it up here."

Julie lovingly brushed her hand across his cheek and said earnestly, "You deserve it, Dean. If anybody does, you do." He smiled a little and leaned his face into her touch, feeling warmth spread through his body from the spot where her hand was resting on his cheek.

After a moment of just standing there, staring at this beautiful, perfect woman, she opened her mouth and said, "Come on. I've got something I want to show you." She let go of his cheek and grabbed his hand, pulling him back over to the car. But before they got in, Dean grabbed Julie's hips and pressed her back against his car, kissing her once more, fiercely, trying to burn this perfect moment into his brain forever.

When Dean's lips finally let Julie's, she lazily threw her arms around his neck and murmured, "What was that for?"

"Because I lost you, and it scared the hell out of me, and I'm going to take advantage of this now that you're back," he replied gravely.

She kissed him quick and smiled at him. "I'm glad I'm back with you too."

And then she was pulling him into the car. She sat in the passenger seat and gave him directions as he sped down the highway. He rested one hand on her thigh as he drove one-handed, and she interlaced her fingers with his, absently humming "Hey Jude" under her breath as they drove.

Eventually, she told him to pull off the highway, and he obeyed. He blinked in surprise when he found himself pulling up in front of a familiar old building.

"The Roadhouse," he said softly. "You found Ash?" he asked Julie excitedly.

She grinned at him and kissed his cheek. "Come on," she told him, climbing out of the car, and he gladly followed, taking her hand as they approached the door.

Julie stopped him a moment outside the door and rested a hand over his heart. "I found Ash alright," she said, smiling warmly up at him. "I found a lot more than Ash."

And before he could ask what she meant, Julie threw the door wide open and pulled Dean inside the Roadhouse.

His jaw dropped as a roar of sound signaled his arrival. All around him, men and women raised beers in air, throwing up cries of, "Dean!" and "There he is!" and whoops of excitement. There were so many smiling faces looking up at him as he entered, and everyone of them was familiar.

In the nearest booth sat Kevin Tran, seated in-between an Asian girl Dean vaguely recognized as his deceased girlfriend and his mother. Kevin nodded at Dean, a huge grin on the kid's face. In the next booth, Pamela with her sight intact sat across from a very familiar redhead. Charlie beamed at Dean and put up a peace sign.

Pastor Jim and Caleb sat talking with Matthew Bones in one booth. In the next booth, Jody Mills sat, surrounded by her late husband and son. She grinned and waved when she saw him, and he grinned back.

A large booth overflowing with blondes caught his eye. There was Taylor, barely clad as usual, with a smirking James sitting practically on top of her, his arm around her shoulders. On the other side of Taylor sat a middle-aged blond man with familiar twinkling blue eyes. Jasper tipped his glass at Dean and winked at Julie next to him. And across from him sat a young blond woman with Julie's big blue eyes, leaning into the side of a blond, handsome young man with a bit of stubble and Julie's warm smile. Her parents. The attractive couple grinned at their daughter, and she beamed back at them.

Behind the bar, Ash whooped at him, and Dean grinned and shook his head. Seated at the bar were Jo, who smiled warmly at him, Ellen, who nodded at him, and a ruggedly handsome man next to Ellen who must be Bill Harvelle.

And then Dean spotted the two groups in the far booths. One booth contained a grumpy-looking, older black man and a kind-looking blond woman holding hands with a gruff-looking, older man in a baseball cap. Rufus, Bobby, and his late wife, Karen. Dean's eyes shone with tears as Bobby beamed at him and mouthed, "I'm proud of you, boy."

Then the final booth. An attractive young blond woman sat next to a dark-haired, bearded, middle aged man. Mary Winchester beamed at him, tears in her eyes, while John gave Dean a warm, proud smile that crinkled his dark eyes.

Even Cas was there, standing by the back exit and watching Dean take in his surroundings with a warm smile on his face. Dean beamed at his parents, then his best friend, and turned to Julie with tears in her eyes.

"How…?" he asked softly, overwhelmed.

"Ash has spent that last who knows how long gathering up all the hunters he could find in the Roadhouse. He's created a community here. It's amazing."

"It is," Dean said, shaking his head in awe at what Ash had created here. Every single person he had ever loved and lost was sitting in this bar, talking and drinking and smiling.

Every single person except for one.

"But before you greet everybody here, I think there's someone you need to see first," Julie said softly, taking his hand. She pulled him towards the back door, past his lost friends and family, and they let him pass respectfully, smiling at the two of them as they passed.

Dean and Julie reached the back, and Cas surprised Dean by pulling him into a hug. "It's so good to see you here, Dean," his best friend sighed as he hugged him tightly.

"You too, Cas," Dean said, grinning as he patted his friend on the back.

"I'm glad you got him here," Cas told Julie.

"Me too," she said, reaching out and squeezing her friend's hand. "Now come on, Dean. We're almost there."

Whatever it was could wait. Dean stopped Julie in the doorway and kissed her for a sweet, brief moment. When he pulled away, he said softly and with absolute certainty, "Jules, I love you."

"I guarantee you, I love you more," she replied, with the same absolute certainty.

And then she swung the back door open, and Dean saw him standing there waiting.

Dean looked back to Julie hesitantly, asking permission. She nodded at him and said softly, "Go home."

Dean grinned at her and then turned and walked towards the road where he waited.

Julie and Cas stood in the doorway, holding each other's hand and watching with a smile as Dean hurried to his Impala, where Sam waited, leaning against the car, two beers in hand. When Dean reached his beloved little brother, he threw his arms around him without hesitation.

"Dean," Sam choked out, holding his big brother tightly.

"Sammy," Dean breathed, so glad to just hold his little brother in his arms and feel him alive and well.

Julie watched warmly as Sam wordlessly handed Dean a beer. Neither of them needed another word. They knew what to do. She squeezed Cas's hand as the two brothers climbed into their beloved car, Dean in the driver's seat and Sam in the passenger's seat, right where they belonged. She listened with a smile as that gorgeous engine began to purr, the sound of "Carry On Wayward Son" playing through the radio and pouring out the open windows.

Dean turned his head a little to grin at his little brother as he put his foot down on the gas. They peeled out of the parking lot and down the highway, the wind in their hair and beers in hand.

The thought of all those people he loved and missed waiting for him when he got back was thrilling. The thought of being back with Julie brought a grin to his lips, and part of him couldn't wait to get back. But right here, right now…speeding down the highway in his beloved car with his brother by his side, an eternity of happiness spent with people he loved stretching out before him…this was more than enough.

They were finally home.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Wow. I've had that ending in my head ever since I came up with the idea for this story, but writing it was really hard. I really hated to kill so many of my favorite characters, but this is the way I've always envisioned Supernatural ending. Sam and Dean were never going to be able to be at rest unless they were both dead. And they clearly both deserve heaven. Hopefully after seeing all the characters who have died get to reunite, you guys can forgive me for all the characters who have died under my reign of terror. And hopefully that was the ending you all were hoping for, or something close to it. Anyway, because I just love this story so much and these characters are so fun to write, this isn't necessarily the end! My plan is to start a sequel to this one, probably entitled "The Road's End", in the next week or two. It will tell the story of what happens to our favorite characters in heaven, but because it's Supernatural, it won't all be sunshine and happiness. There will be plenty of action, adventure, drama, but also some really happy times as well, which we didn't get enough of in this story. If you guys are interested, keep an eye out! I'd like to thank you all for reading and reviewing this story. I started this story just because I was curious to see if anyone else would like it but me, and I have been really touched to hear from people who enjoy it too! I'm glad to be able to share my writings and characters with others. You guys have really encouraged me to keep writing and sharing it with others. I thank and love you all for supporting me through this story!


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